Cardinal Fit brings new fitness experiences

Does North Central offer enough to those wanting to stay fit?

Cardinal Fit is a brand-new fitness program that offers different ways to get active. These services are open to faculty, staff and students. Assistant Professor of Exercise Science Marilyn Skarbek, is behind this new program.

The kinesiology department has been working with Skarbek to get Cardinal Fit up and running for a long time. Different concerns such as space limitations and liability issues have led to the delay.

“I think the main impetus in implementing the program was the transition to semesters,” said Skarbek. “In the transition to semesters, not only do we have more time, but we had the opportunity to redesign the curriculum.”

Cardinal Fit currently offers three different services. The first service is an exercise orientation which is an introductory course. In this orientation, participants will learn how to use different machines and perform different bodyweight exercises. It is also only a one-hour commitment.

“It’s not limited to people who never had familiarity with that,” said Skarbek. “We can teach people different things. There is pretty much a limitless amount of exercises that you can do.”

The exercise orientation would be best for those who want to learn how to use the correct form or learn new exercises to do at home or at the gym.

The next service Cardinal Fit provides is the fitness evaluation. During this time, an assessment will be done on the individual’s fitness. For example, balance, agility, aerobic and power are just some of the fitness parameters that would be evaluated.

“The tests will be specific to the individual,” said Skarbek. “In fact, all our services are tailored to the individual, it’s not a one size fit all program at all.”

The final service is an individualized program. It is an eight-week program specifically for the individual. They will meet with a student coach once a week. In addition, these meetings will also consist of either training together or talking about how the program is going.

Being in good physical shape is important. Recognizing other aspects in one’s life needing improvement is also important. Being able to have conversations on what an individual wants to improve on is key. This is what this service is about.

“(This) program we are looking at more holistically,” said Skarbek. “Physical activity is obviously the main component there, but we are also looking at your lifestyle habits.”