The Student Recreation Center (SRC) Women on Weights program will no longer be offered this semester, after the pilot initiative program was not heavily used. The program opened last semester and offered strength and weight training to women after the Recreation Center brought in new equipment.
“There was almost zero usage out of it, the 10 hours that was posted over the course of the semester, we had four people total that utilized it,” Ben Sturz, Interim Fitness and Operations Director, said.
Trainers and staff dedicated 10 hours a week to this program, and women could come in throughout the day to have one-on- one training with a female certified professional trainer, according to the Women on Weights webpage.
“It was to encourage a population not necessarily comfortable coming into our facility,” Sturz said. “At times it can be obvious men use the building more. Generally, females don’t use it as much — this was an opportunity to offer help.”
Women on Weights first formed because of a handful of requests for more women’s based programs, Sturz said. It was a convenient opportunity to accommodate what was being requested, and was something the SRC could implement immediately.
Saydee Brass | Argonaut
Women on Weights was intended to benefit women by providing an informational time woman could come in and ask a female trainer questions regarding how to use equipment and basic knowledge regarding physical activity, Sturz said.
It can be very time consuming to answer an individual’s needs. This program was to serve as a separation from personal training to provide answers to individual needs.
“It was to provide an opportunity for women to ask other women about physical activity,” Sturz said.
Saydee Brass | Argonaut
There was also confusion about what Women on Weights was. People thought it was free personal training and others thought it was a specific class, Sturz said. In terms of finances, the SRC cannot afford to provide free personal training, especially on an individual basis, Sturz said.
The SRC won’t give up on educating people about fitness, they are looking
at other options and having a women’s science student group come in to address some of the situations, Sturz said. The student group from women’s sciences will brainstorm different opportunities the SRC can offer for women.
Sturz talked about future plans to update fitness programs that are already offered and reboot Women on Weights but as a once a month information session. Instead of out on the floor, it will be a sign-up and register talk for an hour on specific suggested subjects or covering the basics, Sturz said.
As of right now, the SRC is open to anyone who wants to exercise. Different events and programs can be found on their website as well as their hours.
*This article has been updated to reflect Women on Weights as a pilot program.
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce
Rusty Vineyard
Thank you for making the corrections to the article. Rusty Vineyard Executive Director of Recreation and Wellbeing
Rusty Vineyard
This article is misleading. The women on weights program was a pilot initiative implemented in response to the new equipment installed this past fall. The intent of this program was to provide an opportunity for students to learn how to safely and effectively use our strength equipment, as well as receive other information to optimize success in your fitness program. As Ben notes in the article, we will be bringing this program back. We need to go back to the drawing board so we can make the necessary changes required to meet the need of our patrons who are looking to elevate their wellbeing through equipment orientation programs like "Women on Weights." So it's not Goodbye, it's we'll see you soon when we are bigger, faster, stronger "Women on Weights 2.0!" Rusty Vineyard Executive Director of Recreation & Wellbeing