Students working out in the ShockWAVE class, one of many group fitness classes offered at the RPAC. Credit: Courtesy of Alice Adams
Students who are interested in getting fit or optimizing their physiques are in luck this summer, as the RPAC at Ohio State has plenty of options.
Summer is generally a slower time for the fitness center, as the RPAC sees a lower influx of students over the summer break, but that doesn’t mean the personal trainers aren’t still working hard to get students and members in shape.
Alycia Israel, coordinator of personal training at the Department of Recreational Sports, said the facility is offering a variety of options for students, from small group classes to one-on-one training sessions, for those who may be looking to get the personal attention needed to meet their fitness goals. Most of the fitness classes are aimed at beginners, Israel said.
“Our program definitely facilitates those who are very new to working out,” she said. “We offer what I think is the most popular, our small group training program, which is free. We’re going to offer a few in the summer.”
The free small group classes offered this summer include: Intro to Resistance training, Kettlebell Resistance training and FreeMotion training to name a few, Israel said. Other free services offered include general fitness assessments and equipment orientation.
To participate in the classes, students must be enrolled in four or more credit hours on OSU’s Columbus campus or have a membership.
Summer memberships for OSU students are $82, and students from other universities who are in Columbus for the summer can purchase a membership for the same price, according to the RPAC website. Faculty and staff summer memberships are $164, and university affiliate memberships—which are open to members of specific organizations like the Alumni Association, Faculty Club or President’s Club—are available for $206.
Alice Adams, group fitness coordinator at the Department of Recreational Sports, said in an email that making working out fun is one of the specialties of the RPAC, making group fitness worthwhile for members.
“Group fitness is all about encouraging participants to have fun with fitness and find a format that they love. We do our best to offer a variety of classes and are always adding new ones,” Adams said.
No new classes are planned to start over the summer, as most new classes start in either Autumn or Spring semesters, Adams said. But they will offer two relatively new classes: Row and Flow and Ropes.
“Ropes is a great cardiovascular workout that will also challenge your upper body strength,” Adams said. “It’s a new and different class format that is great for somebody looking for a new challenge or a way to switch up their typical workout.”
Students working out in the ShockWAVE class. Credit: Courtesy of Alice Adams
ShockWAVE is another class that Adams recommends.
“ShockWAVE is marketed as the most efficient total body workout in the world and it is great for anyone that loves working out as a team, has a natural competitive drive and wants to work hard,” she said.
Miles Johnson, second-year in exploration, said he enjoys the fitness classes that are offered at the RPAC and currently is taking Circuit Training classes.
“I like it a lot,” he said. “It’s definitely a class that if you want to make it hard, you can make it as hard as you want it. If you have the time to push yourself and do what you want, but the class is up to you.”
Israel said her goal as coordinator is to link trainers and clients together to provide the best outcome possible for each client. She credits her team of personal trainers as being very diverse, having a lot of different experience in the different platforms in the fitness world.
“I think it’s great in terms of the populations that we serve, because a lot of my trainers have specific specialties,” Israel said. “Some of them have a lot of Olympic lifting experience, some of them are marathon runners, some of them train only triathletes. I think something that we can accommodate is a wide range of goals and clientele.”
She said they normally have 30 personal trainers on staff during a typical semester, all full-time OSU students. But this summer she said they will probably have 15. That number, she said, is more than enough to accommodate the influx of clients they are expecting this summer.
One-on-one sessions are a popular choice among students and faculty, Israel said, but cost money depending on the session length. For example, a 30-minute session is $17.50, and a 60-minute session is $32. She said interested customers can purchase personal training packages in larger numbers of either eight or 12 to save extra money as well.
“You can also do them with a friend, making them more cost-effective,” Israel said.
However, many students might prefer independent workouts, Israel said, and those students don’t have to use the training programs if they are more comfortable working out on their own. She said that if they do choose to work out on their own, they should keep three things in mind over summer break: eat right, incorporate a routine that is balanced and have fun.
“I would just say, really, the biggest thing that people have to do is they have to have goals in mind and tailor what (they’re) doing to (their) goal,” she said. “Keeping a good balance of cardiovascular activity and strength training… and also a balance of fun and relaxing, because I think you don’t want to live in the gym in the summer, that’s pushing a little too much.”
