Committed to fitness

Who needs a gym membership if you live near the Clovis Old Town Trail?

The 15-year-old 4.6-mile tree-lined path along Clovis Avenue provides a haven for hundreds of thousands of runners, walkers and cyclists each year. Now those trail users can add some strength and balance training to their regimen.

Ten pieces of equipment — from balance boards to chest presses — have been installed in five exercise stations along the trail between Gettysburg and Santa Ana avenues. The fitness machines are even wheelchair accessible and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.

Old Town Trail Fitness Park was made possible by a $40,000 Kaiser Permanente Fresno grant, which covered the purchase and installation of the equipment.

Mayor Nathan Magsig and other city officials unveiled the new structures last week.

“I’m amazed that we were approved for this grant in early 2015, and in a matter of months it’s completed,” Magsig said, commending the city’s planning and engineering departments’ staff for their efficiency. “The City of Clovis is committed to fitness and Kaiser Permanente as a hospital is committed to fitness and making sure people have the best quality of life possible.”

Dr. Smita Rouillard, Kaiser Permanente Fresno’s physician-in-chief, urged Central Valley residents to fight heart disease by using the free exercise stations.

“The way to avoid becoming a statistic is to become very active,” she said. “We hope that the individuals of this community come and take advantage of this trail and become active so that they won’t become a statistic.”

The equipment’s layout provides the user with the same aerobic progression — warming up the muscles gradually before reaching the peak intensity station and then cooling down — no matter which end of the trail they begin.

“The exercises typically use the individual’s own body weight on this trail for resistance, and allow the individual to go at their own pace,” Magsig said.

Station 1 works the core with a captain’s chair and a plyo box, which can be used for dips, step-ups, push-ups and balancing. Station 2, including a leg press and chest press, increase muscle development for the lower and upper body.

Station 3 includes an upright cycle and hand cycle to increase cardiovascular activity, while Station 4 can be used by four people at a time for pull-ups and push-ups for total-body fitness. Station 5 promotes stability and flexibility with the use of a balance board and balance plank.

GameTime is the manufacturer of not only the fitness equipment used on the trail, but also of the playground equipment seen throughout Clovis, officials said.

“(The trail setup) is one-of-a-kind,” Magsig said. “The trail between Gettysburg and Santa Ana has been designated as a national demonstration site by GameTime, as an example of how communities can encourage healthy living.”

Half a million people use the Clovis Old Town Trail annually, said Mark Keppler, Clovis Community Foundation board chairman.

“We need these kinds of amenities to attract more users,” he said. “We want the northern part of the trail to be the same as the southern part — it should be consistently nice throughout the Old Town Trail... (The trail) is a signature amenity in Clovis.”

Lights are set to be installed near the equipment for use at all hours, Keppler said, thanks to a Clovis Community Foundation donation.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Committed to fitness."