Quagga Shopping Centre in Pretoria West (on Friday, 25th October 2019) has just now opened the first shopping centre outdoor community gym in the country.
MEC for Sports Arts, Culture & Recreation, Mbali Hlophe, who cut the ribbon at the facility, said this provided an important opportunity for cash strapped consumers to take time out to keep fit and improve their health. Now, a good work out was no longer confined to a closed gym with membership fees that sometimes equated to nearly a third of an average household’s income.
“Often going to a gym can be quite an expensive experience. This exciting facility gives people an opportunity to use equipment in a public space and it doesn’t cost them much,” Hlophe said.
Those wishing to use the gym – which is located in the Quagga Shopping Centre upper deck parking lot – pay just R5 per session and are able to go to gym as and when they can afford to rather than being locked into expensive gym contracts.
The gym marks a R1 million investment by the shopping center’s landlord Emira Property Fund.
The plan to build this gym sparked the interest of the Department of Sports Arts, Culture & Recreation which also invested in the project and has promised to bring their best fitness professionals to host classes and activities at the gym.
Siphelele Sokhela, marketing manager for the Quagga Shopping Centre, said that the rationale behind this investment was to make a visit to the Quagga Shopping Centre more than just a shopping experience and to provide a constructive way for members of their local community to benefit by keeping fit and healthy. We believe we are the community’s friend and “Chommies that TRAIN together STAY together”
According to the World Health Organisation, South Africa has one of the highest rates of obesity in Africa due to poverty and the ready availability of cheap but unhealthy fast foods.
This, too, is a contributor to cardiovascular disease which, according to the Heart Foundation, is the second largest cause of death after HIV / AIDS and accounts for 80% of premature deaths (before the age of 60).
But this new outdoor gym is not just about healthcare – it is also about making fitness fun and about seeing the somewhat clichéd adage that a healthy body means a healthy mind become a reality amongst the Quagga Centre’s neighbours.
The eye catching colorful equipment, supplied by World Outdoor Fitness SA, a leading provider of outdoor fitness equipment to the public and private sectors, the equipment at the Quagga Shopping Centre outdoor gym is made from robust, weatherproof material and can withstand rain, sun and cold.
Equipment includes a spinning bike, stepper and waist twister, three triple air walkers, an Elliptical cross trainer, a four seat leg press butterfly, a chest press pendulum, sky ladders, a leg extension unit, a 30kg weights machine, a rowing machine, parallel bars, a balance beam, push up bars and more.
Equipment for disabled community members include two disability pull up machines, a paraplegic butterfly trainer / chest press, a paraplegic push and / or pull chair combo, a Tai Tji grind and a disabled shoulder press.
The equipment is surrounded by artificial lawn supplied by Top Carpets Moraleta Park, can be adjusted to suit people of all ages and fitness levels, making it an ideal way for families as well as community groups and even gatherings of friends to enjoy time out exercising together
For more information contact 012 327 2295