Opening of the new AOK exercise area in the Olympic Park

Good news for everyone who enjoys exercising in the great outdoors and wants to do more for their health: AOK Bavaria and Olympiapark München GmbH (OMG) have opened a new exercise area in Munich's Olympic Park. The AOK exercise area is an outdoor training park featuring coordination and balance equipment. The individual equipment stations are designed in accordance with functional training concepts. The emphasis is on whole-body training. "Outdoor fitness is becoming increasingly popular. We are keen to tap into this trend with our exercise area. It offers everyone the opportunity to do something positive for their health whenever they want," says Dr Helmut Platzer, CEO of AOK Bavaria. The facility has been set up as part of the new partnership between the healthcare insurance firm and the OMG since May 2017. AOK Bavaria is Olympic Park exclusive partner in the category of healthcare insurance. "We are delighted to have the AOK as our new partner at the Olympic Park, and also that the exercise island has created a further innovative attraction for sports enthusiasts in the Olympic Park", says Marion Schöne, Managing Director of OMG. In 2016 alone, 4.1 million registered visitors attended events in the Olympic Park or used its leisure or sporting facilities. A further several million people visit the park each year, simply to enjoy a walk, a jog or practice other sport in the freely accessible grounds. The new exercise area is an additional bonus for this target group The AOK exercise area includes a total of nine pieces of fitness equipment laid out over a green space spanning 70 square metres in the centre of the Olympic Park. They include a back extension machine, a slack line, a skipping area and a Calisthenics station. "The fitness equipment allows a range of whole-body training to encourage stamina, strength and coordination", explains AOK sports expert Maximilian Zöller. In accordance with the functional training, the emphasis is on natural movement patterns. So instead of training individual muscles, entire muscle groups get a work out. "This also affects muscles that have become weakened in a large part of the population due to sedentary lifestyles", says Zöller. The exercise area is aimed at anyone who is interested, regardless of their age or fitness level. Station boards help to explain how to perform the exercises and offer training recommendations for beginners. For those who like a little instruction while they're training, there is the "Functional outdoor circuit training" AOK course that has been developed especially for the exercise area. The AOK exercise area is accessible free of charge all year round. The outdoor course is free for people insured by AOK!