What's New

News Release

May 1, 2005

FITNESS TRAIL INSPIRES RENEWED COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY WELLNESS

An exciting addition to Brooke Grove Retirement Village’s (BGRV) ongoing wellness program arrives this month with the installation of LifeTrail stations along the fitness trail at independent living. Winding through scenic meadows and outer fringes of deciduous forest, the fitness trail will provide a recreational way to promote physical fitness in natural surroundings. Planned expressly for active older adults, the trail will incorporate a series of exercise stations along a loop trail of about a half-mile in length.

Playworld Systems, an internationally recognized leader in the creation of recreation equipment, developed LifeTrail with gerontology, kinesiology and recreation experts from Penn State University. Brooke Grove Retirement Village's LifeTrail is the first to be installed in Maryland.

The fitness trail encircling BGRV’s independent living community has been a popular exercise route for some time. This month, the trail will be enhanced with five, state-of-the-art, LifeTrail exercise stations specially designed by experts at Playworld Systems. These are the first LifeTrail stations to be installed in the state of Maryland.

The LifeTrail philosophy is simple: adding “carefully researched upper and lower body exercises to a typical outdoor walking regimen, while providing opportunities for social interaction.” The initial five stations will be installed on wheelchair-accessible surfaces alongside the trail and will include instructional panels outlining specific exercises in the following areas: upper body warm-up, standing push-up, forearm rolls, upper body stretch and strengthening, and balance. The fitness trail and new LifeTrail equipment will be open for use by all BGRV residents and staff members.

As BGRV continues to grow, the fitness trail and number of LifeTrail stations will grow as well, allowing individuals in residence to connect with their new neighbors while achieving their goals of personal wellness.

In the light of future vision, the fitness trail emerges as not merely an avenue of fitness and recreation, but also as a pathway to interpersonal connectedness. As Executive Director of Independent Living Eileen Alexander puts it, “The fitness trail will eventually branch out across campus and be the paved link between all of our homes. I like to think of the trail eventually being somewhat of a ‘village well’ where folks run into one another, where the talk of the town is shared, and where campus-wide connections are made between residents and staff.”

When multi-exercise walking trails became popular in Switzerland in the 1960s, they were known as parcours: the French word meaning journey. How fitting to see BGRV’s newest project as so much more than an innovative fitness concept. Winding amidst the blessings of nature, the fitness trail invites residents and staff to embark on a journey toward mental, physical and spiritual well-being.

LifeTrail™ - ©2005 Playworld Systems®, Inc.
LifeTrail™ is a brand of Playworld Systems®, Inc.