Summer offers great opportunities for outdoor sports, exercise and dancing. Make the hot season fun and healthy by following the Kyiv Post's picks for the best outdoor activities.
Fitness in parks
Skakalki
(Ukrainian for jump ropes) is a club that holds morning workouts in
Kyiv parks. The routine includes stretching, jump roping and elements of
yoga, boxing and even tennis. Exercises usually end before 9 a.m. Take a
bottle of water, lace your sneakers up and grab a jump rope on the way
to the nearest park.
Hryshko
National Botanic Garden (1 Tymiryazevska St.), Tues., Thurs. 6:30 a.m. –
7:20 a.m., Hr 250 per month, Hr 560 for the summer
Maksym Rylsky
Holosiyivsky Park (Holosiyivsky Ave.), Mon., Wed., Fri. 7 a.m. – 7:50
a.m. Hr 300 per month, Hr 660 for the summer
Park Slavy (1 Lavrska St.), Tues, Thurs. 7:15 a.m. – 8:05 a.m. Hr 250 per month, Hr 560 for the summer
www.skakalki.com
Jogging in city streets
Lots
of parks, public gardens and quiet streets make the city favorable for
jogging. Kyiv has several running clubs that regularly organize races.
Members of the Kyiv Marathon Running Club, one of the city’s biggest,
often train in Kyiv parks. Half-marathons are available for more
experienced runners.
For those who want to combine sightseeing and
jogging, Kyiv Running Tours offers five main routes in Kyiv. Each is
about 10 kilometers and takes nearly one hour to complete. Runners have a
chance to admire Mykhaylivska and Sofiivska squares, Mariinsky Park,
old Podil district and landscapes of the Dnipro River hillsides. The
tours are available in English.
Kyiv Marathon Running Club
Holosiyivsky Park. Sat. 8 a.m., free
Expocenter of Ukraine (1 Hlushkova Ave.). Sun. 8 a.m., free
Atlet Stadium (4A Zroshuvalna St.) Tues. 7 p.m., free
www.running.kiev.ua
Kyiv Running Tours
Book a running tour at [email protected] or by tel. 050-416-5457. € 20-40.
www.kievrunningtours.com
Dancing in heart of Kyiv
Many Kyiv dance clubs offer outdoor classes, some for free.
Kyiv
salsa school Casa De Ritmo offers outdoor classes for those who love
the sensual and passionate rhythms of Latin American dances. Everyone
can join Latin Dance Open Air party at Taras Shevchenko Park and try
stirring salsa, sensual zouk or tender bachata. Salsa school instructors
teach beginners basic dance steps on he spot. Classes only take place
on rainless days.
Rock ‘n’ roll fans dance in Mariinsky Park.
From May till late September, the Kyiv Swing Dance Club stages lindy
hop parties there. Rock ‘n’ roll, boogie-woogie, and swing are part of
the stirring dance party program.
Latin Dance Open Air
Taras Shevchenko Park
Fri., Sat. 6.30 p.m. – 10.00 p.m. Free
Rock ’n’ Roll dance party
Mariyinsky Park, amphitheater
Tue., Thurs. and Sun. on 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. Free
Cycling fast
Kyiv
is not the most convenient place for bicycling; however, it has some
bicycling tours that offer splendid views and a rigorous workout.
Druzhby Narodiv Park is an ideal place for beginners. It has a dirt road
without slopes. Brovarsky Forest is another popular bike destination
for both novices and advanced riders. Kyiv’s Rusanivsky Island offers
paths of various complexity, as well as infrastructure, nice views and
wide roads.
Rent a bike here:
www.velokrat.com
Hr 50- 300 per hour
www.veliki.ua
Hr 60-100 per hour, Hr 125-300 per day
www.veloarenda.kiev.ua
Hr 50 on weekend and weekdays, Hr 1,500 or driver’s license for security deposit
Yoga and nature
Practicing
yoga close to nature helps achieve harmony and makes it easier to
exercise asanas, the various yoga positions. In summer, the Kyiv Yoga
School moves classes away from muggy gyms to Kyiv’s Fomin Botanical
Garden. Beautiful nature and oriental exercises foster a healthy spirit
and cheerfulness all season long.
Another option is to take
yoga classes by Vedalife Studio in Pushkinsky Park. Diverse styles of
yoga are presented at the season-long festival Slava Frolova’s Art
Picnic.
A.V. Fomin Kyiv Botanical garden, main entrance
Mon, Wed. and Fri. on 8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. Hr 50, advance booking by calling 044-289-35-75
www.kievyogastudio.com
Pushkinsky Park (40 Peremohy Ave.), Wed. 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Free
www.vedalife.com.ua
Kyiv Post staff writer Nataliya Trach can be reached at [email protected].
