Outdoor Gym - Basic Accessibility Test Failure
09 Mar 2026
As I try to get myself back to running after getting a calf injury that just won't go away, I moved to the local outdoor gym to keep my fitness up and build up my strength again. Whenever I get a running injury, its the perfect replacement. Yes its all mechanical and doesn't have the advanced features of a regular gym, but I make do. No electricity being used, free to use...the benefits just scream to me its the right thing to do, the exercise is up to me.
My daughter is a real gym user and she did frown upon it so I said ok let me take you down there and show you what you can do there. Showed her the leg press, she sat on it and he legs had to be fully extended to reach the foot rest. She tried the bike...couldn't reach the pedals. Arm press? Couldn't reach the width of the handle bars.
My daughter is 27. So it became clear to me this gym was designed for men, or people who were at least 5ft 8 inches in height. There is one piece of equipment for wheelchair users that is a hand bike...that the wheelchair user would have to navigate across uneven muddy ground to get to. It's a free outdoor gym, and I'm not expert on Gym accessibility and I won't pretend to be. I gets its free and generic, but it's quite shocking that they simply didn't design it to cater for women. Anyone else have a similar experience with outdoor gyms?
My daughter is a real gym user and she did frown upon it so I said ok let me take you down there and show you what you can do there. Showed her the leg press, she sat on it and he legs had to be fully extended to reach the foot rest. She tried the bike...couldn't reach the pedals. Arm press? Couldn't reach the width of the handle bars.
My daughter is 27. So it became clear to me this gym was designed for men, or people who were at least 5ft 8 inches in height. There is one piece of equipment for wheelchair users that is a hand bike...that the wheelchair user would have to navigate across uneven muddy ground to get to. It's a free outdoor gym, and I'm not expert on Gym accessibility and I won't pretend to be. I gets its free and generic, but it's quite shocking that they simply didn't design it to cater for women. Anyone else have a similar experience with outdoor gyms?
Gary Hawkes
Head of Engineering
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Head of Engineering who came from QE. Admirer of all humans (with a special affinity for testers). I love to bring out the best in people and help them grow. I have a very tactical view of delivery and love working to find the sweet spot so that processes are a balance between effort and value. Music nut.
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Simon Tomes
Next time I spot an outdoor gym like this I shall pay more attention to the level of accessibility.
Reminds me of the podcast episode by Caroline Criado Perez about PPE not designed for women: https://observer.co.uk/listen/visible-women/morally-indefensible-ppe
In fact, you've reminded me to explore the whole series: Visible Women – How can we fix a world designed for men? https://observer.co.uk/listen/visible-women
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