At the fingertips of University of Oregon students lies an abundance of resources. From the university writing center to one-on-one counseling, students have a variety of opportunities to improve their academic performance and their lives.
Among these resources is a hidden gem — an opportunity for students to benefit their health and wellness through various fitness programs provided by the Student Recreation Center. Available at the SRC are UO students and graduates certified as personal trainers by various accredited programs.
“You go through a lot of training through the Rec but you are also required to get a national personal training certification,” said Joe Reiss, a senior at the UO and personal trainer at the SRC. “I am currently working toward my NCSF certification.”
Although every personal trainer is already certified, they are constantly learning. The personal trainers still have frequent evaluations to help each other with fitness workouts and form corrections. Being adequately taught and skilled at the professional level makes them that much more desirable for students of all experience levels. UO student Kate Woginrich was not new to fitness and health, but wanted to increase her efficiency in the gym.
“I was specifically interested in having a trainer to guide me through the weight room,” Woginrich said. “For years I had been a cardio junkie and neglected any type of strength training.”
Most everyone knows that fitness trainers have to be educated and know what they’re doing when they put weights in your hands and start instructing you to jump, skip, bend and lift. But what sets the SRC personal trainers apart from most is their accessibility, affordability and well executed game plans.
All new clients that are interested in signing up for personal training will receive the initial training package costing $45, which includes two 60-minute sessions. The first session is targeted towards an orientation of the client.
“The personal trainer should sit down with the client and discuss their goals, short and long-term, to ensure that they are reasonable and that they can be obtained,” said senior Caitie Gibson, a personal trainer at the SRC.
Along with setting goals, the personal trainers review the client’s health history and chart a beginning fitness assessment.
The second session is when the sweat begins. Clients will be instructed on how to use equipment with proper techniques and create a personalized workout program tailored to their specific goals, health issues, concerns and limitations. With all the features that the personal training services provides, many students remain unaware of these SRC fitness programs — something the personal trainers seek to improve.
“I think that the personal training program would benefit from the personal trainers going out into the amphitheater or quad area around the main part of campus and start doing workouts and having people join in on them,” Gibson said.
Even though there may be a lack of knowledge about the personal training services around the UO campus, this definitely does not affect client’s feedback.
“Joe Reiss was my personal trainer,” Woginrich said. “I would recommend him to anyone and I only have positive things to say about my personal training experience. It was definitely worth the hard work.”