Dayton worker earns ‘playground’ for city
Competition’s top prize, an adult playground, valued at $30,000.
City to receive outdoor adult “fitness rig” valued at about $30,000 because Lamonte Hall Jr. won a fitness competition.
Adults soon will get their own playground at Princeton Park in Dayton, one that offers about 14 stations to work up a good sweat.
Next year, Dayton will receive an outdoor “functional fitness rig” valued at about $30,000 because city employee Lamonte Hall Jr. won a fitness competition using the equipment.
Communities across the country have invested in adult fitness playgrounds to provide residents inexpensive and entertaining ways to exercise.
“It’s something new ... we’re really just big kids as well,” said Hall, 38, who is the interim division manager of the Dayton Convention Center.
In October, Greenfields Outdoor Fitness announced that Hall had won an outdoor fitness functional rig as the grand prize of its fitness challenge.
T he challenge wa s at the National Recreation and Parks Association’s annual conference.
Competitors had one minute per event to do the most reps.
Hall alone represented Dayton, while other communities that competed had multiple people on their teams.
Hall blew away the competition
continued from B1 by doing 38 pull-ups, 58 sit-ups and 45 dips in three minutes.
The function fitness rig provides 17 unique exercise features that until now were only typically found in indoor settings, said Allison Abel, marketing director with Greenfields Outdoor Fitness.
The rig is set up in a compact octagon-shaped design that can handle 14 simultaneous users, Abel said.
“Besides providing exercise opportunities to the community free of charge, the rig also creates an excellent way for strangers to interact, thereby contributing to community cohesion and social capital,” she said.
Princeton Park next to the Northwest Recreation Center will get the rig with features that include ring rows, cannonball pull-ups, a dip bar, high rings and an S-shaped pull-up bar and S-shaped ladder.
The fitness playground also has an incline ladder, a climbing rope, battle ropes, a lat pull-up bar, a medicine bar target, a sit-up bench, suspension trainer and Swedish ladder.
People need to find workouts they like, and the fitness rig will be a success if it gets more people off the couch and outside exercising, Hall said.
Hall, who grew up going to the Northwest Recreation Center and remains a regular visitor, plans to use the fitness rig with his exercise buddies. The rig, he said, enhances the rec options the city already offers indoors.
“This is really cool because you see a lot of stuff for kids, but this is geared toward adults,” he said. “It’s great because you can use it anytime and ... if you are running in the neighborhood, you can stop by the rig to get your exercises in.” Contact this reporter at 937225-0749 or email Cornelius. Frolik@coxinc.com.