12-30-02: Coldwater residents work out in schools' new fitness center

12-30-02: Coldwater residents work out in schools' new fitness center

By TIMOTHY COX
The Daily Standard

    COLDWATER - Coldwater Exempted Village Schools residents can get into shape without joining a health club or buying workout equipment for their home. All they have to do is go to school.
    The school district in September opened its new fitness center to the public, giving residents and students alike the chance to tone up using a balanced workout regimen. The workout equipment, located in the former multi-purpose room known as the Icebox, was purchased from the Utah-based National School Fitness Foundation for $123,505.
    The foundation usually has the district make payments for the equipment during a three-year period. The goal of the foundation is to make money through financing equipment and then returning the base purchase price to the district that bought it, Treasurer Sherry Shaffer said. Coldwater did not finance its equipment, though, instead paying for it outright through general fund revenue.
    The school district so far has received monthly reimbursement payments from the fitness foundation, Shaffer said, although there are no guarantees the payments will continue since the school did not finance the purchase over time.
    Corporate sponsorships and other organizational partnerships allow the foundation to refund the purchase price to participating school districts, the foundation claims. Coldwater is the fifth Ohio school to join the program based on a list of schools on the foundation Web site.
    There is no cost for district residents to use the fitness center. Before newcomers begin workouts, however, they must undergo a physical assessment by one of the center's supervisors. The trained supervisors then teach the fitness program, which is based on brief workouts on equipment that isolates specific muscle groups.
    The equipment is not intended to take the place of the school district's weight room, but is meant to enhance the school's physical fitness program.
    The foundation's ongoing fitness education focuses on four key areas: strength training, muscle endurance, cardiorespiratory/cardiovascular fitness, and flexibility.
    The foundation's fitness program is based on several brief but rigorous workouts per week. Foundation officials say that is all that is necessary to see results through the program.

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