SRWC now offering personal trainers to students

The Student Recreation and Wellness Center announced, last week, that it is now offering personal training services to anyone who is a member of the facil¬ity.
The program has been in the works for a number of months and is unlike anything that the SRWC has offered in previous years.

According to the SRWC Web site, anyone who has a membership to the center (i.e. faculty/staff who have pur¬chased a membership or full-time stu¬dents), may use the personal trainers to create an exercise program, train for an athletic event, or achieve their fitness goals.

Kelly Beisenstein-Weiss, the fitness, special events, and marketing coor¬dinator at the SRWC, said the prices for each session of personal training vary. Prices depend on the amount pur¬chased, if it is a single or multi-person session, and if the member is a student or faculty member.

"The more sessions you purchase, the cheaper it will be," Beisenstein- Weiss said. "We also offer partner ses¬sions, if you want to work with a friend, which would be cheaper than a normal session. Everything that we offer will be put on our Web site, under the link for personal training."

Currently, a one-on-one session costs $15 for students and $20 for faculty members who already are members of the center. Partner sessions cost $24 per pair for students and $30 per pair for faculty members. The price, per ses¬sion, decreases when more than one session is purchased at once.

Once a member decides to enroll in personal training sessions, they meet with Beisenstein-Weiss to discuss their goals and preferences.

"I first, meet with them and listen to what they want to achieve," Beisen¬stein-Weiss said. "Then, I match them up with one of our personal trainers, whom I think best suits them. I also have them take a look at the trainers to see if they have a preference."

Once the member has picked a per¬sonal trainer, the person would then meet with the trainer to discuss their typical workout habits, health con¬cerns, diet preferences and goals. From there, they would begin their workout sessions.

For students who want to work with a trainer but don't want to pay for per¬sonal training, the SRWC is offering a program called "Initial Exercise Pro¬gram Designs".

"If a student wants help, but doesn't want to have that commitment, we of¬fer help with setting up a personalized exercise program," Beisenstein-Weiss

orientation, and a personalized workout plan based on the member's individual goals and preferences.

Currently, the SRWC has five personal trainers employed, all of whom are students at Oshkosh.

Beisenstein-Weiss said the SRWC is hoping to hire more students, as personal trainers once the program grows more.

"There is a bio for each personal trainer on our Web site," Beisenstein-Weiss said. "All of our staff members have a background in kinesiology and are very excited about the new program."

Jena Viesselmann, a student at Oshkosh, is one of the SWRC's student personal trainers. Viesselmann said she was happy when she got the position at the center and looks forward to working with students.

"I'm excited to work with the students here at the University and help them reach their goals," Viesselmann said. "It's a huge passion of mine to help others to become the person they want to be, and I am also extremely passionate about exercise and fitness."
Viesselmann said the classes she has taken, in addition to her experience, have helped her get ready for her new position.

"I am a kinesiology major here on campus, so my classes have helped me prepare for this job," Viesselmann said. "I have also been teaching group exercise for the past two years, and this has given me a background in many different types of exercise moves to help make my training sessions more versatile and fun."

Since Viesselmann has experience teaching various group workout classes at the SRWC, she thinks the partner sessions, through personal training, will be well-liked by students.

"I think the partner training will become very popular," Viesselmann said. "This is somewhat like a group exercise class, because you can come with a friend, except it is more personalized. This is because the work out is tailored to your specific needs and goals instead of the needs of a whole group of people."

According to Beisenstein-Weiss, members may sign up for personal training at anytime. Students do not have to wait until the beginning of the year or semester to enroll in personal training sessions.

"We are really pleased with the turnout so far," Beisenstien-Weiss said. "We encourage students to stop by and we hope the program grows in the future."