Class helps benefit Castleton community

Castleton’s new health science class has become a hot topic around the campus community as the students work toward helping improve the health of the community members through personal training sessions.

            The Practicum in Exercise Leadership class, run by Gail Regan, allows students to work one on one with community members on a regular basis helping them to develop better health skills.

            The program was brought to Castleton State College by partnering with Blueprint for Health and the Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region.  These programs help people with chronic health problems, which could be improved by physical activity.

 John Feenick, chair of the physical education department, helped create this class and spoke highly of how well the students and the clients worked together. 

Many of the former practicum students boasted about the experience and getting to know their clients on a personal level.

“This was definitely a good class for both the clients and the students because it gave us hands-on experience,” said Eric Pollica a senior majoring in Exercise Science.

Graduate student in education Courtney Chadburn enjoyed the class thoroughly, but found it slightly difficult to help clients with different health issues.

“It’s hard working on a lot of different health issues and getting the right program for the right person,” said Chadburn.

The class runs three days a week.  New client evaluations are Wednesdays, in which all of the students discuss and assess suitable actions for the participants.  They begin with a comprehensive functional fitness evaluation, which consist of 5 areas: cardio respiratory endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility and body composition.  This evaluation gives the students and clients a base line to start from.

 Regan explains that their main goal is to help people who haven’t been exercising to become healthier.

“Our goal is to educate the community members about proper form and the value of different exercises,” said Regan with an eager smile on her face. 

The class uses a wide variety of workout techniques designed to increase the client’s stamina by including walking, weight lifting, and water aerobics.

Jade Werger, who is majoring in health psychology and minoring in sports fitness, explained how she helped one client.  

         “He had a hip issue so I had to modify his workout so it was beneficial to him.  We had to adjust his program to what he’d be able to do,” said Werger with a pause.  “Each of our clients had individual goals and our objective was for them to reach them.”

           

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