When the ancient Babylonians planted crops at their new year in mid-March 4,000 years ago, they held a twelve-day religious festival called Akitu. They made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. In 46 B.C., Julius Cesar established January 1 as the beginning of the new year with Janus, the two-faced god symbolizing the ritual of looking back into the past and forward to the future. (History.com).
According to Forbes Health, "When it comes to New Year's resolutions for 2024, a Forbes Health/OnePoll survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted in October 2023 found that nearly 48% of respondents noted that improving fitness was their top priority (Forbes.com). But even if resolutions aren't your thing, Phoenix College (PC) Fitness Center offers a new health and physical fitness program in Spring 2024 with a custom workout plan, weekly assignments that bring awareness to your exercise and diet habits, and regular check-ins with a coach.
The Body Transformation Program
During the Fall of 2023, PC offered a pilot Body Transformation Program with 34 participants. Logan Ryan, PC's Wellness Fitness Supervisor, said the program's biggest strength is that participants commit and have someone to hold them accountable to their fitness goals and establish sustainable healthy lifestyle habits. "If you just want an exercise program, you can search on Google for one. It's even easy to find general nutritional guidance," Logan said. "The strength of our program is the weekly accountability check-ins with your coach."
The check-ins focus on victories, challenges, and what's coming up for the participants so the coaches can have some insight into where each participant is on their wellness journey. This helps determine if a participant's individualized program needs any alterations. Based on feedback from the pilot program, Logan said this semester will also include peer-to-peer interactions to build community. The program is fully remote, with assignments, a participant discussion board, and check-ins provided online. However, the two-credit class includes a complimentary PC Fitness Center membership. Logan is also planning an in-person kick-off event the first week of class so participants can meet and share contact information if they want to work out together.
Coaches to Keep You Accountable
This semester's coaches are Monay Mariscal and Grace Telepak, with curriculum support from Physical Education (PE) faculty Katrina Bourke and Fitness Center Staff Ceci Saenz and Logan Ryan, who believes the program provides an excellent template to help people reach their health and fitness goals. "It also gives PC a structure to expand our impact to more people than those currently in our ecosystem," he said. "That's something I'm very excited about."
The first section (#33574) of the Body Transformation program, PED 115 (also known as "Lifetime Fitness" in Find a Class), begins January 22 and continues through May 9, 2024. The $230 fee includes tuition for two (2) PE credit hours, a $20 program fee, a $15 registration fee, and a fitness center membership for the length of the program.
To get started on your 2024 health and fitness goals and enroll in the program, email logan.ryan@phoenixcollege.edu with the word "Transformation" in the subject line, and he'll walk you through the registration process. Or call the Fitness Center at (602) 285-7296.