Outdoor fitness tracks provide a retro-cool route to strength and endurance

By Mike Grudowski

Cory Sorensen

Too bad, because the course's low-tech calisthenic stations and mile and a half of track were refreshingly free of the sensory static that health clubs specialize in. No banks of nattering televisions, no waiting for some Spandexed troglodyte to finish grunting out his supersets so you could squeeze in a few reps. Instead, here was a strikingly simple, nostalgic alternative: free, convenient, and, best of all, outdoors—that much closer to the cycling, hiking, paddling, and climbing I was conditioning for in the first place.