Photos: Where the push-ups aren’t for pushovers

Cal State Northridge kinesiology graduate student Christopher Balam, right, leads a group in a cheer after an exercise session at Lanark Park in Canoga Park. Many of the class participants had never lifted a weight or jumped rope in their lives. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

March 30, 2015 8:13 PM PT

Cal State Northridge professor Steven Loy’s kinesiology students run free boot-camp-style classes every week at Lanark Park in Canoga Park and three other San Fernando Valley parks.

Steven Loy, left, an exercise physiologist who emphasizes more visibility for the field of kinesiology, helps Maria Rivera stretch properly during an exercise class led by Cal State Northridge students at Lanark Park in Canoga Park. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Local residents maneuver 50-foot battle ropes during an exercise class at Lanark Park in Canoga Park. Professor Steven Loy launched the program four years ago with dual goals: He wanted to create internships for kinesiology students and opportunities for exercise in low-income neighborhoods. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Members of an exercise class led by Cal State Northridge kinesiology students at Lanark Park in Canoga Park take advantage of cool morning temperatures before the unseasonable March heat begins to settle in. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Cal State Northridge kinesiology student Alvin Huang, right, helps Jessica Sepulveda perform an exercise during class at Lanark Park in Canoga Park. CSUN has the state’s largest kinesiology program, with 2,300 students. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Guadalupe Arenales, left, and Maria Rivera maneuver battle ropes during an exercise class at Lanark Park in Canoga Park. Once considered the province of college jocks and would-be PE teachers, kinesiology now is a growing field in a graying nation. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Reina Silva, 48, right, is helped by CSUN kinesiology student Suhani Patel during a jam ball exercise at Lanark Park. Residents who’d never been able to afford to go to a gym can choose from yoga, water aerobics, Zumba, body sculpting, Spinning and, of course, boot camp. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)