New outdoor fitness gyms have been implemented to help Witsies stay active.
Two interactive gyms became active at the beginning of the year for staff and students to enjoy for free.
Kabungo Mubanga, senior manager of operations at the Wits sports department, said the gyms, located on East Campus Matrix courts and West Campus Gavin Raily lawns, were set up to help staff and students get active as part of the Wits Wellness Plan.
“It needed to be easily accessible for the Wits community in both areas,” Mubanga said.
Mechanical engineering student Conrad Mashiloam said, “I am planning to exercise but I need to first settle into a place to stay and get control on this work load.”
Emmanual Omisakin, a second-year civil engineering student, and Che Carpede, a first-year electrical engineering student, regularly use the equipment. They said they enjoyed the facility because they could gym together.
The outdoor facility is comprised of 11 pieces of equipment involving mostly body weight exercises.
“The equipment is built from powerful, heavy gauge steel and it is designed to last in outdoor environments,” says the World Outdoor Fitness website. “It is easily installed and requires minimal maintenance.
“Combining outdoor exercise, natural light and sense stimulation has a ‘salutogenic’ effect: reducing stress and encouraging healthy and coping behaviours,” it says. Salutogenesis is an approach to health that focuses on individuals’ coping mechanisms.
Mubanga said the equipment is aimed at working the upper and lower body, with users utilising their own body weight “in a more functional way”.
Phillip Kwinda, a member of Wits’s garden maintenance staff, said he uses the equipment early in the day, between 6:15am and 6:45am. He interacts with other staff members while using the equipment at the same
The Wits Wellness Plan is in the process of finalising an outdoor gym location at the Wits Parktown Education Campus, said Mubanga
FEATURED IMAGE: The Wits outdoor fitness facility on East Campus. Photo: Anna Moross.
