How to get your fitness fix without leaving campus

Among an endless sea of worries for first-year students, concerns about staying active can get lost in the shuffle. 

At first glance, it can feel intimidating to walk around campus, searching for the perfect spot to lift weights or go for a run. Fortunately, several on-campus fitness resources can help students stay in shape in almost any way they choose. 

Here’s an in-depth look at some of the physical wellness resources Ohio State provides.

Carmen Swain, a clinical associate professor in the College of Education and Human Ecology, said while Ohio State possesses various fitness-oriented facilities, the Recreation and Physical Activity Center — or RPAC — is the main hub.

“We have amazing machine weights,” Swain said. “We also have amazing free weights. You can run the indoor track, you can swim. We have a leisure pool, we have a hot tub, we have a sauna, we have golf simulators.” 

Swain said the RPAC also houses many sports courts, from basketball to racquetball to squash.

Though the RPAC is the epicenter of on-campus fitness equipment, Swain said branch gyms have been built across campus to complement its core presence. 

Rick Petosa, a professor of kinesiology in the Department of Health Sciences, said these branch gyms — such as the North Recreation Center , Jesse Owens North and Jesse Owens South — have become extremely popular with students despite not being as sprawling as the RPAC. This is because they afford a greater level of privacy, he said. 

“RPAC is a very open space,” Petosa said. “And so the weight room, for example, it’s a very large number of square feet, [a] large number of people in there. And some people don’t like to be watched or the fear of being recorded, and so the [branches] of the RPAC are really handy in that regard.”

Swain said another reason students love the branch facilities is simple: convenience.

“People like the satellites because of the ease of access,” Swain said. “I can exercise right when I wake up at a location right by where I live.” 

Most of the branch gyms can be found in campus’ North and South areas, but the Adventure Recreation Center — or ARC — is a major facility found in the Western portion of campus, Swain said.

Swain said the ARC provides a somewhat alternative fitness experience, with its turf fields and a rock-climbing wall being among the main offerings.

Aside from gym spaces, Petosa and Swain both said joining a team of time kind, whether at the intramural or club levels, is a great way to establish one’s fitness endeavors at Ohio State.

“Campus Rec offers an extensive range of intramural programs so people can join team sports and other things,” Petosa said. “Football leagues, baseball and just about anything, and so the idea is that exercise for a lot of people is a social activity. Intramural sports offer the opportunity to play with your friends and make new friends.”

Swain also said a wide range of group fitness classes are offered at different facilities across campus on a weekly basis.

“There’s always yoga or pilates — or spinning got really hot for a while —  and so they flux depending upon what’s hot right now,” Swain said. “You can just sign up for these classes, and oftentimes they can be free or minimal cost to students.”

Swain said she believes group fitness classes offer students a congenial atmosphere and prime opportunities to make new friends.

“There’s low judgment, anybody can sign up and it’s like, come try a new thing and see if you like it,” Swain said.

Students looking to incorporate fitness directly into their course schedules can do so via the Sport Health and Fitness Program, Petosa said. 

“Students can formally enroll, and it covers a whole range of physical activity programs,” Petosa said. “It’s great if someone wants to learn something new about a new sport. If they want to learn about tennis, for example, they’ll get formal [training]. And if they want to learn details about diet and exercise training, they can learn it in those classes as well.”

For students seeking out an easygoing, accessible fitness experience that leads them off-campus, Petosa said the Olentangy River Trail is just the place for them.

“The bike trail goes right along the river, right through campus and then goes right downtown to the bars and goes north of town,” Petosa said. 

Overall, Petosa and Swain said Ohio State offers vivid, personalized fitness options for almost every type of Buckeye. They said students should do their best to integrate fitness into their daily lifestyles, especially considering college’s innate stressors. 

“We’re looking out for students, and we give students lots of opportunities to be physically active so that it can help promote their physical and mental health so that they have a good time while they’re on campus, but also just helping them to shape their future lives,” Swain said. 

For more information regarding fitness on-campus, visit the Office of Student Life’s Recreational Sports website.

This story was updated July 31 at 10:05 p.m. to correct the misspelling of a source’s name in its corresponding print edition, Buckeye Bound 2024.