Photo courtesy of Chris Taylor
Senior Chris Taylor pumps iron in the weight room of the Sports Complex.
Trying to fit in fitness into already hectic schedules is tough for most Hillsdale college students especially trying to decide where, when and how to work out. For most students, though, a few easy options exist, either around campus, in the sports complex, or in a dorm room.
Senior Chris Taylor said his favorite place to work out is the weight room in the Roche Sports Complex.
“This is the best place in town, but then again, I don’t know,” he said. “I haven’t really been anywhere else. I weight lift three times a week, and I like doing bench press.”
Taylor has been lifting on and off for the last few years. He advises anyone considering doing weightlifting to stick with it and be consistent.
“In order to see results, you need to be weightlifting for about 4 weeks. You can’t expect to see results in 2 weeks,” Taylor said.
Taylor said there are two main forms of lifting: Power lifting and bodybuilding.
Bodybuilding is more for the shape and tone of your body as opposed to power lifting, which is intended for lifting heavy objects.
Taylor classified his weightlifting as somewhere in the middle.
Taylor is an Economics major and is minoring in Spanish, and he said it is “hard to balance academics with extracurriculars. If I had more time, I’d be down here more often.”
For junior Jill Reuschel, the love of basketball is what brings her to her favorite spot to stay in shape.
“I’d have to say that the gym is definitely my favorite place to work out,” said Reuschel, a shooting guard from Hamilton, Mich. She played basketball in high school and plays in the IM league on campus.
Reuschel played basketball every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of last semester, but said that her classes this year only allow her to play on Fridays.
“I wish I could get down [to the gym] more often, but my schedule really limits me,” she said.
For freshman Danielle Cook, the choice locale for working out is her dorm room. Cook does Pilates, a workout that is similar to yoga. It requires muscular isolation, breath awareness and correct form to gain physical fitness.
“Pilates is great,” Cook said. “You can do it whenever you want, it’s a great way to keep in shape and because I have arthritis, it’s very easy on my joints, so that’s a plus.”
Cook has arthritis in both knees, which makes it rather difficult for her to get out and run, but found her workout DVD at Wal-Mart in August and has been using it ever since.
“The best part about Pilates is I can do it in my own dorm room,” Cook said. “So when it gets cold outside, I don’t have to bother with below-freezing temperatures and snow.”
Freshman Amanda Robertson admits that her favorite workout spots are the library and just around campus.
She admits that a small group gets together at the library for a little bit of studying, after which they stretch out and go for a run around campus.
“It’s like multitasking,” Robertson said. “Do a little workout, do a little studying – it’s like peanut butter and jelly, it just goes together.”
Robertson runs every night with two freshman girls, who also partake of the multitasking study hour at the library.
“We walk our stuff up to the library, leave it in there, and because it’s so quiet, we stretch and then go [run]. Then we come back and do our work,” said Robertson.
Sports Complex Hours:
Weight Room
Monday-Friday
6a.m.-9p.m.
Saturday
7a.m.-8p.m.
Sunday
Noon-10p.m.
Pool
Monday-Friday
6a.m.-9a.m.
Tuesday & Thursday
11:30a.m.-1p.m.
Monday-Wednesday-Friday
Noon-1p.m.
5:15-8:30 p.m. Lap and Recreational Swim
Saturday
11a.m.-3p.m.
Sunday
Noon-4p.m.