With so many improvements taking place on the West Chester campus there is little room left for students to head outdoors and release some of the pent up energy they have. Solution? Head over to the Fitness Center located on the ground floor of Sykes Student Union and release that energy with the many Cybex pin select machines, aerobic equipment, free weights and aerobic sessions available to all students.
Managed by Ryan DeLong, the Fitness Center is packed with a variety of equipment to help students stay healthy and avoid the dreaded Freshman 15.
Opening its doors with the birds at 6:30 in the morning and keeping them open into the late hours of the night, there will always be a opportunity for each student to benefit from the Fitness Center, free of charge. If that doesn’t sound good, what does.
For those that view entering a gym for the first time is a little intimidating, you’re not alone because West Chester University is now offering a personal training program to help guide students to accomplish their goals efficiently and safely. For more information about the personal training program one can visit the Department of Recreation and Leisure Programs website. Registration will begin October 1 at the SSI Window in Sykes, so donít miss this great opportunity.
Along with the ground level, the Fitness Center continues upstairs to the first floor where an aerobics studio hides, offering a variety of sessions throughout the day to meet the needs and interests of every student. Students have the opportunity to take part in the exciting and energetic aerobic sessions for a mere $25 for a semester membership or the bargain of forty $40 for the entire year. Sessions vary from as early as 8 a.m. to the evening hours allowing every student the opportunity to join the aerobic community. Whether it is toning, core training, spinning or cardio the aerobics schedule is sure to have a session for you. Stop by the front desk of the Fitness Center to pick up a copy of the fall semester schedule.
If you are not sure about the aerobics scene and want to try a session out before you spend your hard earned cash, come check out the free week program beginning the week of September 2 and attend as many sessions as you wish, free of charge, for the entire week. Once one has fallen for the aerobic sessions and what they can provide, stop by the SSI Window located right outside the Fitness Center doors and purchase your sticker to continue the sessions all year long.
So even though it may seem like there is no space left for any physical activity, the Fitness Center can be your fitness haven at West Chester University. It provides each student with the means to maintain a healthy lifestyle as students leave the comfort of their homes and enter into the college realm, many for the first time. So stop by the Fitness Center located on the ground floor of Sykes Student Union for your complementary tour and look forward to the many hours you can spend releasing some of the newly acquired tensions and stresses of college.
Maggie Cosgrove is a third-year student majoring in elementary education with a minor in reading. She can be reached at MC626229@wcupa.edu
According to Debbie Rocker from Yahoo! Health, here are the Top 5 Tips for Starting a Fitness Program:
1. Take the heat off. Start with a program that is basically a no-brainer — one so easily doable for you that you are more likely to do more than your commitment rather than less.
2. Get yourself some insurance. Find a partner, a coach, a group, or an event that you must train for to help keep you showing up. Find ways to make yourself accountable.
3. Don’t kid yourself. You know who you are and how you are. You know if you will really workout at the end of your day, or if that is just a fantasy since you have never had the energy to make that commitment stick before. You know if working out in the morning before work is realistic or if shutting off the alarm an hour earlier is never really going to happen. So, work with your most realistic projections of the truth about you. If you are a morning workout person and you really are too spent to workout at night and for some reason you missed your AM workout, try to get one in midday – don’t let it linger too long even if you have to do a modified version of your exercise plan for that day on your lunch break.
4. Write yourself a letter. Be gentle and kind and encouraging — the way that you would speak to your best friend. In that letter, tell yourself that you are already proud of yourself for the work that is about to begin. You may have been thinking about this for a long time, you may have made many attempts before. This time is different, there will be no starting and stopping — this time you are getting on the road to fitness and staying there.
5. Don’t wait until Monday, or January 1, or your birthday. Do it today — now! So that by the time your birthday or the New Year rolls around, you have lost weight, feel great, and are well on your way and committed to your new healthier lifestyle.