Did you know that The University of Akron offers one free Physical Fitness Assessment per year to its students and faculty? In just one appointment, you can have an assessment which tests weight, height, muscular strength and endurance.

Those interested can visit UA’s Student Recreation and Wellness Center’s Wellness Suite located on the second floor to make an appointment.

According to Fitness and Wellness Manager Angela Kirila, a wellness technician first takes your height and weight, then blood pressure and heart rate.

Next, they measure your skin folds and circumferences, assess your body composition, and then test different areas of fitness such as muscular strength, handgrip, muscular endurance, and strength, where they’ll have you do pushups and curl-ups. Sit-N-Reaches are done to measure flexibility, and the YMCA cycling ergometer test to measure cardiovascular endurance.

“The whole test in entirety takes about 30-40 minutes,” Kirila explained. “The rest of the time, about 15 minutes, is spent explaining the results. The wellness technicians administer the test and trained exercise science students [explain the results], utilizing Microfit Software.”

This test will give you an idea of where you need to focus on during exercises and is a very good first step in creating a fitness plan. The wellness technicians can give you an exercise prescription design, which is a week worth of a workout plan designed for you to follow to get you to the results that you want. This design is $12, and you should follow it for about 6-8 weeks. The Rec Center also offers personal training, with certified trainers that are students as well, so it’s people in your age range helping you.

Each assessment recipient will be entered into a drawing to win free prizes. “We’re giving away different prizes each month,” Kirila said. “The prize for September was a free adventure trip, the prize for October will be a free entry into an intramural team.”

To schedule your assessment, you can either stop in the Wellness Suite or send an email to [email protected] or leave a message at 330-972-6599. Exercise clothing is necessary for the assessment.