The countdown for the 100,000 customer for the Student Recreation and Wellness Center (SRWC) was kept a secret by Joel Bluml, SRWC director.

Bluml waited until the day he knew the SRWC was going to reach its 100,000 milestone before he even told the employees what was going on.

On Dec. 7, the SRWC was about 292 customers short of the 100,000 bench mark. Due to the snow fall that started in the early morning hours, the day was off to a slow start.

However, Bluml had faith in the students, their commitment to their wellness and to the intramural games that night that he kept a running count of the customers throughout the day.

Bluml did not tell his employees how close they were, or how close they were getting. All he told them was that the 100,000 customer was going to be coming through that day. He had them tell him when they reached certain numbers as the day went on.

Brian Flax a senior physical education major, CAB president and a regular of the SRWC battled the snow around 10 p.m. to play intramural basketball and ended up being the 100,000 customer.

The SRWC is used to seeing about 400 students a day, so not making it to the 100,000 mark before 10 p.m. was a little bit of a surprise, but expected do to the snow.

Along with having his picture taken to commemorate the event, Flax also receive a jacket, two promotional t-shirts, pedometer, highlighter, sweat towel and a cinch pack.

“It (the SRWC) is a state of the art resource and a great opportunity for students, said Flax. “It gives the students something constructive to do.”

Flax climbs the rock wall and participates in all of the intramural activities that the SRWC offers with his fraternity brothers. This means that he visits the SRWC one to two times a week on average.

“The SRWC is a great avenue for students to facilitate their goals of wellness. It also gives students a chance to build bonds through the activities,” said Flax.

The SRWC’s main objective is to provide a safe and enjoyable atmosphere were students can go to make meaningful long-term changes in their lives through health and wellness.

“The SRWC is doing a good job of promoting campus activities,” said Caroline Cezar, a junior education major and employee of the SRWC since it opened. “It is making the university more of a traditional setting.”

Cezar went on to say that student involvement at the SRWC has gradually picked up as the facility has been open do to class tours, prospective student tours, intramural participation and by word of mouth.

The SRWC has activities available for every skill and activity level imaginable. The wellness program has several components to help students reach and maintain their goals of healthy living.

“The hardest part about exercising is changing your clothes,” said Bluml on getting people to exercise.

According to Bluml the excuse he hears the most as to why people don’t exercise is that they don’t have the time.

Helping the students of Washburn find time to exercise and make long-trm life-style changes is a big goal for Bluml.

Students can start by setting up an appointment with Becky Wilber, SRWC assistant director, to get a fitness assessment. After conducting a fitness assessment, the student will be given an exercise prescription to fit their individual needs and goals.

The student can even have a nutritional analysis done to find problem areas in their diet and receive suggestions on how to fix the problems.

Before using any equipment, students can individually or as a group, go through the Smart Start orientation program that teaches students how to properly use the equipment.

The SRWC also has 19 group exercise classes a week that offer students a variety of workout types. The SRWC is also still accepting teams for the spring intramural basketball season.

Coming in January, the SRWC is starting the incentive program Resolution Solution to help students achieve their New Year’s resolutions to get fit. They are also making some changes to how they are doing the rock wall-students will be able to climb the wall twice before being certified.

A complete list of up coming events and available programs can be found at the SRWC web site at www.washburn.edu/getfit or students can call the SRWC at 670-1314.