Student participants in Total Fit’s “Gallant” challenge pose for a photo in Founder’s Gym. Courtesy | Paul Sri
Total Fit ran a “Gallant” workout challenge for anyone wanting to participate Sept. 28.
Sri, a Total Fit coach, said the workout was meant to be difficult.
“Like anything that we do here, we want to challenge ourselves and really work hard,” Sri said.
Total Fit is in its second year as a group on campus and has three CrossFit level-one trainers heading it up: two seniors, Joanna Leckband and Paul Sri, and junior Charles Kennedy.
“Total Fit is a fitness program that follows the CrossFit methodology,” said Strength and Conditioning Specialist Christopher Netley, who oversees the program. “It enhances general physical preparedness by using functional movements executed at relatively high intensities.”
Senior Garret Goolsby won the event with a time of 26:45. He was followed by junior Sam Wegner with a time of 28:54 and Chairman and Associate Professor of Psychology Collin Barnes with 29:03.
Competitors began with a 1-mile medicine ball run, the ball weighing 20 pounds for men and 14 for women. After 60 burpee pull ups, they went on to complete another half-mile medicine ball run, 30 burpee pull ups, a quarter-mile med-ball run, and ended with 15 more burpee pull ups.
One of the competitors, junior Paul Landry, said the workout was doable and actually fun.
“It’s a good way to get into cross fit,” Landry said. “I don’t typically workout with other people and it’s kind of enjoyable and has quite good camaraderie.”
They hold one large event per semester meant to challenge those willing to sign up.
“For the people who already have their fitness routines and would consider themselves fit and want to challenge themselves in a new way, we hold these big events,” Sri said.
Total Fit offers plenty of other opportunities for students on campus, according to Kennedy. He said Total Fit is there especially for those who want to begin their fitness journey.
“A lot of students come in, especially freshmen, and they don’t really know where to start to be healthy and active,” Kennedy said.
Its goal is to help give those students a place to start, according to Sri.
“The main goal would be to offer a baseline fitness for anyone who wants to get fit in a variety of different ways,” Sri said. “And if someone doesn’t know what to do in the gym this class will help a lot of that.”
Unlike last year, Total Fit only offers one class a week rather than four. The class is at 10-11 a.m. on Saturdays at the Founder’s Gym. The program has switched its focus to personal training, with sessions designed by the three coaches.
“This year the Total Fit coaches are designing their own unique training programs. Last year I wrote all the programming,” Netley said.
In personal training, the coaches can take a more focused approach to student fitness.
“A lot of us at Hillsdale will spend a lot of time in the books and not necessarily in the gym, Total Fit is definitely for those people,” Sri said. “It’ll be a helpful place for them to come and easily learn how to stay in shape and pursue some fitness goals.”