AU Recreational Sports and Fitness launched a new Weight-Loss Club this semester aimed at helping students and AU faculty and staff members who want to start living a healthier lifestyle.
The club provides its members a comprehensive guide to change unhealthy lifestyle choices, starting with two full fitness assessments measuring resting heart rate and blood pressure, a body composition analysis, cardiovascular and muscular endurance and flexibility, according to AU RecFit’s website. Members will also receive ten one-hour workout sessions with a certified personal trainer and a one-on-one consultation and nutrition class with AU’s registered dietitian, Jo-Ann Jolly.
Many of AU RecFit’s current fitness programs, such as Women on Weights, have been aimed at people who have already been exercising. According to Allie Jackson, the adjunct instructor for RecFit who started the program, the Weight-Loss Club is targeted at those who may not have stepped into the world of good health before.
Jackson said that the club is meant to create a safe space for those wanting to change their lifestyle but may not feel welcome in the gym.
“I want it to be a group of people that can rely on each other to reach their goals because weight loss is hard. A lot of people fluctuate and don’t have that social support that they need,” Jackson said.
Programs like the Weight-Loss Club are signaling a change in the style of programming for AU RecFit. More courses will be designed for small group training of niche groups rather than trying to host one huge class to fit everyone.
“What I’m trying to do is just make small groups and small programs that target specific people, and I think that’s become more successful for us here, just because AU is such a diverse population,” Jackson said.
For a new program, Jackson said she is pleased with the response of the AU community. The first morning session, held on Jan. 25, included six participants, meeting Jackson’s desired cap. She hoped to run an afternoon meeting as well but could not receive enough commitments from interested students to host the second session. The club will run in two sessions, with the first in progress and running until March 4. The second session will run from March 14 to April 22. Meetings with the personal trainer occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:15-8:15 a.m. or from 12-1 p.m. Costs for a six-week session are $276 for AU RecFit members and $306 for faculty and staff non-members.
The start of the club coincides with AhealthyU’s Why Weight 8-Week Weight Loss Kick-Start, a program encouraging faculty members to pair up and support each other as they try to achieve a specific weight loss or maintenance goal. The program began on Feb. 1 and will continue until March 25.
Jackson said she has faith in the participants and hopes that this changes their lives for the better.
“I would love to see them start on a routine and have exercise become a part of who they are and not a chore that they have to do,” Jackson said. “With Jo-Ann, I would like for them to learn healthy eating and that they don’t have to starve themselves to lose weight.”
