Let's Take This Outside
Come on! Let me see you do 10 push ups! One, two, three, yeah, the fourth one is the problem, isn't it? Winter break is over, and a lot of my friends have already started to frown when they buckle their belt. After the traditional overeating, that is after acclimatizing to winter conditions and snowy weather, spring will relentlessly knock on our doors. And believe me, few of my friends are ready for spring.
I didn't start thinking about this vicious cycle called 'preparing for summer' until I found a gym membership offer called ''Rocket Fat Burning''. They promised me a body of a Greek goddess if I gave them what appears to be half of my monthly salary. I didn't say that I don't believe in that Latin saying: Mens sana in corpore sano, but let's just say that this wasn't worth breaking my piggy bank. Contemplating about human narcissism led me to think: Hey, I live in Zagreb, there must be some affordable alternative. So, Google was my friend again.
Image credit: Lana Suša
As it turns out, Zagreb offers a pretty good deal for people who want to follow the aforementioned Latin saying without spending their savings for sweating in the gym. Not that I think that this is a bad way of spending money, because hey, you are taking care of yourself, and that is really commendable. But, looking from a student perspective, there are more affordable ways of exercising and gaining a holy grail for many of us – a perfect beach body. All of those thoughts and questions were crossing my mind while I was walking near the botanical garden in my favorite city in the world. Suddenly, as I was walking across a cute little bridge that was recently built, I felt kind of Isaac Newton-ish because a solution just 'fell on my head'.
Image credit: Lana Suša
Well, it did not literally fell on my head, but I saw a bunch of weird equipment looking like a playground and surrounded by beautiful flowers. Well, to be honest, if my life was a movie, I believe this scene would definitely earn some epic Hans Zimmer background music. I believe it is called street workout. How charming and clever this idea is for all grumpy winter bears who promise to start working out every Monday (raise your hands if you are one. I just did)! The idea is, basically, to relocate all those core strength - leg day - muscle pump - fat burning exercises from closed spaces out in the open.
Image credit: Lana Suša
To be quite frank, when I first saw this park, I thought that this was a playground, and that is the biggest beauty of it. You are literally playing outside, you are burning calories, and you know what they say: The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart. This purposeful playground intrigued me so much that I conducted a little research when I got home. As it turns out, Zagreb street workout scene is a microcosmos of its own! There are about ten parks in Zagreb where you can just chill and exercise if you feel like it. There are parks near Jarun lake, which is my absolute favorite, in the eastern parts of the town Svetice and Maksimir as well as in the very center and far out near the Sava river, in Cvjetno naselje. But this is not the outer border of Zagreb street workout microcosmos. Our capital has its own championship in it, and last year it was its fifth anniversary. The more I dug into this world, the more I was up for it.
Image credit: Lana Suša
This initiative felt like my own city cared for everyone, and it felt kind of nice having this possibility in mind, giving my favorite city another plus in the list 'Why I love Zagreb'. So dear visitors to be, one thing is for sure. Even if you don't feel like working out while visiting Zagreb, it is nice to know that you have that option and that Zagreb will never force you to do anything, and at least of all, to feel like a stranger.
Header image credit: Lana Suša
Author: Lana Suša