Muscle Beach Traveling Rings052

The original Muscle Beach is not that funky tourist spot in Venice; it's just south of the Santa Monica Pier, on Santa Monica Beach, where fitness buffs still pursue mightily entertaining workouts. Within view of the sign marking where Jack LaLanne and pals used to strut their stuff are two sets of Traveling Rings, which have become a Mecca of the physically fit.

Tourists love to watch the locals fly through the air performing gymnastic feats on a set of ten rings hanging on chains stretching out toward the sea. Trying them out is pretty irresistible too, and many people go home wishing they had a set in their own neighborhood (so many that a group of New Yorkers succeeded in recreating the popular Santa Monica workout in Riverside).

Although the majority of die-hard swingers are (more or less) adults, kids love sailing through the air on the Traveling Rings as well - often putting the big guys to shame. Little ones as young as five or six can swing with an adult spotter, and by seven or eight many can travel the rings alone.

The green square of grass between all of the climbing and swinging equipment is a must-see on Sunday afternoons, when an impressive variety of acrobats, martial artists, stilt-walkers, tightrope walkers, and other local talent turn up without fail to work on their unusual skills.