Looking back on it, it seems obvious. After all, they call Medellín the land of eternal spring. Well, technically they call it la tierra de la eterna primavera, but as they say in Thailand, same same.

The point is, the weather is great here. I mean, it rains sometimes. It rains a LOT sometimes, but the temperature only varies between low 60s and mid 80s every day, all year, and the rain supports the lush greenery that surrounds and permeates this beautiful place.

I knew all that coming in, except for how beautiful a place it truly is, but not all of the benefits of that perfect climate occurred to me before getting here. One that truly caught me by surprise was the common sight of outdoor workout facilities. It’s not that Medellín doesn’t have its share of well-stocked indoor gyms. It definitely does. My first trip here I bought a membership to Ultra Gym, a smallish facility absolutely jam packed with equipment and Colombians. There are also Smart Fit locations all over, especially in shopping malls for some reason, as well as lots of other single location, independent options.

The first outdoor gym that I stumbled across is in the party-centric area of Provenza. Zona Deportiva El Poblado is a somewhat bare bones facility with racks and benches with barbells and weight plates chained to an anchor in the concrete to keep someone from stocking their home gym. It’s in a beautiful spot, though, nestled in the jungle next to one of the drainages that routes water from the heights to Río Medellín at the bottom of the valley. It was also very popular with lots of people taking advantage of the chance to get in a free workout.

From what I’ve seen, that one is pretty typical in terms of size and equipment. Riding around Medellín, I began to spot these facilities in parks around the city. With a few exceptions, they were also always being put to good use.

The one at Unidad Deportiva de Belén is a different story, however, in terms of size and equipment. I found out about that one after discovering that the membership I bought at Animal X Home Templo Laureles required me to use the 15 entries I had purchased within 28 days. I wasn’t aware of a time limit until they wouldn’t let me in even though I had only used 8 out of 15 of my days. In addition to being ill for part of those four weeks, I’m simply not that dedicated so I felt a little ripped off.

When my landlord mentioned the fact that there was an outdoor workout area that he thought was free at the place where he goes to swim, I decided to check it out and was kind of blown away. It has as many weight machines or more as any gym I’ve visited, and they are in pretty decent condition considering the fact that they are exposed to the elements 24/7 and get a ton of use. What’s more, the weight machine area is set within a larger sports park with basketball courts, soccer fields of various sizes, a running track, two swimming pools, two BMX bike tracks, an archery field, pickleball/volleyball courts, a beach volleyball/soccer area, tennis courts, and a bowling alley.

The pictures below don’t do the place justice because I was there taking photos on a Sunday, the only day many Colombians have off of work and definitely a day of rest. Well, rest and drinking. Colombian’s are all about Sunday Funday. These photos show a largely unused facility, but six days a week this place is very popular. From what I’ve seen, everything is available free for use although some facilities require reservations, available through Inder Alcadía de Medellín. And apparently you have to pay if you plan to swim laps for more than one hour. That seems pretty fair to me.

When I return to Medellín, I’ll definitely be calculating how far my housing is from Unidad Deportiva de Belén.