The Wellness Center: A total fitness experience

The name ‘Wellness Center’ might be a little confusing to students new to UM. The word ‘gym’ doesn’t do justice. The Wellness Center is much more than a gym. It’s a place that offers students an opportunity to experience a whole new lifestyle. Here’s the what, why, where, and when of the Wellness Center.

What exactly is the Wellness Center?

The Wellness Center is a premier fitness and recreation facility located on the Coral Gables campus. You will need your ‘Cane card to enter the facility.

Once inside, you will find the following:

I A fitness room full of cardio and weight equipment

I A large gymnasium with three full basketball courts that can be converted to volleyball or badminton courts

I A smaller gymnasium with rounded walls so you can play indoor soccer, floor hockey, basketball, volleyball, or badminton

I A jogging/walking track

I An pool designed for lap swimming and water aerobics

I A spa and two saunas

I Racquetball courts (6)

I Squash courts (2)

I A juice bar (‘Cane Express and Dining Dollars accepted)

I A fitness lab

I An instructional kitchen

I Studio Cycling room

I Classrooms (2)

I Conference room

I Multi-purpose rooms (2)

I William Butler Atrium (a place to hang out)

I A wireless ‘cloud’ for internet access

I Locker rooms

Outside the Wellness Center you will find:

I Basketball courts that can be converted to volleyball or badminton courts

I Tennis courts

I Michael Yaron building and lighted playing fields (4)

I George Smathers Courtyard (another place to hang out-wireless cloud works here, too)

The wellness staff would also add that students have a unique opportunity to learn about fitness and develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

For example:

I CHAMP (Canes Health Assessment and Motivation Program) is a peer-based fitness/wellness program that is free to UM students. Students receive a fitness assessment followed by peer-based counseling and follow-up assessments.

I The fitness lab is staffed and equipped to perform fitness tests on everybody from high-performing athletes to de-conditioned, at risk participants. Body fat composition, blood pressure screening and VO2 max tests are just a few of the test performed in the fitness lab.

I An instructional kitchen that teaches students how to prepare simple meals and make nutritional food choices.

I A chance to participate in a variety of activities such as intramural sports, club sports, yoga, studio cycling, dance classes, Pilates, aerobics, etc.

When is the Wellness Center open and when can I start using it?

The Wellness Center fee is automatically charged to full-time undergraduate students, day law students, and graduate students registered for nine credits or more.

During the academic year, the Wellness Center is open Monday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Access for the fall semester begins the first day of orientation. I

>> For more information, call 305-284-8500, or visit www.miami.edu/wellness.