2011 encourages change in students’ fitness

By Laura Finaldi, News Correspondent

Health and fitness resolutions drop faster than Snooki in her New Year’s Eve hamster ball, unless you have the motivation and access to make them work. With the new year in full swing, students have not only made resolutions to monitor the foods they eat, but also to lose weight and exercise more often this year, according to a survey compiled by Marist College.

The survey of 1,029 adults found 60 percent of Americans who made new year’s resolutions in 2010 kept them for part of the year, while 40 percent did not. Sixteen percent of people surveyed said they resolved to lose weight, and 8 percent said they would resolve to exercise more.

The Marino Center offers group fitness classes for a fee of $50 a semester, and Stephanie Belair, a fourth year pharmacy student, said she plans to take advantage of this. Belair said she has resolved to go to group fitness classes at the Marino Center as many days a week as she can.

She said the convenience of being able to sign up for classes online makes her more motivated to go.

“I sign up when I’m sitting down in front of a computer in my house,” Belair said. “Even if I don’t want to go, it’s like an appointment.”

Lindsey Wallis, an assistant trainer at the Marino Center and graduate student, said people who come in after the holidays in hope of regaining fitness will usually do a series of free weight exercises with a trainer, but then do other thigs by themselves.

“Most people that will come in for training want to do weight training and do the cardio portion on their own,” Wallis said.

At the Marino Center, students are limited to one class per day. Wallis said she recommends the cycle class, which is done on spin bikes and provides a total body workout.

“It’s continuous cardio with imminent bursts of power,” Wallis said. “It’s definitely one of the most popular [classes]. I know that everyone always tells me they get a great workout from it.”

Students said group fitness is popular because, even though they may already do those exercises, it motivates them to work harder.

“Those [exercises] are the things I would normally do at the gym,” Belair said. “But in group fitness it’s fun and they do stuff that I don’t think of [on my own].”

Fitcorp, a gym located at 800 Boylson St. at the Prudential Center, does not offer a student discount; however, it does offer an “age discount,” which gives those under 25 the opportunity to use the gym for a monthly fee of $69, as opposed to the usual $89.

Tom Heffernan, Fitcorp’s sales manager, said a membership at Fitcorp includes full access to the gym’s other four Boston locations (1 Beacon St., 197 Clarendon St., 125 Summer St., and 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur) group fitness classes, and two free personal training sessions.

Wallis said the key to sticking to a fitness-related New Year’s resolution is making exercise a priority in one’s daily life.

“Find a little time every day, no matter what your schedule is, to add in exercise,” she said. “If that means parking a little further away, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, making it a priority will help.”

She said laying out gym clothes the night before or packing a bag will also help motivate people to actually go to the gym rather than blow it off.

“The less excuses you can make for yourself, the better,” Wallis said.

In addition to the fitness facilities on campus, students can take advantage of the many different gyms in the city. Boston Athletic Club (BAC) in South Boston offers a membership discount of almost 50 percent to undergraduate students who are under the age of 22, said Molly Cuff, sales manager at BAC.

Cuff said membership rates are subject to change at the all-inclusive fitness facility. Exact prices are not available to the public, but anyone interested in becoming a member can get information on current pricing at 617-269-4300.