Multiple research studies over the years have confirmed the value of outdoor exercise. In 2010, researchers in the United Kingdom analyzed evidence from 1,250 people in 10 studies and found fast improvements in mood and self-esteem, according to a BBC news report. As little as five minutes of exercise in a park can boost mental health, according to those researchers. A separate study in 2011 found that outdoor exercise was associated with greater decreases in tension, confusion, anger, and depression when compared to indoor activity, according to Science News.

A Special Note to Readers: We hope that you will find this story as interesting to read as it was to prepare. Owing to the Shelter-in-Place directive currently in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Hacienda's new parcourse stations are temporarily closed to the public. However, we hope that this story will pique your interest enough to try them out once the order is lifted.

Pleasanton's warm and sunny weather makes it ideal for outdoor exercise and recreation. Hacienda's developers understood the benefits of the great outdoors in a location with an annual average of 300-plus days of sunshine. They made sure to include an 18-station parcourse when the development opened in 1982. Typically a parcourse, or outdoor fitness trail, features a number of stations with exercise equipment, instructions, and illustrations to guide exercisers through a full-body workout, according to Outside magazine.

A recent makeover with new equipment means there are more reasons than ever to try out the Hacienda parcourse. "A lot of people like to work out, and the equipment provides some basic exercises," says Barry King, General Manager of Outdoor Fitness, the company that manufactured the new fitness equipment now installed at Hacienda. "Not everyone wants to workout indoors. People are more conscious of their health and activities than they have ever been."

Exercise Opportunities Galore

The original parcourse stations at Hacienda offered opportunities for a variety of exercises. Those exercises included places to do an achilles stretch, sit and reach, hamstring stretch, knee lift, trunk stretch, log hop, step up, body curl, chin ups, sit ups, and push ups. The newly installed parcourse equipment allows for many of those exercises and includes a back extension machine, a double chest press machine that allows two users to exercise at the same time, an exercise bike, a hip twister installation, a double ski walker machine, strength and stretch bars, a leg press machine that supports three users, push-up bars, a rowing machine, and additional exercise equipment.

Parcourses "lend themselves well to preparing for the multihued palette of summer sport: a 10K here, a climb there, a mountain-biking overnighter in the foothills, a sea-kayak voyage sometime before Labor Day," according to Outside. "Core calisthenics build ligament strength, help shorten reaction time, and improve balance. And given their alfresco setting, they can also combat the mind-numbing monotony and confusion-inducing machinery of indoor strength training."

Moreover, "the beauty of the parcourse is that with such basic equipment you can shake up your routine into countless permutations," notes Outside. It suggests working out at the odd-numbered stations on odd calendar days, and even stations on even days. "For added power, incorporate plyometric bounding and jumping drills to build explosive leaping ability," it recommends.

Based on the most recent science, explosive leaping ability is not a requirement for better health, however. Even a brisk walk from station to station can bring health benefits. Aerobic training of moderate intensity improved participants' mood for up to 12 hours after exercise, according to researchers at the University of Vermont. "This goes a long way to show that even moderate aerobic exercise has the potential to mitigate the daily stress that results in your mood being disturbed," Dr. Jeremy Sibold told Inc.com.

A European Invention

Perhaps surprisingly, the world's first outdoor fitness trail opened a mere 52 years ago in Zurich, Switzerland. A men's gymnastics club came up with the idea after training in a local forest using tree stumps and logs. The group asked the community for permission to build a permanent fitness trail because forest workers kept clearing the paths the group created for training. The community agreed and an insurance company, then called Vita, decided to sponsor the original parcourse and many more, which is how these trails became known as Vita Parcours in Europe and, eventually, as parcourses in the United States.

The first parcourse in the United States was built in 1973 by Bay Area real estate developer and parcourse enthusiast Peter Stocker, who had seen similar installations in Europe. He bolted the first US parcourse exercise stations together in San Francisco's Mountain Lake Park and marked the stations with hand-routed wooden signs, according to the Friends of Mountain Lake Park. That parcourse still exists today.

At Hacienda, the first station of the parcourse loop is located just south of Stoneridge Drive on Hacienda Drive. Stations 2 through 5 following Hacienda to Gibraltar Drive South. Stations 6 and 7 are located to the west of Hacienda Drive, on West Las Positas Boulevard. Stations 8 through 11 are located north of West Las Positas Boulevard on Willow Road. Stations 12 through 14 are located north of Stoneridge Drive and south of Gibraltar Drive North, just west of the path between those two streets. Stations 15 and 16 are just east of Willow Road on Gibraltar Drive North, and Stations 17 and 18 complete the 2.3 mile parcourse on Hacienda Drive south of Gibraltar.

"The idea of doing a fully balanced workout in the fresh air on a circuit that takes about 30 to 45 minutes to complete sounds almost too good to be true," according to Friends of Mountain Lake Park. But it is true. And at Hacienda, the reality is that owners, tenants, and residents have the benefit of a freshly upgraded free, accessible, and health-promoting exercise circuit at their convenience.

For more information about the recreational amenities at Hacienda, please visit www.hacienda.org/amenities-employees-residents/recreation.