Why not play like kids?

I took my daughter to a birthday party yesterday at a local gymnastics place. There was a jungle gym room next to the princess table set with hats and the cake. The kids, all around 4 or 5 years old, immediately ran to the gym room which was filled with slides, climbing ropes, balance beams and a trampoline or two. They were unstoppable. Eventually the group moved to the main floor where the instructor took them through several actvities. One included running down a runway-sized trampoline and leaping off into a giant pit of foam blocks. As my daughter struggled to free herself there was a huge smile on her face. I gave her a hand up and she said, "again Mommy!"

After cake and ice cream the kids had another run at the jungle gym room and this time I joined them. My hands itched to grab the rope and take a swing but I was too embarrassed in front of the other parents. During the ride home, with my little one sound asleep in the back seat, I wondered, "when do we stop going to the playground?" My oldest is six and we all still love to go. Why are there no jungle gyms at the gym? We have treadmills and exercycles, free weights and exercise balls. There are step classes and Pilates. Where are the adult-sized monkey bars? Where is the tunnel slide?

I thought about military styled obstacle courses and boot camps. Usually that type of training is punitive and seems to be founded on goading the attendee to complete the course at a fast pace. Why can't it be fun? I think I could get a stellar workout running around the playground for an hour, if it were my size.