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It's easy to work up a sweat at the Petrus Molefe Eco Park, where there is a variety of equipment for weight training and cardio exercises.
SPENDING a few hours working out at the outdoor gym at Petrus Molefe Eco Park, the first of its kind in Joburg, is an experience any sportsman will find refreshing.
 On the air walkerAs a runner and sportsman, it is important that I keep fit, so on a cool Thursday afternoon I set out to try this one-of-a-kind gym in the bustling Soweto suburb of Dlamini. I don’t want to blow my own trumpet, but most recently I participated in the inaugural Runfree.RunJozi 10km marathon – killing the 10 kilometres in 41 minutes, which was rated among the best times in the race.
In 2011, I ran up quite a good record, finishing the 5,6km the JP Morgan Corporate Race in 17 minutes. In the same year I participated in the 21,1km annual Ekurhuleni Half Marathon. This year, I am gunning for the 42km Soweto Marathon.
I train daily to keep fit and my trip to the outdoor gym was just another routine training for me, though I took a day off my normal training schedule to try out the top-class training equipment.
The gym has every type of equipment that an athlete needs to keep in shape, including a ski walker, my favourite training machine. It simulates jogging but the outstanding factor is that it eliminates the jamming motion experienced during jogging, which can uncomfortable.
Video
Athlete and sports enthusiast Kgopi Mabotja checks out the outdoor gym in Dhlamini, Soweto. Watch video. |
The ski walker works out the upper arms and leg joints simultaneously. It practically moves the whole body – it simulates stair climbing, walking or running without causing excessive pressure on the joints. It is ideal for people with some injuries. I spent about 20 minutes on the ski walker.
Weightlifting
Now that I had warmed up, I was ready to start on the weightlifting machines. The first was the chest presser, which works out the chest and uppers arms. It operates a little differently from the norm, where the user has to load weights. Here, the user lifts their own body weight. The user sits on a chair and pushes against two levers and in doing so, the chair moves up and down.
 Kgopi Mabotja works out on his favourite machineChest pressers are designed for body builders and I spent just under six minutes on the machine. The physical trainer supervising on the day advised that to get results, one has to be regular weight lifter. He said the levers should be pushed slowly, as it worked better that way.
The next machine was the lat puller which functions similarly to the presser, the difference being that the user pulls the lever instead of pushing. It is far easier than the presser.
Just when I thought it could not get any tougher, I was proven otherwise. A few seconds on the sit-up board proved to be hard work. The machines give the entire core muscle a group a work out. There are two distinct positions on the sit-up board, one with the feet down and the other with the feed up, help under the support bar.
However, I only tried the latter. In this position, the user must sit up. The arms can be crossed loosely across the chest; or, for the advanced, hands can be behind the neck. Then you slowly lift your upper body using your abdominal muscles – I lasted two minutes.
The last heavy exercise machine of the day was the self-weight puller. It uses your body weight to provide resistance. It works out the upper body muscles. I ended the day of hard exercise on the air walker, which is a fairly universal piece of equipment that is good for stretching the legs after training
When all was said and done, I agreed that Joburg’s first outdoor gym provided a first-class training experience.
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