Cougar Fit Resumes In-Person Classes for CofC Faculty, Staff

As we ease back into the hustle and bustle of pre-pandemic life, it’s the perfect time to reset our daily routines and our everyday habits. And, whether you used the pandemic as a chance to focus on fitness or as an excuse to forget about it altogether, Cougar Fit is the perfect place to start.

This free, circuit training/HIIT-based class dedicated solely to faculty and staff is designed for all fitness levels – and, for the first time in over a year, it’s being held in person!

Sara Coleman, fitness coordinator for Campus Recreation Services

“I’m so excited to see everyone and really give some structure and accountability to their workout routines,” says Fitness Coordinator Sara Coleman ’17, who will be leading the classes this summer. “There will be a lot of resistance training, because I love resistance training, and CORE, CORE, CORE! I’m going to be bringing all kinds of training into the mix, too – things I like from F45 stuff and Orangetheory.”

No matter what the routine is on any given day, it will be modifiable according to participants’ levels.

“Even people who haven’t been to the gym in three years can do this – up to the most advanced athletes,” says Coleman. “No matter what level, you’ll see a change.”

That’s because Coleman has structured the class schedule in such a way that gives faculty and staff something to work toward – and a timeframe to do it in.

“People do better when they have the structure of a date they’re working toward, so the first summer session will be four weeks,” she says. “Everyone will work toward that four-week mark, and, at the end of those four weeks, if you showed up and truly did the work, you’ll see the results.”

Starting Tuesday, June 8, 2021, the 45-minute classes will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the George Street Gym classroom.

The schedule is as follows:

Cougar Fit Summer Session 1 (4 weeks): June 8–July 6
Break (1 week): July 8–15
Cougar Fit Summer Session 2 (3.5 weeks): July 19–August 17

A Zoom-in option with at-home modifications will be included. The link is available on IMLeagues. And, says Coleman, those who aren’t working toward a four-week benchmark are certainly welcome, too.

“People can drop in if they just want a really great workout or want to learn how to lift properly or want to learn techniques,” she says. “But four weeks is a great mark, a great indicator, for those who want more structure and want to see results.”

It’s also about that time that other people start seeing results in you, says Coleman.

“People will start noticing after about four to six weeks,” she says. “But, most importantly, after four weeks, there’s something in your brain that clicks, and you’re hooked! You will feel like you have to exercise every day, and it will become part of your daily routine.”

It will, in other words, become your new normal.

To access Cougar Fit via Zoom, visit the Faculty and Staff Fitness Team in Microsoft Teams, where all the recorded Cougar Fit sessions, as well as additional workouts, tips and fitness facts, are available.

More information is available on CRS’ Faculty and Staff Fitness Program webpage. For further questions or to be added to the Faculty and Staff Fitness group in Microsoft Teams, email Bucky Buchanan ’08, assistant director of fitness.

Stay tuned for more faculty/staff opportunities from CRS this summer!