UTM FIT Health Club promotes student fitness

UTM’s Student Rec Center has a new incentive program called the UTM FIT Health Club.

Kim Olive-Milligan, the fitness coordinator at the Rec Center, wanted to have a program to help students stay on track with improving their fitness level throughout the semester. The Health Club is very similar to the group fitness challenge that took place last semester, but includes working out more often than just fitness classes.

One addition included in the Health Club is a fitness assessment. Maria Downing, a Senior Health and Human Performance major, is doing her internship with Campus Rec and is also managing the Health Club. She is in charge of performing the fitness assessments at the beginning and end of the challenge.

The fitness assessment includes testing how many sit ups and pushups one can do, a reach test, checking the heart rate and a skin fold test. There will be a follow-up assessment test at the end of the semester to check on improvements in these areas.

The UTM FIT Health Club is more of a challenge this semester. Since it will be going on throughout the entire semester, students who have signed up for it will have to do a little extra in order to receive the prize at the end.

Completing the Health Club challenge includes attending 36 group fitness classes, 25 additional workouts on students’ own time such as playing in an intramural game or working out at home, two fitness assessments and two wellness forums. The wellness forums are great ways to give valuable information to participants about how to live and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The wellness forums are open to all students and members of the Student Rec Center, and students do not have to be participating in the Health Club to attend.

The prizes of the Health Club incentive program include a UTM FIT T-shirt, a nice UTM FIT gym backpack and 50 gold level intramural points, along with the pride the student feels of completing health challenges.

Sammies and Van’s Health Mart Pharmacy, both located in Martin, sponsor the UTM FIT Health Club.

“We couldn’t have been this successful without the help from our sponsors,” said Olive-Milligan.

The UTM FIT Health Club is perfect for students who need help getting motivated to work out, and it gives students the opportunity to socialize and meet others who can help out along the way. It can be hard to motivate yourself to get out to the gym, but with others surrounding and encouraging you, you are more likely to get out and get fit.