Depot’s personal trainers promote healthy lifestyles

The Wellness Depot is a full-exercise facility for GCSU students, not to mention membership is already paid for by student fees.

The facility is equipped with free weights, cardiovascular and strength training equipment, and it offers personal training, free fitness assessments as well as educational and awareness programs.

As the assistant director of the wellness programs at The Depot, Amy Whatley uses her wealth of knowledge to advise students, faculty and staff about exercise and nutrition.

“The Depot is strictly for students,” Whatley said. “Faculty members have the option of paying $15 dollars a month to use the facility also. This is mainly because we don’t have enough space to accommodate everyone.”

Some upcoming events The Depot has created are jogging groups, women’s health and fitness day, as well as men’s health and fitness day. These events are free and are created for students and staff to learn about exercise and nutrition.

“I am in charge of coordinating the Bobcat Ramble,” Whatley said. “With 249 participants this past year, it is by far our largest event.”

Whatley also offers free wellness coaching which is a combination of nutrition, exercise and living well. Students and staff set three month goals to work toward and are encouraged to journal their workouts.

“I won’t actually take clients back to the weight room,” Whatley said. “But our phone calls will keep clients motivated to do the work on their own. I will be like their counselor, nutritionist and coach all in one.”

Exercise science majors offer personal training based on an application process.

Currently The Depot has 25 student personal trainers, most of whom train a staff member and a student. The Depot tries to accommodate as many people as it can, but it has to work around the students’ schedules.

The fee for personal training is $120 for 12 weeks or $60 for 6 weeks. At the completion of the session, there is an 85 percent reimbursement. Students and staff have to commit to at least two hours a week for training.

It is up to each individual on the areas of focus. Some clients want a trainer for weight loss, while others just want to tone muscle. Each trainer is required to create a schedule to accommodate their client.

Student trainers use what they have learned and what they are currently learning throughout their exercise science studies. Each trainer has to use 64 of their 130 clinical hours to train clients at The Depot or to work with a GCSU sports team.

Senior exercise science major Julianna Stradley plans on using her exercise science degree to move on to a career in physical therapy.

“I have really enjoyed training so far,” Stradley said. “The hardest part about training is making a plan to fit each client’s needs, but it’s great to see clients achieve their goals and build their confidence.”

Julia Newman, an English major, decided to use a trainer for extra motivation.

“I used to play soccer for the school,” Newman said. “Since I stopped I wasn’t able to duplicate the high intensity workouts on my own.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 25 2009. Filed under Health & Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry