Usage Patterns, Exercise Motives, and Perceived Benefits and Limitations of Outdoor Gyms: A Case from a Provincial City in South Poland

Installing outdoor gyms (OGs) has become popular in many countries worldwide. To date, data about the perceptions and behaviours of its users are still being determined. Therefore, this study aimed to determine who and how uses the facilities and how their users perceive them. The sample comprised 1,036 exercisers aged 44.1±16.1 years. For over 85% of users, OGs are the facilities where they follow their planned exercise programme, with 56.2% declaring exercising solely there. The main perceived advantages of OGs are free-to-access (42.6%) and outdoor location (40.4%), while disadvantages are dependence on the season (57.2%) and the technical condition of devices (24.9%). The predominant motive for using OGs is to maintain and improve their health (38.6%) and stay fit (27.9%). OGs are an essential alternative to indoor gyms in situations of limited availability under pandemic conditions. For many people, they are even the only place to exercise.