Cold outside? Get fit to fight in the gym!
Date: 17-01-2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States |
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SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- For those who just can't warm up when the mercury in the thermometer is frozen, the Main Fitness Center here has indoor facilities and equipment for almost every type of workout, from push-ups and crunches to weightlifting to aerobic exercise.
Like many other areas of Schriever, the fitness center is expanding, which means its services will continue to improve, said fitness center director Seth Cannello.
"When it's cold outside, you can certainly get an excellent workout indoors," Mr. Cannello said, pointing out the wide array of aerobic exercise machines in the gym's aerobic fitness room.
"This (the aerobic fitness room) is the busiest room in the fitness center," he said. "We have a cardio theater with six televisions and two radio stations, so people can listen to the radio or watch television while they work out."
A small room equipped with mats allows people to work on basic exercises such as push-ups and crunches. Each squadron receives one hour of time in the room per month, but larger squadrons can't always take advantage of the time because of their size, Mr. Cannello said.
Between the aerobic fitness room and the racquetball court is a room equipped with cross-training fitness equipment. Airman 1st Class Danielle Haggard worked with Mark Schuette, one of the fitness center's personal trainers.
"Working with a personal trainer is better for me," said Airman Haggard, who issues ID cards in the 50th Mission Support Squadron Military Personnel Flight. "They push me harder than I would push myself."
The fitness center offers free personal training to active-duty Airmen. Personal trainers also conduct Fitness Improvement Program classes, which are open to anyone, twice per day.
"A typical training session is about an hour," Mr. Cannello explained. "It's hard to really work out longer than that."
A free-weight room lets people do bodybuilding the old-fashioned way. Though the fitness center has received requests for more free-weight equipment, they currently don't have room for more than they have.
"A lot of people want their favorite machine, but we have limited space," Mr. Cannello said. In addition, Air Force instructions dictate what weight equipment is required to be in a fitness center; the required equipment takes up most of the fitness center's available space.
That's one of several things that will change when the fitness center expands in 2010, Mr. Cannello said. Among the plans for the new addition are a wood basketball court, larger aerobic and weight fitness rooms and more racquetball courts. The fitness center and its annex inside the restricted area will be open through the construction, with most of the fitness center remaining open even as the expansion takes place.
"We're anticipating three times the space, so we'll have three times the equipment," he said.
For those who aren't afraid of the cold, the fitness center staff is planning a snowshoe race at the U.S. Air Force Academy's Farish Recreation Area in February. The fitness center holds at least one fitness event each month.
For anyone looking to get out of the cold during their workout, however, the fitness center's forecast is red hot.
