Well-hidden and stuck between the Grosvenor Neighborhood House YMCA and the West Preparatory Academy on 105th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Columbus Avenue is the Bloomingdale Playground fitness equipment. This relatively small but useful site is on the grounds of a children's playground and can be relatively difficult to find especially if you choose to enter through the Broadway side of the park. If you do enter from Broadway do make a left at the children's jungle gym and head up the small set of stairs to the fitness equipment. The 105th Street-side entrance to the park is often locked especially on weekends.
The the fitness equipment available to adults at this playground is not at all mentioned on the Parks Department webpage. The equipment is all at adult height and men from the neighborhood usually workout there on weekends and in the evenings after work.
Most of the equipment is made of metal and appears to be somewhat older. As the paint is wearing off, I do hope those responsible for the maintenance of this equipment give it a good paint job soon. With that said everything appears sturdy and I had no complaints as to the apparent structural integrity of the facility.
In the middle of this site you can a relatively high set of parallel bars that rest over 5 feet off the ground. Most people will have to jump just to mount the bars. The bars are approximately 7-8 feet long. They are ringed on the northern side by a horizontal ladder/monkey bars as well as two pullup bars. To the east side of the parallel bars are another set of horizontal bars that are perched at least 7 feet off the ground. They are great for doing hanging leg raises without having to bend your knees. The beginning part of this ladder is at a decline angle. At the southern end of the horizontal ladder is a pole that you can shimmy across to a large jungle gym. This jungle gym contains all sorts of bars that can be used for pullups as well as lower bars for rows. There is also a 15-20 foot pole that one can use for the purposes of climbing. It did shake quite a bit when I climbed it.
Pros
- Sturdy fitness equipment including pullup bars, parallel bars, a pole and low hanging bars.
Cons
- During the summer neighborhood children may commandeer some of the equipment for their own fun and games.
- The equipment is aging and could use a bit of maintenance.
