Sahtak Awalan – Your Health First this week launched the Fitness Box, an innovative new concept in health, in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipality – Public Parks Department. The launch was marked with a launch event at Al-Rayyan Park (Green Carpet).

The Fitness Box R-7898

Initially, two venues – Al-Rayyan Park (Green Carpet) and Airport Park (Old Airport Area) – are hosting sustainable, solar-powered Fitness Box installations crafted from upcycled shipping containers and equipped with giant screens to broadcast tailor-made free fitness classes to the community led by renowned instructors.

The Fitness Box classes run from Sunday to Thursday (3 pm- 9 pm), Friday (7 am -11 am and 3 pm – 9 pm) and Saturday (7 am – 9 pm). More Fitness Box installations will be rolled out at other parks and venues across Qatar, giving more people access to healthy exercise.

The Fitness Box initiative

The innovative Fitness Box initiative was designed to inspire members of the community to take regular exercise and to promote that keeping fit and healthy is very important. The Fitness Box provides free exercise workouts and the locations in parks provide a safe open-air space that allows participants to maintain social distancing while watching fitness instructors on the giant screen.

The Fitness Box R-7645

Each fitness class has been individually designed by popular fitness instructors according to criteria set out by Your Health First, with focus on accessibility for all members of the community, no matter what their age or fitness level. Classes are also offered in three languages – English, Arabic and Urdu – to further enhance accessibility.

Sahtak Awalan – Your Health First is the flagship public health campaign of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) since 2012.

Launch event

In attendance during the launch event were officials from the Ministry of Municipality, led by Public Parks Director Mohammed Ali Al Khouri; officials from Al-Rayyan Municipality led by Director Jaber Hassan Al Jaber; and officials from WCM-Q led by its Dean, Dr Javaid Sheikh.

WCM-Q External Affairs Chief and Development Officer Nesreen Al-Rifai,  the driving force behind Sahtak Awalan – Your Health First, was also in attendance. Al-Rifai said that the Fitness Box brings opportunities for exercise and inspiration directly to the community, giving everyone the chance to come together to enjoy keeping fit in a sustainable way.

We know that the State of Qatar places a very high priority on empowering the future generation to stay fit and healthy so they can contribute to Qatar’s amazing national journey as they grow older.

In addition to improving fitness, Al-Rifai said that exercise helps prevent illnesses and provides a fantastic boost to mental health and well-being, as well as foster a sense of community. She said that they are very happy to have the installation at the beautiful Al-Rayyan Park (Green Carpet) and extremely grateful to the Ministry of Municipality’s Public Parks Department and Al-Rayyan Municipality for their wonderful support.

The Fitness Box R-5791The exercise sessions offered by Fitness Box have been carefully designed to allow social distancing protocols. Sessions are offered to people of all ages, suitable for all fitness levels and last between 15 and 20 minutes. No bookings are needed – participants are welcome to just turn up and enjoy getting fit with friends, family and the wider community.

Public Parks Director Mohammed Ali Al Khouri said that their collaboration with Sahtak Awalan – Your Health First, is part of their recognition of the importance of social responsibility, in which all efforts are united toward Qatar National Vision 2030. With the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ approaching, Al Khouri said that levels of enthusiasm for physical activity are sky high and The Fitness Box gives people a great outlet for that energy, helping them achieve their personal fitness goals while meeting other members of the community and building social cohesion in Qatar.

The fact that the Fitness Box installations are solar-powered is very significant and demonstrates that environmental practices and health and well-being can complement and support each other, creating a sustainable and healthy society for all.

Al-Rayyan Municipality Director Jaber Hassan Al Jaber, meanwhile, said they are extremely proud and pleased to be part of this very important initiative to support the health of the community.

Giving people the opportunity to exercise in the fresh air and healthful surroundings of Al-Rayyan Park will make a wonderful contribution to making Al-Rayyan a healthy city and therefore will help us achieve the goals set out in Qatar National Vision 2030.

He said that they are very happy to be working with Sahtak Awalan – Your Health First on this great initiative and looks forward to seeing many people enjoying keeping fit and healthy with the Fitness Box classes.

Sahtak Awalan – Your Health First is supported by Qatar Foundation, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Ministry of Municipality, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, and ExxonMobil Qatar. The campaign was launched in 2012 and works to inspire and empower all members of the community to achieve and maintain good health through a wide variety of sustainable initiatives.

Visit here for more information about the campaign. 


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