Outdoor Fitness Court at UC Davis Health
A new outdoor Fitness Court® at the Sacramento campus is now open for all to use individually or to join an instructor-led fitness class.
Introduction:
In various assessments of the health and well-being needs of the UC Davis community, "free fitness opportunities" is one of the most popular responses. Healthy UC Davis and its UC Davis partners aim to install a National Fitness Campaign Outdoor Fitness Court adjacent to the Vanderhoef Commons lawn at the Sacramento campus. A grand opening celebration was held on April 25, 2023.
The outdoor Fitness Court is a project of the National Fitness Campaign (NFC). The NFC is a San Francisco based social enterprise and consulting firm, with a mission to bring a free outdoor fitness court within a 10-minute bike ride of every American, which is well-aligned with the strategic priorities of Healthy UC Davis related to health and well-being and the built environment.
Various UC Davis partners including Campus Planning, Facilities Design and Construction, and UC Living Fit Forever, have been instrumental in the planning and construction of the court. With such partnership and collaboration, the construction of the court broke ground in summer of 2022 after a multi-year journey to bring the fitness court to the Sacramento that began in 2018.
Outcomes:
The main outcome of this project is to offer a free and publicly available outdoor gym for personal or group exercise, increasing access to physical activity for everyone. Staff, academics and students at the Sacramento campus may access this court before, during and after their work and school day to promote and support their physical health. Additionally, the UC Living Fit Forever program, a wellness and fitness program based at UC Davis Health, will offer weekly instructor-led classes featuring the court.
Opportunities for Involvement:
Ongoing Opportunities:
Free instructor-led classes are offered weekly by the UC Living Fit Forever program. These classes will cover and utilize the built-in features and circuits. Interested members of the UC Davis community can also use the court at their leisure, pending no conflicts with existing classes. Information on the court's features and suggested workouts can be found on the National Fitness Campaign webpage.
The Fitness Court App can be downloaded to act as a digital coach-in-your-pocket transforming the outdoor gym into a digitally supported wellness experience. The Fitness Court App can be downloaded on iOS and Android.
To join a class, email UC Living Fit Forever at hs-uclivingfitforever@ucdavis.edu.
Recent Milestones:
The construction of the court broke ground in summer of 2022, and was completed in April 2023.
UC Living Fit Forever instructors successfully completed the NFC training to become official Fitness Court Training Ambassadors.
A grand opening celebration and health and wellness fair was held on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Gunrock, the UC Davis mascot, made a special appearance. Community members were invited to participate in one of three instructor-led 7-minute circuits. Adjacent to the court, more than 20 UC Davis health and well-being partners were present, sharing their invaluable resources and giveaways.
Project Leads:
Stacey Brezing
Director of Staff and Faculty Health and Well-being
Occupational Health Services
sbrezing@ucdavis.edu
Janel Scott
Wellness Program Manager
UC Living Fit Forever
jascott@ucdavis.edu