Today: Mar 29, 2024

Fitness Center advises students to set realistic fitness goals

Assistant Director of the Fitness Center Jessica Scibek helps employee Kenneth Benoit sign in a member. 

NEW HAVEN–When it comes to New Year’s Resolutions, assistant director of the fitness center, Jessica Scibek, said setting fitness goals is really important.

“Sometimes,” said Scibek, “people set unrealistic goals like, ‘I’m going to go to the gym every single day until spring break.’ That’s not really realistic and the minute you miss one day, you feel like a failure and you feel like ‘I’ll just give up because I can’t do it.’ Set realistic goals.”

Fitness center desk attendant and sociology major, Kenneth Benoit, said students need to stick with their workout.
“Everyone tries to see results right away and it doesn’t happen, so you got to give yourself and your body time to adjust and meet the goals,” said Benoit.

In the fall semester, Scibek said there was an increase in fitness center membership. As of November 2014, she said there were 1,422 members, which is an increase from the total amount of members in April 2014 at 669.

Scibek said the extended student center hours might have also had an effect of doubling their membership.

Fitness Center Hours
Monday-Thursday           7 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Friday                              7 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Saturday                          8 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Sunday                            2 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

“I think that the fact that we’re open later has helped that increase, and spread out the times when the students come and work out,” said Scibek.

yoga-1Scibek speculates that the decrease in fee from $60 to $45, the extended hours of the student center, and the change in payment method through Banner Web, rather than HootLoot, contributes to the member increase.

To switch up a routine, members have the opportunity to participate in group exercise classes and fitness challenges.

Scibek said the top three most popular classes are Zumba, Yoga and Boot Camp. For the spring, she is auditioning new instructors to “bring Zumba back strong.”

Abigail Delise, graduate intern at the fitness center, said, “we did a bunch in the past like a 5k training program—we just try to make fitness fun and try to get as many people involved as possible.”

It’s important to have a place for students to go workout, said Scibek because “being in the Northeast, you can go outside for a quick walk or jog for a lot of the year and then there’s a lot of the year that if you go for a walk outside, there’s either three feet of snow or ice or wind or rain.”

Fitness and diet often top the list of interests at the start of every new year. Journalism students in the fall News Writing course, with Professor Cindy Simoneau, reviewed current and future access to fitness activities, healthy eating and counseling services.

Students who prepared the project are: Hannah Spreckley, project editor; Kathryn Burton, Meghan Cole, Trevon Freeman, Emili Lanno, Xavier Lassiter, Alex Roberts, Jared Silberkleit, Derek Torrellas and Monica Zielinski.

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