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10 tips for starting and keeping a walking routine!

Tip 5

Stretching and muscle-building with fitness equipment

How about stopping at a park while you are walking? We would recommend parks that have fitness equipment. Fitness equipment is designed primarily for easy and accessible health and fitness activities. You can stretch, press acupressure points, and strengthen muscles at any time of the day, for example in the midst of a walk. Using these equipment is an easy way to add light exercise to your walking routine. Here are some informations about fitness equipment and their effects.

< Hanging bar >

Grab the upper bar with both hands, and let your body hang or bend your legs.
You can stretch your muscles in the abdomen and back.

< Back-stretching bench >

Sit toward the back of the bench, then arch your back to stretch it.
You can help make the upper body more flexible and prevent lower back pain.

< Forward bend >

Bend your torso forward, deeply, to stretch all of your back muscles. You can use the measurements on the equipment to challenge yourself to gradually reaching further.

< Waist twist >

This is a body-twisting stretch. Sit down and put your feet on the footrest. Hold the handles to support your upper body, then slowly twist to the left and right to stretch muscles in the lower back.

< Sit-up bench >

Lie down on the bench face-up with your legs bent and your feet hooked under the bar. This allows a good posture appropriate for sit-ups.

< Balance beam >

This helps train your balance. Walking on a balance beam stimulates and helps maintain your sense of balance.

The types and forms of fitness equipment differ by parks, so be sure to carefully read the instructions and caution points for each apparatus, and use according to your goals.

* Partially re-edited content from the By healthy playground equipment and walking health promotion map (eastern version and western version) (made by Katsushika City).
See here for a walking map of Katsushika City.

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