Recreational Services promotes fitness for students

The week before spring break held events that promoted March as Fitness Month

by Rachel Santillanes

Posters outside of Johnson Center promoting March Madness.

As the Lobo men’s basketball team geared up for the Mountain West Conference Tournament on March 15 in Las Vegas, students, faculty and staff at UNM were producing a different kind of “March Madness,” with their own blood, sweat and tears.

March is Fitness Month at UNM Recreational Services. The week before Spring Break held various classes, lectures and seminars available to students, faculty and staff to promote Fitness Month.

“The purpose of March Madness is to bring people back to remember their health, and exercise the week of midterms before spring break. It’s just like a release for the students,” said Sam Fernandez, fitness coordinator of Recreational Services and organizer of the weeklong events.

Fernandez said March Madness is in its fifth year.

“This year we incorporated more networking and classes than we’ve done in the past,” Fernandez said.

A list of events and classes can be accessed on the Recreational Services Web site.

Fitness, Fitness, Fitness
Events included the seminar, “Brain Education for Wellness,” Spring Break Boot Camp, and sessions titled Nutrition Day, Chair Yoga, Women on Weights, Partner Yoga, Meet a Trainer and could sign up for “The Works.” Almost every session was free with the exception of “The Works,” which is being promoted at half-priced.

People signed up at Recreational Services for the free classes or simply showed up to the event they wanted to attend.

This year the Health Center also got involved with March Fitness Month by helping out and offering health tips for Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s seminars.
“They promoted a spring break trip and information that students might not see otherwise,” Fernandez said.

One of the classes offered two days of the week was called, Women on Weights and was held in the Therapeutic Room in Johnson Center. It was conducted by two certified personal trainers from Recreational Services.

“We’re just trying to promote weight training to women and explain to them all the positives included in weight training,” Joe Leyba, one of the trainers, said about the class.

“March Madness has been going on (for years) but this is the first year we put on the ‘Women on Weights’ in the program,” Leyba said.

About 15 women showed up for the class on Monday and nine women attended Wednesday.

Weight Training Tips for Women
Andrew Holdin, who co-conducted the class, told participants: “We’re not going to give you a specific program, we’re giving you guidelines, something that you can follow and some example exercises you can take with it.”

Holdin went over several weight training guidelines and took questions, then the class was split into two groups. One group did lower body strength training exercises, and the other group did upper body weight training exercises, and then switched.

“One of the first things to remember with strength training,” Holdin said, “is low weight but high repetition, with 10 to 15 repetitions with each one so you can keep your muscles formed but you’re working on more definition and toning, you’re not working on mass building.”

Explaining why some women fear weight training, Holdin said there is a myth that women will bulk up like men. But he said that as long as women train correctly there is no need to worry about getting bulky.

“When using a higher weight and lower repetitions, you’re working on lifting that weight and your muscle is going to gain size over a period of time,” Holdin said.
Holdin offered advice about getting the most from a workout.

“The second thing is to give your body rest,” he said. “Every time you strength train or resistance train, you want to give your body at least 24 to 36 hours rest in between. Giving that time to recover, for your muscles to adapt and repair in between that time.

“Also, in between that time you can do cardio training, walking, bike, jogging on the treadmill, the elliptical, anything to keep your heart rate up, the blood flowing, your muscles loose again, and it helps get the lactic acid that’s stored up in your blood flowing out so you’re not as sore later on and recover much quicker” Holdin said.

To prevent workouts from hitting a plateau, Holdin offered this advice: “The third thing is mix it up. Every two to three weeks you really want to change what you’re doing in your workout routine. If you do it consistently for more than six weeks, your body is going to adapt to that and it’s not going to see any more changes.”

Holdin stressed the importance of defining individual fitness goals.

“If you don’t know exactly what you’re working out for, then you don’t really have a long term goal per se,” he said.

“Finally, push yourself. Every time you get to the gym and get in a workout, get the most out of your time in the gym. Work out to where your muscles are at their peak, your heart rate is up."

Recreational Services open for business year round
March isn’t the only month of the year when students can be invested in their health and be involved with Recreational Services.

“We always have the faculty and staff, and they always know what’s going on,” Fernandez said. “You can go in when you feel like it. It’s a great thing to have at their own time at their own leisure so they can always have that fitness and wellness available at all times.

“We have classes going on right now,” Fernandez said.

Anyone can join “The Works” at any time throughout the year, not just during the month of March.

“The Works” is a fitness program that lasts eight weeks and normally costs $50, but the price has been reduced to $25 during March Madness.

Participants can attend as many classes a week as they choose. Some of the various classes offered include, yoga, Pilates, cycling, salsa, Zumba, as well as others.

Other fitness classes starting in March are:

Boot Camp Outdoor Fitness, beginning March 23. It meets on Monday and Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Morning Lobo Cycling, beginning March 23. It meets on Monday and Wednesday from 6:15 a.m. to 7:15 a.m.
Deep Water Aerobics, beginning in March when pool renovations are completed in Johnson Center.

For more information, visit the Recreational Services Web site at: recservices.unm.edu, or call (505) 277-0178.

Written March 12, 2009

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