Located at UPP residences Lafrowda and Birks Grange Village, the new fitness equipment, which was funded by the University Residence team in partnership with the Sports Park and UPP, will allow users to try over 100 different exercises outdoors – all for free.
Each tree will support a set of bars, which students can use for muscle-training exercises such as tricep dips, pull-ups and inclined press-ups. Set at different heights, the bars will be accessible to all users.
Accessory packs including fitness tools such as skipping ropes and resistance bands, which can be used in conjunction with the Fitness Trees to further increase exercise options, will also be available at Lopes and Birks’ Central Village receptions.
Any student (or staff member) can use the trees, regardless of whether they live in Birks or Lafrowda, as an extension of the Healthy Halls scheme, which last year saw ping-pong tables arrive on campus.
Health and Wellness Coordinator, Paul Mouland, told Exeposé: “We’re really pleased to be offering students and staff a new way to train and get active on campus. We know that people’s lives are increasingly busy, and staff and students are not always able to find the time to fit in a lengthy session at the gym.”
Mouland also commented that the installations will provide a “great, free alternative to training indoors and help students and staff explore more of the Streatham campus”. He praised the University for “continuing to support new and innovative ways to improve the health and wellbeing of its students and staff”.
AU President Jack Bristow said: “The gyms are a great opportunity for students to be more active without having the pressure of going to the gym.”
