By Ashlee Godwin
Being healthy is important and exercise is a big part of it. There are many options to get in shape from teams and gyms to fitness classes.
College of Southern Nevada’s Sports Center has a variety of options. “The main goal is to involve faculty, staff, and students and to motivate them to work out more and to create overall health and wellness,” said Andrea Gonzalez, administrative assistant at CSN Sports Center.
Coyote Fitness Challenge is currently running through Nov. 20 to motivate students to get in shape. Students can participate by recording exercise they do and keeping track of their fitness goals for a total of eight weeks.
“Even if they are just running on a treadmill for eight weeks for the Challenge they are still going to see a difference and then feel better about themselves mentally and physically,” Gonzalez said.
“I noticed just from friends that they are more aware of health and wellness and with all of these diseases, cancer and diabetes, I think eventually health and wellness will become an important part of peoples’ lives,” Gonzalez said.
There are also fitness classes offered at the Sports Center including Zumba and stretch fitness. The classes are meant for beginners so everyone is welcome to join. In order to participate in the classes, students will need a Sports Center membership that costs $20 per semester or $50 an academic year, which comes with a locker. The membership allows students access to classes and the gym with basketball, racquetball and weights.
Kevin Calma, a CSN student, said that he’s not interested in going to a gym but prefers to play basketball for his fitness. “I don’t play for the school team; I play for my own division at Tarkanian Basketball Academy. I come to the school gym to just shoot around and practice. This is the only work out that I actually enjoy.”
For people that like to play sports for fun and need motivation from others but don’t have money to join a team or gym, there is a website called Meetup.com. Meetup creates opportunities for people to connect with others who want to play pick-up games of basketball, softball, soccer, kickball and football. It even has groups for boot camps and hiking.
Other options include gyms like Las Vegas Athletic Club, 24 Hour Fitness or specialty programs such as CrossFit, a strength and conditioning program to improve cardiovascular endurance, speed and agility.
Chad Cole, owner of CrossFit Apollo, said, “CrossFit is a general physical preparedness program. The idea of it is we have 10 different fitness domains and our goal is to be as equally fit in all of those as possible. We want to be able to run a marathon while also being able to lift 500 pounds off the floor.” It costs $110 to $130 a month on a one-year contract at CrossFit Apollo.
One of the keys to fitness is to keep it interesting. By considering the many options above, students can get in shape and enjoy it. For more information on fitness at CSN visit http://www.csn.edu/sportscenter/.
Coyote Student News at the College of Southern Nevada 