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A fitness trail, or "par course" (from the French parcours meaning course) consists of a path or course equipped with obstacles or stations distributed along its length for exercising the human body to promote good health. The course is designed to promote physical fitness training in the style attributed to George Hébert. In general, fitness trails can be natural or man made, located in areas such as forest, transportation rights-of-way, parks, or urban settings. Equipment exists to provide specific forms of physiological exercise, and can consist of natural features including climbable rocks, trees, and river embankments, or manufactured products (stepping posts, chin-up and climbing bars) designed to provide similar physical challenges. The degree of difficulty of a course is determined by terrain slope, trail surface (dirt, grass, gravel, etc), obstacle height (walls) or length (crawls) and other features. Urban par courses tend to be flat, to permit participation by the elderly, and to accommodate cyclists, runners, skaters and walking.

Contents 1 History 2 Examples 3 Fitness Trail Equipment Industry 4 References 5 See also

The original parcourse was invented in 1968 by Swiss architect Erwin Weckemann with support from a Swiss insurance firm ^[1]. Hundreds of courses were built in Europe by 1972.^[2]

• Prince George County Parks and Recreation Chernikoff Fitness Trail, Maryland.

Standardized multiple-station equipment packages for par courses is available from several manufacturers, including Columbia Cascade, Fit Trail, and TriActive America.

Parcourses - Where have they gone? Heather Long, 28 Jul 2006 Families.com
Old-school exercise is par for the course Jeff Nachtigal, December 11 2006, Bakersfield.com. Photos.
Par Course Exercise - Outdoor Fitness for Everyone James M. Evans, Senior Fitness Association