By Lily Magurno | November 20, 2024
The Functional Fitness Studio Inside The Well at Colonial Quad
Photo Credit: Lily Magurno / The ASP
Inside The Well, the fitness center at Colonial Quad, students have access to an array of non-cardio training equipment. Some students do press-ups on the set of benches, while others across the small room work on their weightlifting with a variety of weights and barbells. The walls are lined with equipment set for pull ups along with the weights, mats, and a rack of medicine balls in the corner of the room.
Everyone pursues their own workouts, pushing themselves to their own limits.
Previous to the opening of the renovated fitness center in August, the Recreation and Wellness Department has been developing a personal training program for all members of the UAlbany community. The program will open in the Functional Fitness studio on Jan. 22, the first day of classes for the spring semester.
Compared to other fitness classes like yoga or cycling, this class will revolve around each student and staff member’s own personalized fitness and goals.
“We are designing this to be very client focused,” said John Sylak, Assistant Director of Fitness and Personal Training, “We want it to be based on what their goals are.”
Unlike other fitness opportunities for students on campus, the program will have an additional cost. The standard is $25 for a single one-hour session. Training sessions can also be done in pairs or groups for a discounted price.
The program started developing in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools across the country. The delay, however, helped improve the program.
“So, while unfortunate, COVID was an opportunity for us to pause the program, look at what we really wanted to build, and how we wanted to best serve our community,” said Jillian Mertzlufft, Assistant Director of Programs and Services for Recreation and Wellness. “Personal training is a natural fit into our array of programs and services, and we are thrilled to have John starting it back up again.”
Since the pandemic, college student fitness has been at a low. The decrease does not have a specific reason behind it, but statistics show stress has been increasing since the beginning of the pandemic, and physical activity has been decreasing rapidly.
According to a study by Wiley Online Library, moderate and vigorous physical activity have decreased significantly since the start of the pandemic. “This is consistent with the previous research showing an overall decrease, specifically at early parts in the pandemic.”
Personal training addresses this problem. “We want to collaborate with our student personal trainers and our staff here. The goal is to collaborate with clients on what they want to do and help them feel better about themselves and help them create a healthy lifestyle, and for healthy habits for the rest of their lives,” said Sylak.
Sylak added that students are being trained to run the program. The program has a partnership with the American Council on Exercise to use modules as training material for those looking to be trainers.
“We aim to have five personal trainers for our soft launch,” said Sylak.
With instructor training and the fast pace of the program’s development, Mertzlufft is optimistic about the future, “Hopefully with a new space, new staff members, and the ability for exponential growth the program can develop and become a sustaining service of the Recreation and Wellness Department.”
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