SRWC Wellness Suite offers free health and wellness resources for students, faculty and staff
When you’re juggling a myriad of responsibilities every single day, fitness may fall to the bottom of your priorities. When that happens, it can seem daunting or difficult to start going to the gym and eating healthy. Fortunately, Washburn’s Student Recreation and Wellness Center has resources like the Wellness Suite available for those looking to become healthier.
The SRWC and its Wellness Suite have free resources available to all the students, faculty and staff of Washburn University.
The Wellness Suite is a space that offers fitness and wellness consultations including personal training and movement screenings. In the suite, you can find everything you need to facilitate your fitness journey. Whether you are a seasoned athlete looking to optimize your health or a beginner who just needs help getting started, these resources will prove to be useful.
The Wellness Suite also has a high-tech scale that measures both body weight and other valuable metrics. Whether it be physical help with training and nutrition, or intellectual/emotional help in relation to fitness and wellness, this space is a place to come and discuss wellness in all aspects.
In the Suite, you can meet James Thayer, the assistant director of fitness and wellness.Thayer has worked to better the Washburn community’s fitness for around four years. He is one of the people you can talk to if you decide to visit the Wellness Suite.
“If people aren’t sure how to start or aren’t sure if what they’re doing is effective or if they have questions about nutrition or needing to implement some behavior changes, this is usually the office where we’ll meet to review and go over that information,” said Thayer.
Some of the resources that the Wellness Suite offers include personal training programs and movement screening programs. To access these programs, clients must register and sign up on the SRWC’s website under the personal training tab.
Personal training registration opens twice per semester. In Spring 2023, registration opens at the very beginning of the semester, and then again on the 20th, after spring break. Registration for movement screenings is open throughout the semester and is available on the same website as personal training.
With personal training, individuals work one-on-one with a trainer to create a program and help them meet their fitness goals. Trainers are qualified student employees at the SRWC who work alongside Thayer.
With movement screenings, individuals can work with staff in the Wellness Suite to assess different types of movements like lunges, squats and other exercises. Assessing these movements allows individuals to identify how effectively they are doing an exercise, limitations in range of motion and muscle compensation (natural body adaptations to misaligned movements).
Movement screenings are useful when you can’t work with a trainer one-on-one, if you missed registration, or if there are no more available personal training slots. It’s also helpful if you would rather do things alone than work with a trainer.
While it’s required to sign up online for personal training and movement screenings, anyone is welcome to visit the Wellness Suite if the door is open.
“We do have an open door policy but it is limited […] anytime the door is closed, typically there’s a meeting going on or we’re out of the office for the other programs and services […] If the door to the suite is open and one of the professional staff’s doors is open, you are more than welcome to come in and ask any questions that we’re able to answer,” said Thayer.
Another incredibly helpful resource in the Wellness Suite is the InBody 270 Body Composition Analyzer. This high-tech scale uses electrical impulses in your body to accurately measure your lean muscle mass, body fat percentage, total body water volume, other metrics and of course, your body weight. Individuals can use the results found from the scale to assess their body composition and then tailor their nutrition and training to meet their fitness goals.
InBody 270 uses electrical impulses to accurately measure body metrics. InBody 270 Body Composition Analyzer is located in the SRWC Wellness Suite.
Kiley Ray, a sophomore kinesiology major and SRWC staff member, mentions how using the InBody scale has helped her fitness.
“It was helpful for me because it gives you a breakdown of your weight and what it’s made up of. So for me that helps with my training for track and field and kind of knowing where I’m at with building muscle” said Ray.
For everyone, it’s important to prioritize health. However, with everything life throws at you, it can be difficult to find time to figure out what to do in the gym or with your diet. For beginners, it may also be intimidating to visit the gym.
Whether you’re an experienced gym rat or a nervous beginner, visiting the SRWC’s Wellness Suite and using its resources will prove to be helpful. By using services like personal training, movement screenings, or the InBody scale, individuals can take one step closer towards achieving their fitness goals.
For additional information, contact James Thayer at [email protected].
Edited By: Simran Shrestha and LeSha’ Davis
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