Sweat sessions

While the Student Recreation Center is home to a myriad of treadmills, weight machines, dumbbells and basketball hoops, there is much more going on behind the window-paned walls. 

The SRC is a unique place on campus — almost like a community within itself. It’s a place where groups of students and faculty can come together to take a break from their academic experience at the University of Idaho.

According to Wellness graduate assistant Dina Mijacevic, men and women utilize the facilities at the SRC differently. For some, the SRC is a place to meet new people, for others the SRC is simply a place to have a good sweat session.

While working as a personal trainer and leading Wellness classes at the SRC for four years, Mijacevic said she has noticed how women often make up the majority in Wellness classes participants.

“A lot of our Wellness participants are girls, women and (female) faculty and staff,” Mijacevic said.  “Men tend to lift more weights, and women tend to do more cardio, and that’s the way it often is.”

While the SRC offers a wide range of Wellness classes like zumba, flow yoga and circuit sculpt, the most popular class for both men and women is cycling, Mijacevic said.

“(The class is) usually half men and half women in the morning and at night,” Mijacevic said. “It’s a really popular class, more popular than regular aerobic classes.”

While cycling classes — the pedaling sweat-sessions held in one of the upstairs aerobic rooms — are always favored, Mijacevic said aerobic classes in general are much more popular with women than men.

For some women, it can feel awkward to work out with the large groups of men that strength train on the weight lifting floor, Mijacevic said. Taking an aerobics class offers an environment that is more comfortable, and the workouts are still challenging enough to suit the female gym-goers needs.

“I think a lot of women would do more weight training if they weren’t being watched by men,” Mijacevic said. “The reason they come to fitness classes is so they don’t have to be on the weight floor, and they don’t have to worry about being judged or being watched.”

Mijacevic found that more women enjoy the environment of fitness classes because they can combine strength and cardiovascular exercise without being in such a public space. Women also enjoy bringing their friends to Wellness classes, Mijacevic said.

“There is something that everyone likes about physical activity and movement,” Mijacevic said. “It’s not all just about the gym. It’s also about staying in shape for your favorite activities, and how we can relate it to life components and your lifestyle.”

International studies major Brett Travis enjoys the gender diversity found at the SRC.

“From a guy’s perspective, it’s just nice to see girls around,” Travis said. “It adds to the environment and makes the whole environment more comfortable, not so much macho-ness.”

Working out with a group of men on the weight floor can add pressure to perform at peak levels, Travis said, yet the presence of females can break up and temper those tense feelings.

“Having too many men around just creates a more stressful, ‘Who’s the strongest?’ atmosphere,” Travis said. “When there are girls around you’re more relaxed.”

While working out with a group of friends can be enjoyable, Travis prefers planning solo sweat sessions so he can hit the gym whenever his schedule allows.

“People always want to work out with me because I work out a lot and they think I know what I’m doing,” Travis said. “But I just go whenever I go, I don’t have a set time every day.”