The new functional fitness room has recently opened in the Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center on campus to give students, faculty and staff a more private and concentrated focus during their workout.

The new room at the Rec is open from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday–Friday, and it features a more private and updated environment so students can concentrate on body-focused workouts.

Lindsay Joyce, fitness coordinator in the new Functional Fitness Room inside the MTSU Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center, demonstrates how to use the TRX equipment for suspension training. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

The room has a turf and weightlifting section, squat racks, bumper plates, kettlebells, TRX equipment used for suspension training and box platforms.

Lindsay Joyce, the fitness coordinator, wants to encourage participants to get out of their comfort zone and branch into different styles of training.

“TRX is a suspension training bodyweight exercise where the participant uses his/her own bodyweight to develop strength, balance, flexibility and core strength all at the same time,” Joyce said. “Since it uses your bodyweight and gravity, it can be modified for all fitness levels. We want members to have a fun and safe environment, but also have the ability to train hard and be healthy.”

The functional fitness room allows members to perform a variety of Olympic-style lifts of use their body weight with a variety of equipment much different from the original weight room.

“The fitness room is something new that I like,” MTSU senior Darius Gallaher said. “It gives me the freedom to do the workouts I want to do without feeling restricted by outdated equipment.”

With a high energy and welcoming environment, the functional fitness room has more flexibility to create more short circuit, interval, and agility training sessions that allow students to maximize their fitness potential.

In order to use the room, you must be a member of the Rec or have some affiliation with MTSU. All students have memberships that are included with their tuition. Faculty and staff also have free memberships and can purchase membership access for family, Alumni are also able to purchase memberships.

For more information about the functional fitness room, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/camprec/fitness/Functionalfitness.php, or contact Lindsay Joyce at Lindsay.Joyce@mtsu.edu.

— Faith Few (news@mtsu.edu)

MTSU business major Darius Gallaher works out in the new Functional Fitness Room inside the MTSU Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)