As the play industry continues to boom, so with the obstacle courses. This has become a trend in numerous countries across the world with adults and children embracing it.
This article will go further and list the major benefits of obstacle courses. To learn of those benefits, please keep on reading.
Brief History
Obstacle courses were already practiced as early as the Roman Empire. Even back then, the obstacle course was used to test physical fitness, utilized as military training, used as a sport, and even employed for physical education.
Obstacle courses were also used for children and adults to prepare themselves for war to improve their stamina, skills, muscle strength, and overall health.
Modern Day Obstacle Courses
In today’s generation, obstacle courses have no large difference from before. Compared to other sports, obstacle courses have a more complex genre. It is a combination of several courses or obstacles that require skills, determination, focus, speed, and quick thinking.
Players are expected to withstand all the courses in order to finish the race.
Aside from the fact that it is a good way for children especially in their childhood development to enjoy, have fun, and meet new friends, obstacle courses have pinned to have a lot of benefits to the human body physically, emotionally, socially, and mentally.
Not just that, obstacle courses, as physical activity can also be a good avenue for the whole family, specifically parents and children to bond and make time together.
Benefits of Obstacle Courses
As an activity that requires agility and strength, an obstacle course is one great exercise that benefits a lot of human body parts.
Some obstacles included in an obstacle course are monkey bars, a climbing wall, a rabbit hole, a skipping rope, and some bean bags. It may actually vary from one playground to another depending on the area size, location, and owner’s preference.
Here are the top 12 benefits of indoor and outdoor obstacle courses:
- Enhancing Muscle Strength
Since an obstacle course is a physical activity that includes running, jumping, and balancing among others, muscle movement takes place and many muscle groups are utilized thus making it more strong, firm, and more exercised. It enhances the strength of kids and even adults who are into obstacle courses.
- Fine and Gross Motor Skills Development
An obstacle course either indoor or outdoor obstacle course is perfect for children to develop their gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Obstacle challenges vary from easy to hard thus making them adjust to each one of them.
Muscle movement from a bigger muscle group or the gross muscle skills such as the arms and legs are used to run, climb, balance, and crawl while on the other hand, smaller muscle groups or the fine motor skills from the hands are utilized to grip small objects.
Gross motor skill development usually took place on either indoor or outdoor obstacle courses since most of the time, an agility obstacle and challenge course that requires a whole-body movement is available in place thus resulting in gross motor skills enhancement.
Physical challenges included in obstacle courses result in developing motor skills.
- Balance Skills Developed
Several obstacles included to come up a whole obstacle course are developed to enhance body balance. This includes ropes, cargo nets, ladder, wall climbing, running, and even monkey bars are among those many activities in an obstacle course that promotes balance.
It is important that at an early age for children, during their childhood development, they are already exposed to these kinds of activities because kids learn through experiences and these various obstacles can be a great source to learn.
- Improving Memory
Since an obstacle course is a combination of different games and challenges, players, especially children will think thoroughly, analyze, familiarize themselves, and come up with a technique in problem-solving that can help them in finishing the whole course.
In this regard, brain cells are used tremendously, sending signals and as sensory inputs allowing the muscle to work and perform accordingly.
A ninja warrior course as an obstacle course is a great way to enhance kids’ problem-solving ability.
- Boost the Sensory Processing Skills
A lot of visual objects are found in an indoor or outdoor obstacle course, everything the players, especially kids see and touch is registered through the eyes and skin through the deep pressure sensory input. That information will be interpreted by the brain or the so-called sensory processing and then the body will behave according to the brain’s interpretation.
Children develop sensory processing skills in a fun and exciting way through obstacle challenges.
- Develop Spatial Awareness
Children learn to do mental rotations in their heads with the different objects they see. They learn to perceive things in a lot of different ways. It helps them become more creative and acquire knowledge in venturing into possibilities.
Spatial awareness is a skill children struggle with but can definitely be developed. Exposing them to indoor and outdoor obstacle courses can really help.
- Develop Spatial Awareness
This activity is a perfect course for users, especially children to develop their skills in coordinating and even bilateral coordination. There are a lot of ways children benefit from it. Starting from planning down to executing the plan. From being attentive to small details to be fully aware of the larger picture.
Through indoor or outdoor obstacle courses, children learn complex coordination with a positive and lasting impact.
- Advance Social Relation
Indoor and outdoor obstacle courses are a perfect environment for children to develop socially. At a young age, it is a good training ground to meet different kinds of people, and other youth organizations, make friends, conduct great interactions, and be oriented about team spirit.
An indoor and outdoor obstacle course helps kids promote friendship, love, trust, and care amongst children and family.
- Improves Mental Toughness
Indoor and outdoor obstacle courses including a ninja warrior course are utilized by kids and adults equally. Aside from its physical and manipulative skills, the obstacle course also aids in mental toughness. In order to finish all of the obstacles, a tough mind should be alongside a tough body.
Our mind is the most powerful part of our body thus in every challenge it is our mind that needs to be strong and resilient.
Mental toughness includes patience and courage and being in an obstacle course develops that ability.
- Improves Strategic Ability
Obstacle course including a ninja warrior is a challenging course that requires effective strategies in order to survive and finish the race. Children and kids who were into playing obstacle courses will result in having improved strategic thinking. They were used to thinking of better ideas with quick responses to fully adapt to this activity.
As a result, its strategic abilities were enhanced making it its edge over others.
- Promotes Fitness
Indoor and outdoor obstacle or challenge courses are an example of physical activity that promotes bilateral coordination. It requires the whole body parts to move and coordinate. With that being mentioned, indoor and outdoor obstacle courses are a good exercise.
It helps reduce body weight, normalizes the regulation of blood, and burns a lot of calories. Through all of its challenge courses, one’s body will be totally active with the obstacle course transfer thus making it productive and alive.
- Create New Experience
Children and even adults love new ideas. Experiencing different things makes them learn more and be more.
Indoor and Outdoor obstacle courses can be a new experience for kids and families including adults. It is a fun way to play and bond that gives benefits to the body and mind.
Conclusion
An indoor and outdoor obstacle course is a beneficial activity for the human body’s physical, social, and even mental health. It helps kids and adults to obtain a healthy and productive life. Separate body parts have been exercised that result in a fitter and better physique.
In the bottom line, this activity promotes positivity and it gives us no doubt why more and more individuals are hooked to challenge courses. If you have any interest to develop obstacle course, please feel free to contact Dreamland Playground.
