The Possibility of Implementing Outdoor Fitness Parks in Physical Education

Abstract

The importance of physical activity is now an undeniable fact. However, physical education at school struggles to provide students with the movement that the developing body needs at a suitable level and quantity. One of the new trends that is gaining ground in the field of sports is the use of outdoor gyms, which has led to the question of - although outdoor, multi-functional exercise areas have already been created in many schools - what physical educators think of this opportunity, how they see them useful, and what ideal designs would help them in their work. In this research N=231 Hungarian P.E. teachers from elementary and high school were included, who were asked to fill in a questionnaire survey. Based on results, it can be said that this infrastructure can still be considered “foreign”, but physical educators also see its implementation possibilities. It is important to point out that this space for movement must be designed according to the needs of the given age group of students, since, as it turns out from the opinions of teachers (and experts), the appropriate development can be achieved by building on different forms of movement and elements. Therefore, conclusions show a visual plan with a design proposal generally suitable for various age groups. In summary, it can be said that fitness parks are seen as a good alternative by physical educators, despite their reluctance, but a lot of information and development is still needed to include them in everyday physical education.