City of Brewer teams up with Machias Savings on free outdoor gym
Courtesy / City of Brewer
The city of Brewer recently opened an outdoor fitness park for the public with equipment financed in part by Machias Savings Bank.
As fitness clubs and gyms pummeled by the pandemic seek to get back on their feet, the city of Brewer is offering a free outdoor option to local residents.
Located on the waterfront in Veteran's Park at the corner of Center and Penobscot streets, the new facility was officially opened at a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony last week.
The open-air gym features equipment designed to appeal to both adults and teens for a variety of workouts from aerobic fitness to muscle development and core strength.
D'arcy Main-Boyington, Brewer economic development director, told Mainebiz that the equipment, purchased from GameTime, cost around $55,000 and was installed by CMG Construction Inc., of Bangor.
She also said the city received a donation from Machias Savings Bank that covered half of the equipment cost.
The outdoor gym can accommodate up to 20 users at a time.
“Users unsure how to use the equipment will be able to scan a QR code off a sign located next to the equipment in order to get specific instructions for each station and sample workouts," according to Renee Doble, Brewer's deputy director of economic development. “We hope this will help folks feel more comfortable getting started with the equipment.”
Dean Clark, a Machias Savings Bank senior vice president, said, “We understand that this partnership with the city of Brewer helps promote healthy lifestyles which goes hand in hand with the growth and prosperity of a community. We are very pleased to partner with the city of Brewer on such an impactful community project.”
The launch of the gym comes amid outdoor recreation's growing popularity. That's reflected in various studies such as the 2021 Outdoor Participation Trends Report, by the Boulder, Colo.-based Outdoor Foundation. The study found that 53% of American age 6 and older participated in outdoor recreation in 2020, the highest participation rate on record.
But researchers also pointed to challenges for the outdoor industry, in terms of retaining people who changed their exercise habits during COVID and stagnant female participation in outdoor activities.
"Despite this, there exists incredible opportunity," the study reported. "The outdoor industry and its partners are positioned to champion new ways to engage outdoor participants and invest in making the outdoors accessible and welcoming to all Americans."
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