Surprising findings: Pumped-Up Providence: Your brain isn’t the only muscle you can strengthen in Providence, Rhode Island. This major college town topped our ranking of the Best Cities for Street Workouts.
What pulled Providence up to the top? The city finished sixth in Access (to street workout parks and playgrounds and equipment variety).
More impressive is the quality of these facilities: Providence ranked No. 2 overall in this category, with one of the highest walk scores (No. 6) and calisthenics fanatics who rated the city’s street workout parks an average of 3.6 out of 4 stars (the fourth highest among the cities in our ranking). Big Cities = Big Muscles: The U.S. street workout movement first took hold in New York City (No. 5 overall) over a decade ago, but it quickly spread to other big cities that cultivated a rep as popular hubs for the sport. Unsurprisingly, these cities all made the top 15, namely Chicago (No. 9), Miami (No. 11), and Washington, D.C. (No. 14).
Other large metros that could grow into the next street workout capitals: Las Vegas (No. 2), San Francisco (No. 3), Honolulu (No. 8), and Seattle (No. 18).
There’s no discernible pattern among these cities, though — each has its own strengths. Sin City, for instance, claimed the No. 1 spot for Access but ranked No. 49 for Quality and No. 77 for Climate. The Big Pineapple, on the other hand, ranked 30th for Access, 12th for Quality, and first for Climate. Then there are cities like San Francisco that performed well across the board: 15-4-5, respectively.
Regardless of how they ranked in each category, big cities — especially the street workout pioneers — clearly have a leg up on the competition. A Low Bar in California and Arizona: California cities Bakersfield (No. 134) and Santa Clarita (No. 133) occupy the last two spots in our ranking, while Fontana ranked sixth worst overall. These results seem ironic when you consider the fact that these cities all surround Los Angeles (No. 40), one of the trailblazing U.S. cities in the modern street workout movement.
But these LA suburbs aren’t the only strong contenders for the “Worst Cities for Street Workouts'' title. Some of Arizona’s biggest cities are down there, too. In fact, four of the seven Grand Canyon State cities in our ranking all landed in the bottom 10, including Chandler at No. 127, Scottsdale at No. 128, Glendale at No. 131, followed by Phoenix in 132nd place.
If you find yourself in one of these weak links, you’re better off parkouring your way to the nearest best city for street workouts — or getting a gym membership.
The full ranking and analysis can be found here: https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-calisthenics-street-workouts/
In the meantime, start warming up for your street workout — soon you’ll be doing human flagpoles just like calisthenics fanatic Zac Efron. You can learn more in this interview. 1. Why can street workouts be a good part of a fitness routine?
Street workouts are a different form of weight and cardio training. You work very different muscles, which helps you build and grow those muscles. When you do the same routine all the time in the gym, you will stop seeing results. But with street workouts, you can change it up every day so you are constantly shocking our body and muscles, helping them grow.
Doing street workouts also doesn’t take a lot of equipment. All you have to do is find a park, playground or any area with equipment to do resistance training. It is a very affordable way to work out.
You get to be outdoors and enjoy fresh air and beautiful scenery. Being outside and getting vitamin D always helps clear your head, increases your energy and helps you focus the rest of the day. It helps mind, body, and spirit.
And it's a great way to work out with friends or family. You can make it part of your family time and bring your kids along because street workouts are great for people of all ages. It encourages children to get some fun outdoor exercise.
2. How were these places chosen?
There were 134 cities ranked and we based the ratings on three main categories: Access, Quality and Climate. Some of the metrics included the number of workout parks, number of playgrounds, equipment availability, walk scores, air quality, average monthly rainfall, average number of days of sunshine, and average number of hot and cold days.
3. If someone's location isn't highly rated, what are some ways they can improve their area, even on a smaller scale?
It's hard to change the metrics related to Climate because that is really based in the city and region of the country. The biggest improvement any city can make is related to Access. If a city can increase the number of street workout parks, playgrounds and variety of equipment, they can improve their area. All of those are great improvements for communities and will help increase the health and wellness of the residents who live there. |
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