OU Fitness + Recreation offers new F45 Training program for weight loss, improved fitness
As the obesity rate across Oklahoma continues to rise, OU’s Fitness + Recreation is taking a step in the fight against obesity.
Fitness + Recreation has implemented F45 Training, which is a group-training program that “centers on functional training and developing the muscle groups of the body in order to perform better in all aspects of daily life,” according to the Fitness + Recreation website.
Oklahoma has the third-highest obesity rate in the country, and the current obesity rate among adults in Oklahoma is 36.5 percent, according to the State of Obesity website.
Those who are obese have an increased risk of serious diseases and health conditions, some of which include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, stroke, coronary heart disease and mental illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
F45 Training works to combat this issue with workouts that are different every day to keep people motivated and increase their overall fitness, according to the F45 Training website.
“The classes are 45 minutes from start to finish — that includes explaining the class, demonstrating the movement, warming up, doing your workout, taking breaks, and then cooling down and stretching afterward,” said Malinda Williams, Fitness + Recreation assistant director. “It’s very efficient, and that efficiency can really help because, for many people, time is a factor that makes it difficult for them to get started on their weight loss journey.”
Those who already have a Fitness and Recreation FIT Pass can pay a fee of $25 plus tax to add the F45 classes, and those who do not have a FIT Pass can pay $38.35 plus tax, according to the Fitness + Recreation website.
Williams said the classes take place Monday through Friday and Sunday. However, classes will also be offered on Saturday during the spring semester and will be offered every semester in the future.
The environment of the F45 Training classes is very positive and welcoming to everyone, no matter what someone’s starting point is, Williams said.
Williams said the F45 Training classes are structurally different from the type of fitness classes Fitness + Recreation usually offers, where a fitness instructor designs and implements their programs into the classes they teach.
F45 Training, on the other hand, is a package individuals receive from the F45 Training company that designs the program for them, so the fitness instructors take on a different role.
“I just make sure that people are doing proper form, and if they need to modify an exercise, I can give them those modifications,” Jill Tran, OU F45 Training instructor, said. “If anyone has any injuries, I have to make sure I’m watching out for them.”
The F45 Training classes began on Oct. 1, and so far, the feedback from the classes has been positive, Williams said.
“I want to wear smaller pants, and I think F45 can help me get there, and I think it will make me feel better about myself,” said Bruce Maelzer, Fitness + Recreation maintenance coordinator and F45 student. “I’ve just ended my first class, and don’t get me wrong, ending the first class I was tired and about midway through I was like, ‘I have made a horrible mistake,’ but I got through it, and I worked hard all 45 minutes, and I feel really good right now.”
Maelzer said his main goal from doing the F45 Training classes is to be able to keep up with his daughter.
“I have a 3-year-old daughter, and right now, I can’t always keep up with her when she wants to play,” Maelzer said. “She loves to run around in the backyard and run from one end of the yard to another because a lion is chasing us, and I can’t keep up with her. After a few laps I have to be like, ‘All right, let’s find a new game,’ and I don’t like that. If in the end, I end up with a smaller pants size, then all the better.”
Maelzer said he will also be tracking his progress through the Fitness + Recreation Facebook page and his personal Twitter account in order to keep himself accountable.
“I’ve taken two (F45 Training classes) – one was more cardio-oriented, one was more strength-oriented,” Cathy Kelly, an F45 student, said. “Both were super challenging HIIT classes. I got fantastic and totally different workouts both times. Because of the way that the workouts are structured, I was able to see what areas of my fitness were stronger, and what areas were not so strong.”
