I have an acquaintance (formerly a professional athlete) who gets very abusive when I or someone else says, "I'm going to do sports!" "What you're going to do is not a sport! It's PE!" - he says. And he's undoubtedly right.
I never plan a serious, constant, daily exhausting training session. I like to exercise only as long as I get pleasure from movement, the joy of motor activity. It's not like a professional sport at all, it's a physical exercise or a game!
There are many opportunities for such exercises in our city. I will show you some of them. The first theme for the story that comes to mind is bicycles and scooters. This is the easiest and most popular. You can ride your own bike or you can rent a bike. There are plenty of parking lots where you can rent a bicycle or scooter through a mobile app.
There is another easy way to get some exercise. You can go to one of the street playgrounds with fitness equipment. These sites are located in courtyards, the use of fitness equipment is free (funding comes from the municipal budget).
I took a picture of one of these sports fields. I was taking pictures from a distance, the teenagers were exercising on the machines, and I didn't want to disturb them. Two of the machines were vacant, so I took a close-up picture of them.
The aisle to the sports field is decorated with pictures: on the left wall there is a cat and on the right wall there is a heart. In addition to the sites with exercise machines in the yards and in the city gardens, there are sports grounds for ball games: soccer, volleyball, streetball.
Another way to be physically active is to rent sports equipment. One day I was walking along the embankment of the Karpovka River and noticed a site with kayaks.
It was late fall and the season was ending, but several boats were still on the water and you could rent them for a boat trip. In recent years the popularity of boats is not very high, but SUP have become very popular. A morning walk on a SUP is a wonderful sport and recreation!
You don't have to exercise on the street, you can go to one of the sports centers or specialized gyms. While walking along the embankment of the Karpovka River I met another interesting sports facility. It is a gym called "antifitness". This gym offers everyone to work out without pathos and glamor.
Nearby is another interesting building with gyms. It used to be the site of a gas plant. The former production facilities have changed their purpose, and in the old workshops you can now do sports or dance.
This is my entry for the Introduce Your City Community (IYC) Contest #2 - Sports. Introduce Your City is a new community that just recently appeared on the Hive. I find the theme of the community very interesting. I wish the community success and prosperity!
Nice walk through your city (is it Saint Petersburg?)
How expensive is the renting of scooters or boats?
Thanks for sharing
scooter about $2,5 per hour; electric scooter about $7 per hour; SUP about $20 per day.
Yes, it's St. Petersburg! Thank you:)
I looked up the Karpovka River and thought as much :o). But I didn't know if it's ok with you to mention the city.
I usually write the name of the city at the end of the post so readers don't get geographical confusion, but this time I forgot. Yes, it's St. Petersburg, Russia.
Hi tatdt,
PE is physical education in the school system, when I'm not mistaken, right? Your friend is probably right. Most of us do sports for fun and don't want to get sweaty while doing it :o). And professional athletes or former ones have a completely different perspective on sports. It is or was their profession with which they earned their living. It is understandable.
I see calisthenic parks popping up everywhere. We have a couple dozens in Hannover as well and I think it is prevalent in every German city.
I would have loved to take a peak into the antifitness facility. The name alone makes me curious.
Thank you so much for your great entry, tatdt. We would love to read and see more of your city in our community and your experiences.
Have a great weekend.
You are absolutely right, PE is physical education. My friend means any uncomplicated exercises or games. I hope to continue to talk about my city, I'm sure there will be many interesting topics. Thank you so much for the new community and this contest!