TGO Case Study: Green Energy Gym - Barbara Robson Park, Hull

Hull City Council pioneering a green

fitness revolution

Community and council interviews about pilot sites in Hull

A concept attracting worldwide attention

A Green energy gym is a British concept invented by The Great Outdoor Company. It is a free to use outdoor gym that converts calories into Watts. Special technology within the fitness equipment harnesses human energy and stores it for lighting, mobile phone charging or grid tie.

In 2012, Hull City Council was the first council in the world to pioneer this concept.

The concept has attracted worldwide attention including CNN and the world’s leading travel community website WAYN. The concept has attracted other councils including visitors from Hungary, Mexico, Portugal and Denmark looking to replicate the idea in their country.

A second gym was opened in Barbara Robson Park in January 2014 and the third is planned for West Park.

The ‘Hull’ world loves it

Councillor Gerraghty on CNN international

“Best in the world”Shaw Park Gym was rated No2 outdoor gym in the world after California’s Muscle Beach by the fastest-growing travel and lifestyle social networking community website in the world, with 22 million members

Karl Turner, Labour MP for Kingston Upon Hull East

I’m honoured to be opening the Green Gym today, a sporting facility in Sutton village where I was born and bred. The park is a few minutes away from where I used to live when I was kid. If this had been available then, I’d certainly have been using it. It’s a fantastic thing.

On the back of the Olympics as well, this is about the legacy of the Olympics, building on that, encouraging sport and good health. It’s a great facility for people of Sutton village and East Hull.

The gym in Barbara Robson park offers mobile phone charging facilities powered by human energy!

The surplus energy generated is used to power LED flood lighting for the gym and MUGA.

Barbara Robson Park, Sutton, Hull launched in January 2014 was opened by Karl Turner, Labour MP

“We think the gym is great. The bikes and the cross trainer. And we use the sit up bench to work on our abs!”

“I go to the gym a lot at my school, I think things like this in the environment will help bring people from the community.”

“And when we hang out with our friends in the seating area, it’s great because we can do a bit of a work out at the same time.”

Lean, green, teens adopt it as their ownThe gym offers teenage girls a way to keep fit and socialise.

Shannon (14), Courtney (14) and Chloe (15) were interviewed about the

Barbara Robson facility.

Councillor Rosie Nicola, Portfolio Holder for Learning Skills and Equalities, Hull City Council opened the Sutton Green Energy gym with Winifred Holtby School and endorsed the innovative approach to being green and active.

“From my perspective, this kind of project is incredible. For the whole community, it’s raising the idea that it’s easy and free to take exercise. I just love the idea that you can comply with doctors’ advice to exercise – and we’re all being told this, these days – and literally, that energy be used for something else, something constructive, not just to make you feel hot!

Endorsement for educational benefits

Just the idea of building something like this, where the energy that is expended is utilised to power lighting and mobile phone recharging – it’s amazing.

It never occurred to me it would happen – it’s like science fiction come true.

And yet, when you think about, why not capture that energy? It’s terrific.”

Luke, 16, Winifred Holtby student

The gym’s got quite a few different pieces of equipment. There’s a good range, so you can work on different aspects of fitness. With it being outdoors, it’s more of a community area too. I come after school and at weekends.

It gives you a good workout. It’s like the indoor gym but with it being outside you can come and get fit and talk to lots of different people. You can also try out different techniques at the gym that other people have shown you here.

It’s clever how some of the gym equipment generates electricity. That’s not something you get in ordinary gyms. It’s a unique thing.

Richie (41) and Ben (8), father and son were interviewed on the gym one night whilst using it. They talked about how they have used the gym since its opening to get more active and shed some pounds.

“I’m Richie and I come to the gym with my 8 year old son, Ben. His Mum works away, she works on the ferries, so I have Ben every two weeks.

We come for a walk every night. We go on the gym. Ben goes on the bikes and the leg press. We’ve been here when it’s been raining. I’ve wiped the frost off some days, all that. We love it. I don’t like him playing computer games and all that. It’s all about getting fresh air and exercise, that’s the way I look at it. It’s great.

Father and son improve health on green energy gym

When I have my son, I live at my parents because my house is on a main busy street where there’s nothing to do for the kids. So when I’ve got Ben every fortnight, we come out every night on push bikes, or walking, then we come in the gym and on football pitch, then we walk down the track back home.

The gym equipment is really simple, that’s what I like about it. It’s easy to use, there are no free weights and you can charge your phone up. Ben was on there the other day. It was a freezing cold night, he had an ice pop in his mouth, his coat and jumper were off, his gloves were off – and he took the charging game all the way to the top of the display.

Then I had to go on the spinning bike and I got the game to the top as well. Well, I’d been laying bricks all day, walking Ben, then having to cycle. I nearly crawled home, never mind walking! Look, he’s on the leg press now. He thoroughly loves it!

The gym’s great. It’s an opportunity for the kids to come out. The fact that it pow-ers itself as well, from a safety point of view, you quite often get kids whose par-ents are concerned because their phones are dead, so they can come here and charge them up, keep in contact.

It’s great for them to be able to come out and use it. The fact that it can power the lights for the football as well, it’ll keep them busy and out of trouble and make our job easier with a bit of luck.

A lot of kids, if there’s nothing in the area for them to do, all they can do is loi-ter and hang around. So the fact they’ve got a focal point, they can come down here, we can leave them to it. They can socialise with their friends here. It’s good. They’re not causing us or the residents any issues in the area. It helps all the community.

I’ll be honest, I have sneakily gone on the gym when no-one else is around. One or two of us at the station have sneaked on and had a go.

There are other outdoor gyms dotted around the city too. I think it’s a positive thing.

Mobile phone charging keeps us safePC Jason Pellat from Bransholme police station talks about how the gym’s mobile phone charging facility helps keep young people connected with their families.

Reverend David Clune praises the gym

David Clune, Vicar of Sutton demonstrates that this is for the whole community

I think it’s absolutely wonderful, I really do. It is inspirational to be honest. I saw them start building it but I didn’t know it was going to be as good as this.

It’s bright and welcoming, this gym, and all the equipment is user-friendly. The position of the gym is a brilliant place in the park.

I’ve just found out today that the equipment generates power for the lights on the gym and the games area, and that energy gets stored in a battery – that’s a bonus, that really is!

Divided by food, united by fitnessRival fish and chip shop owners workout together on the gym

“ I use the Green Energy Gym with my friend. We go walking then we use the gym to do cardio on the bikes and we do the weights on the other exercise machines.

My friend works at another chip shop near B&Q and we meet up outside of work to go to the gym. We both want to stay fit and healthy without having to pay any money.

My main goal is to lose weight but I also want to be fit and healthy, so that I can go for a big long walk and not be out of breath.

It’s really good how you can generate the electricity. Originally, we were using the one in East Park but this is closer for me and I like how it’s really bright and lights up. And the equipment gives you a good workout.”

Fitness trainer “rates” the equipmentBilly Hughes, Trainer from Park Training Initiative, was interviewed about the gym and this is what he said,

“I really am impressed with the equipment.

For one, it generates power. You get to see the flashing lights as you work out, and you can also charge your phone up, which will get more kids doing it. And the resistance it’s got built in, this equipment is really good stuff.

There are 14 bits of kit here that can give you a really full work out.

You can come each week: time it, measure it, record it. You can stick your headphones in and enjoy the outdoors. And when the weather gets good, it’ll get even better. I really do rate the equipment.

It’s a full body workout – there’s a million and one routines I could do here to get people going straight away. 100%, I know I’ll be using it with my park training.

And it’s in a great park too – so people can do a run around the park and then use the pieces of gym equipment.”

Councillor Gardiner’s green visionCouncillor Alan Gardiner explains his take on the gym:

“I heard about the concept of the Green Gym but actually seeing it in action today – and the interest it generated, nearly as much as the power it generated today – I really enjoyed it! We need more of them.

The equipment is so easy to use. You can actually see an outcome when you’re using the energy equipment. You can see what power you’re generating, that is going into the battery and the lighting. It really is something to behold.

I think it’s an incentive to use the outdoor gym. Rather than an ordinary piece of equipment, here you can see an outcome, some value from what you’ve done. That’ll make youngsters appreciate a lot more and look after it.”