University Times

Expanded fitness facilities for staff and faculty are coming to Trees Hall in 2012.

New fitness programs and a plan to create a new faculty and staff exercise space in Trees Hall will create more exercise options on campus for Pitt employees in the new year.

Registration is now open for spring term exercise classes through the Department of Health and Physical Activity (HPA) health and fitness program and the Student Affairs Healthy U wellness program.

An even broader range of classes is expected to be available midyear when construction of two new exercise classrooms and a new Trees Hall cardio/weight room for faculty and staff is completed.

David DeJong, vice provost for academic planning and resources management, said of the Trees Hall plans: “The primary purpose of the initiative is to advance the academic mission of the Department of Health and Physical Activity by providing hands-on training for undergraduate and graduate students in health fitness programming and other related areas.

“In addition, faculty and staff engaged in the health and fitness program will benefit from the facilities and state-of-the-art equipment associated with this initiative.”

A streamlined program

The health and fitness program replaces Pitt’s wellness and community fitness programs, streamlining their sometimes-overlapping services and benefits, said John Jakicic, chair of the School of Education’s Department of Health and Physical Activity (HPA) and director of the Physical Activity and Weight Management Research Center and the Nutrition and Obesity Research Center. Although both programs were under HPA, “They were almost two programs competing against each other,” he said.

The wellness program, open to faculty and staff, offered fitness assessments and other testing as well as exercise classes, personal training, nutritional counseling and seminars. The community fitness program, open to the public, offered non-credit exercise classes in Trees and Bellefield halls.

Jakicic said participants from both programs often were in the same classes as Pitt students who were taking the classes for credit.

The situation created challenges for instructors and Pitt students, who are subject to attendance requirements, Jakicic said. In addition, “For every person we put into a class, a student may be waiting to take that class,” he said. For-credit sections now will be separate from the health and fitness program classes.

The changes aim to benefit students as well as employees. “We are trying to help both parties,” Jakicic said. “We will be able to do more for faculty and staff, not less.”

The health and fitness program will offer 15-week classes in Trees and Bellefield halls. Most classes will meet twice weekly and cost $50 for Pitt ID holders and $65 for non-Pitt participants. The spring session begins Jan. 4. Details on the class offerings are at www.physicalactivity.pitt.edu/healthandFitness.aspx.

Healthy U fitness

Marilyn Ross, director of the Student Affairs intramural and recreational program, said faculty and staff also may participate in many of the classes offered through the Healthy U fitness program.

The fitness program is part of a broader Healthy U student wellness initiative that focuses on a seven-fold definition of wellness that encompasses physical, emotional, intellectual, social, occupational, environmental and spiritual wellness.

The fitness component offers weekly 1-hour fitness classes in Bellefield and Trees halls and at the Baierl Student Recreation Center in the Petersen Events Center. Most cost $24 per 8-week session. Faculty and staff may participate in the Bellefield and Trees Hall classes, which include swimming, Zumba, Pilates, bootcamp fitness and rock climbing.

Registration is first-come, first-served, but classes must be paid for using Panther Funds. Ross said her staff can assist employees in loading Panther Funds onto their Pitt ID cards. For help, bring the ID and a debit or credit card to the intramurals office in the Baierl Center on the second floor of the Petersen Events Center when registering.

Healthy U fitness program class listings for the upcoming session, which begins Jan. 6, can be found at www.intramurals.pitt.edu/courses.php.

Ross said she hopes to expand the list of classes in future sessions. Belly dancing and hip hop classes are being offered in the Baierl Center in the first session of the spring term, but Ross said she would like to schedule them in Bellefield Hall in the future.

New exercise facilities

Plans are underway to create a new fee-based exercise facility on campus for faculty and staff. According to Facilities Management, renovations will begin in March on the first floor of Trees Hall to create two new group exercise rooms and a cardio/weight room totaling nearly 5,000 square feet of space.

The changes not only will permit expansion of the number and range of exercise classes offered through HPA’s health and fitness program, but will provide expanded teaching opportunities for HPA students who are learning how to teach, Jakicic said.

“The philosophy has been: We have the expertise in-house, and faculty and staff like the fact that they’re interacting with the students. The University’s mission is to try to help educate these young people and help them grow as professionals,” he said.

“Faculty and staff have been longing for better facilities at key times during the day,” Jakicic said, noting that the new exercise rooms will be reserved for faculty and staff during peak morning, midday and evening hours.

During those hours, HPA students will be involved with personal training for faculty and staff who are participating in the health and fitness program.

At other times, the space will be used for academic classes for HPA students who are learning how to conduct personal training or teach exercise classes.

HPA students also will observe exercise classes and may have the opportunity to do some limited leading under the supervision of the lead instructor, Jakicic said.

More classes

When renovations at Trees Hall are complete, faculty and staff will have an even longer list of fitness classes to choose from, Jakicic said. The two new exercise rooms will accommodate virtually any sort of fitness class, so more of the popular yoga, Pilates and Zumba classes are planned and spinning-style indoor cycling classes will be introduced.

An expanded course schedule is expected to be phased in during the summer term and should be fully implemented by fall, Jakicic said. The slate of course offerings will be flexible in order to embrace popular fitness trends. “We don’t want it to be stagnant,” he said.

“One of the first things that we will be adding in addition to the expanded exercise classes is weight management for students, faculty and staff as part of our expanding health and fitness portfolio,” building on research conducted in his laboratory. “We have already implemented this successfully at the University Club Fitness Center, and this will allow us to expand our reach to more students, faculty and staff,” Jakicic said.

New equipment

The new cardio fitness facilities will include treadmills, elliptical trainers and stationary bikes, with cable TV access and individual viewing screens, as well as new resistance training equipment.

The new facility for faculty and staff will provide an alternative to the free facilities at Bellefield Hall that also are open to students, and the facilities for paying members at the University Club.

Access to the new Trees facilities will be included in the cost of health and fitness program classes. Faculty and staff who are not taking a fitness class would pay a nominal fee to use the equipment, Jakicic said.

The complete fee structure has not been finalized, but he said the goal is to make the program affordable and encourage use, while covering costs. “It helps make Pitt a place that encourages this behavior,” he said.

Beyond the basic fee, options such as body composition, strength or exercise testing would be available separately. “Eventually it will be a sort of smorgasbord,” Jakicic said. “We don’t make it mandatory to make people do what they don’t want to do.”

New paperwork

Jakicic said changes already have been made in how participants register for health and fitness program classes. “It’s more paperwork, but all we’re trying to do is meet industry standards,” he said.

As part of the registration process, participants must complete a health information form and release. They also may be required to obtain a doctor’s consent if they have recently had surgery, are (or recently were) pregnant or have certain conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, chest pain, lung disease, bone or joint pain or a family history of heart attack.

“We’re not requiring physicals or an exercise test or a doctor’s signature [for everyone] but balancing safety with what seems to be appropriate,” he said.

“You should know the risks; some people want to register for classes but may have conditions that mean they really should get their doctor’s approval for before starting. If you had a [heart attack] a few months ago, it could be dangerous to just sign up for a class without the doctor’s go-ahead,” Jakicic said.

“It’s not only responsible toward the participants, but also is a platform for students to understand best practices, a model for them to go into the field knowing what should be done,” he said, noting that other gyms and fitness clubs typically have similar requirements.

—Kimberly K. Barlow