Being incarcerated can be challenging in several ways — especially when it comes to staying healthy. Between a restricted diet and being confined to a small area, it can be hard for inmates to stay in shape. It’s often even more challenging for inmates to maintain their mental health.
Exercise is a key part of staying both mentally and physically healthy. Adding an outdoor gym to your facility can give inmates an opportunity to exercise regularly, allowing them to stay busy and maintain their health. Learn more about how outdoor fitness equipment from TriActive USA can help inmates at your facility.
What Outdoor Fitness Equipment Is Available?
At TriActive USA, we design and construct tons of outdoor fitness equipment. With a strong steel frame and a protective powder coating, our equipment can stand up to tough weather and corrosion. You might think your selection would be limited, but you can provide a full-circuit workout with our equipment.
We have a wide selection of cardio equipment, including recumbent bikes, stationary bikes, ellipticals, air walkers, and air striders. Some machines — like recumbent bikes and air striders — put less stress on the joints.
When it comes to strength training, we have pretty much everything you’d find in a commercial gym. You can work your legs with our leg extension and leg press machines, or get a plyometric workout with plyo boxes. We also have lat pulls, chest presses, and rowing machines for upper body strength. If you want to provide an all-in-one solution, our multi-gym is an excellent choice.
We make it easy to add an outdoor gym to your correctional institute. Any equipment we sell to correctional facilities features non-removable, tamper-resistant hardware.
Benefits of Outdoor Fitness Equipment for Inmates
An outdoor gym can be a great way to keep inmates busy and help them stay healthy. There are several benefits of using outdoor fitness equipment in correctional facilities, from physical health to socialization.
Weight Management
Weight management can be hard for inmates because they have limited options in correctional facilities. Inmates don’t have the freedom to eat a specific diet — especially if they have limited resources. On top of that, they spend a lot of downtime sitting around and not getting any exercise. An outdoor gym gives inmates a chance to stay fit with regular exercise. Some people may want to get stronger and build muscle, while others might stick to a simple cardio workout. No matter what kind of outdoor fitness equipment you provide, it’s important to give inmates a chance to stay healthy.
Strength & Physical Health
Strength and overall physical health are two of the biggest benefits of working out. Strengthening muscles makes life easier on a day-to-day basis, including basic tasks like sitting down and standing up. Working out certain muscles can also reduce the risk of injuries. For correctional institutes, reducing inmate injury risk can save a lot of valuable resources.
Reduced Stress
Being incarcerated can be one of the most stressful experiences in life. Reducing stress is one of the many benefits of exercising regularly, especially for inmates who have limited activities to choose from. Strength training can even give inmates a chance to expend some energy with high-intensity workouts. You don’t want inmates at your facility to be stressed out and tense, and our combo press and pull or accessible multi-gym is a great way to let inmates blow off some steam.
Improved Mood
Exercising is a great way to boost endorphins, which can help inmates elevate their moods. Endorphins are a natural hormone that’s secreted when you exercise, and they activate the opiate receptors in the body. Working out a few times gives inmates a chance to produce endorphins and keep their mood in check. When you combine those endorphins with better physical health and a better physique, it’s a lot easier for inmates to feel content when they have a place to work out.
Better Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep in a correctional institute isn’t easy for everyone. Unfortunately, there are a lot of obstacles that can make it tough for inmates to sleep. Exercise has been shown to improve sleep, which is a key part of your overall health. Ideally, adults should be exercising for about 150 minutes a week. If inmates aren’t staying active, they may have a tough time getting to sleep at night. Adding an outdoor gym is a great way to give inmates a chance to use up some of their energy so they can sleep well at night.
Lower Risk of Disease
Exercising regularly can lower your risk for several diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. As the manager of a correctional institute, healthy inmates make life easier. When inmates have fewer health problems, you don’t have to worry about paying for and providing as many medical services.
Keep in mind that there are several things that can increase inmates’ risk for certain diseases. When you’re in charge of a correctional facility, you’re responsible for ensuring inmates have access to the resources they need to stay healthy.
Staying Busy
Downtime can lead to a lot of problems in correctional facilities, and finding safe ways to keep inmates busy isn’t always easy. Giving inmates a chance to exercise daily gives them something to do, which means they don’t have as much free time to potentially cause trouble. A supervised outdoor gym is a place where inmates can spend 30 minutes or an hour each day blowing off some steam and socializing with each other. You can even add a basketball hoop and other activities to keep inmates busy.
Socialization
Socializing can be a challenge for some inmates, especially if they’re new to the facility. An outdoor gym gives inmates a chance to share workout tips and talk about what’s going on in the facility or the world outside. Socialization is an important part of mental health, and giving everyone a chance to socialize can reduce the risk of conflicts. Just make sure you’re supervising your outdoor gym well to prevent fights.
Creating an Outdoor Gym
Adding an outdoor gym to your correctional facility provides several benefits, but there’s a right and wrong way to do things. Here are some tips to help you start your outdoor gym.
The first thing you need to do is build a solid foundation. This foundation should be made of compacted gravel or concrete to keep equipment from tipping over or digging into the ground. You can build a fence around the outdoor gym area if you want to keep it separated. Once you’ve got your foundation, consider other security features like lights and cameras.
The next step is figuring out what kind of equipment you want to invest in. Cardio machines are great for endurance and weight loss, but you should also provide a varied selection of strength training equipment. You can view our catalog to learn more about the equipment we have available.
Build a Better Environment for Inmates With Outdoor Fitness Equipment
Being in charge of a correctional facility comes with a lot of challenges — especially when it comes to providing for inmates. An outdoor gym is an excellent way for inmates to stay mentally and physically healthy, which makes your job easier.
At TriActive USA, we offer a wide selection of outdoor fitness equipment. You can find everything you need for your outdoor gym, from multi-gyms and press and pull machines to ellipticals and benches. If you want to create a better environment that promotes physical and mental health, check out our catalog and start building your outdoor gym.