If cramming into an indoor gym using conventional weightlifting machines isn’t your thing, perhaps try working out at Kachalka, whose machines are made from recycled tank chains and various other rusted scrap metal.
In the early ’70s, the Polish gymnast Kasimir Jagelsky and mathematics professor Yuri Kuk decided to create a collective, open-air gym from recycled metal. The scraps, salvaged from old factories and landfills, were ingeniously repurposed to create rowing machines, leg presses, dozens of bench presses, and more.
The name Kachalka is derived from the Ukrainian word kachat, which means “to pump.” Today, the gym remains popular with locals and visitors alike, and is open and free year-round. Enthusiasts maintain the gym, and continue to construct new equipment from whatever they can find.
