Photo credit: Inform.kz
ASTANA – Fitness Park Astana, featuring popular exercises in the capital’s Central Park, is the place to be every Sunday from 10 a.m-1 p.m. The open air event includes cross-fit, yoga, combat battle, cardio-zone and Zumba guided by qualified fitness trainers, with interest in yoga continuing to increase among residents.
“We choose five exercises that are currently in trend every Sunday for all fans, from infants to adults. We want Central Park to become the centre of attraction, not only cultural but sports events, too,” said the city’s culture department head Bolat Mazhagulov, who exercises with cross-fit and jiu-jitsu, wrote Tengrinews agency.
Traditional warm up exercises are conducted for all participants prior to everyone selecting his or her sport. The workouts will continue until the end of summer.
“We invite everyone. Nothing is better than a healthy lifestyle, because one is able to buy everything, do everything, but one can never buy health. It is necessary to take care of your health from an early age,” added Mazhagulov, according to the news agency.
Fitness Park Astana will feature leading companies in the nutrition and diet field, with popular Kazakh singers performing for the participants. Varied cultural and sports programmes will be initiated in all city parks and squares in the coming summer season.
“I suspect I will be coming here every week, because it’s fun and much more pleasant for any person to work out here in the fresh air. I will be coming and bringing more people. I think soon there will not be a free space,” said Kazakhstan MMA Federation President Anatoly Kim, reported Tengrinews.kz.
Using exercises from various sports, cross-fit is a sort of symbiosis among weightlifting, strength exercises and cardio that comprehensively develops a person’s physical state. Combat battle is for sports lovers who need excellent physical training and battle skills and all devotees of a healthy lifestyle, according to the news agency.
Training the cardiovascular system, cardio-zone is a complex exercise where oxygen is the main source of energy. Regular exercises train the heart muscle, improve blood circulation and respiratory system function and increase stamina.
Girls enjoy fresh air Zumba and yoga. The former is a dance fitness programme based on popular Latin American and world rhythms. Participants move to fiery music and receive a workout at the same time, allowing them to be in shape and feel strong and full of energy, reported Tengrinews.
Yoga helps to develop personality and inner harmony through physical improvement by using different poses and elements to increase flexibility and strength. In addition to muscles, joints and ligaments, remaining in a pose enhances its impact on internal organs and improves one’s emotional state.
Many yoga studios have opened in the capital in the past few years. The practice has begun to grow and the major reasons for starting are fitness and general rehabilitation. Interest in this ancient Indian physical, mental and spiritual discipline continues to increase among the people in Kazakhstan, especially in major urban areas.
“It’s pleasing that people are not afraid to experiment and like to try new things. Some even manage to train in mornings for a better work performance essential to a metropolitan life,” Dinara Karshalova, an instructor at Californication Beauty, told The Astana Times last year.
In December 2014, the UN General Assembly declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga. Kazakhstan participated along with more than 190 countries last year, with nearly 800 yoga enthusiasts in Almaty grabbing their mats and conducting various exercises. In the capital, more than 400 yoga lovers and practitioners gathered to engage in the discipline near Astana Opera Theatre.
