Outdoor activity and fitness in the Playground

Posted by Nick Riley on 26th Apr, 2018 |

 

At Playscape Engineering we promote outdoor activity and fitness in the Playground , well we would after all, its our business!

There is some superb information available from the link we found below so why not start an exercise regime with one of our ‘Daily Mile’ circuits?

These can be a series of marker posts or thermoplastic markings melted onto the playground, if you haven’t got a mile measure around school, do laps of the play area instead.

https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/physical-activity-guidelines-for-young-people.aspx

Guidelines for 5- to 18-year-olds

To maintain a basic level of health, children and young people aged 5 to 18 need to do:

• at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day – this should range from  moderate activity, such as cycling and playground activities, to vigorous activity, such as running and tennis
• on three days a week, these activities should involve exercises for strong muscles, such as push-ups, and exercises for strong bones, such as jumping and running

Many vigorous activities can help you build strong muscles and bones, including anything involving running and jumping, such as gymnastics, martial arts and football.

Children and young people should reduce the time they spend sitting watching TV, playing computer games and travelling by car when they could walk or cycle instead.

What counts as moderate activity?

Examples of activities that require moderate effort for most young people include:

• walking to school
• playing in the playground
• riding a scooter
• skateboarding
• rollerblading
• walking the dog
• cycling on level ground or ground with few hills

Try the aerobic workout videos in the NHS Fitness Studio.

Moderate activity raises your heart rate and makes you sweat. One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate level is if you can still talk, but you can’t sing the words to a song.

We provide some gym equipment that can help with muscle building referred to in the above guidance but of course, running and aerobic activities are best for children and free!

Equipment is good to stimulate an interest and enjoyment in keeping fit, movement in any way is better than sitting and playing computer games or on a tablet for hours!

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