25 Jan 2015

Come festive season it’s a time to enjoy, feast and be merry.  Many indulge in festive treats as they travel to different places to eat delectable delicacies. 

They do not worry about the weight pilling up hence the number one New Year’s resolution is always to trim down a few kilos. Residents of Gaborone however will be smiling to a new dress size. 

They flock the side road of Western bypass, some trimming down the festive weight while others opt for a healthier and fuller life. Just along the Western bypass highway in Gaborone one would see multitudes of gym enthusiasts burning the fat at the Block Seven Community Fitness Park.

“It is a trend in many developing cities to see outdoor gyms for the community that is why we came up with this concept.  Also because we wanted to fight obesity amongst the people of Gaborone,” mentioned the brains behind the gym Mr Leatile Sithole.

Sithole added that the outdoor gym which is a first of its kind in Botswana attracts every person living in the surrounding areas even as far as Mogoditshane and Broadhurst. It is free a gym made for the community and runs for the whole day.

Block Seven Community Fitness Park is for people to come and enjoy a free work out with their families, friends and gym buddies.  Sithole stated that they established it for an average Motswana to come and exercise, whether they afford gym or simply do not enjoy working out on their own.

Around 400 people flock the football pitch sized outdoor gym, to exercise in various social fitness groups, be it aerobics or resistance training with a bit of street workout which encompasses push ups and various free style workouts.

He added that the biggest group workout right now is the aerobics as they have many ladies who participate in it and they were blessed with four voluntary gym instructors.

Conducting the class, a volunteer also, Moses Molefhe mentioned that his aerobics classes run from 17:30pm every day and they are also free, usually a group of about 50 people participate in basic dance and stretch workout which are mostly ladies.

In addition the gym contains simple gym equipment designed for the outdoors and engineered in a way that is designed to use body weight as resistance.

To take it an extra mile the gym also introduced another volunteer instructor Sefiso Wemizi who monitors the health, weight and Body Mass Index for the participants which evaluations are done every Thursday.

“I carry a bathroom scale, and measure the weight of our participants on a weekly basis to see if we are on track, all this is done for free and to those who are interested in monitoring their weight,” added Wemizi.

Further, Sithole said that the mandate of the gym is to add a social aspect of fun and community building as it offers some social support and though it is still early to measure progress it is an empowering place for Gaborone residents.

For his part, one of the regular gym enthusiasts Keorapetse Katlholo (not his real name) mentioned that he comes from as far as Mogoditshane to work out there, because it is free and convenient and on the outdoors. 

“The gym is a place of relaxation and it helped me desist from certain social ills like drinking, and ever since I have been attending the gym I have curbed on my drinking because it gives me an opportunity to spend my energy on something constructive,” he said.

Sithole also added that as this was piloting project, it is their wish to establish many outdoor gyms all over Gaborone and in major villages around Botswana for a healthier nation, but for now, the interest lies in Gaborone where obesity levels are high.

He said that they partnered with the Ministry of Sports Youth and Culture, National Development Bank and Symphony Health and they are also planning to conduct seminars at the gym and workshops inviting physicians, dieticians and other health practitioners. ENDS