The Exercise is Medicine student club recently received news of their gold-level recognition (PROVIDED BY EXERCISE IS MEDICATION UWINDSOR/University of Windsor)
By Kate Hargreaves
Whether it’s hitting a daily step goal, taking a stretch break at the office or dropping into a spin class, regular physical activity has undeniable benefits.
Exercise is Medicine (EIM) is a global initiative that aims to make the most of these benefits by encouraging health-care providers to prescribe exercise as part of evidence-based patient care.
On campuses across the country, EIM clubs bring together students under the mentorship of faculty, as well as health-care and exercise professionals, in support of this mission.
UWindsor EIM club president and third-year Human Kinetics student Travis Woods recently received news that the University of Windsor has earned gold-level recognition from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) for its EIM activities.
Woods, who became involved with the club last spring, admits that he did not expect the gold designation so soon, as UWindsor’s EIM club has been at the bronze level for several years.
“I thought initially, if I am president for two years, maybe by the end of my last year we’ll get up to gold,” says Woods.
“Then in September, we started getting it off the ground, doing more events, and we decided we were going to go for it.”
When he received word of the gold designation, Woods says he was overwhelmed.
“There’s always that little piece of you that thinks you might get a 'no' on the application,” he says. “It took me a few hours to let it sink in when we got accepted.”
The process of going for gold was not an easy one, with the club required to put on events, engage in educational outreach and facilitate an exercise prescription program, among other activities, to be eligible.
In addition to planning the Move for Mason charity triathlon, EIM on campus began sending representatives into Lancer Recreation group fitness classes for short health-promotion segments.
A Lancer Rec personal trainer and group fitness instructor himself, Woods says the response has been positive from both his colleagues and participants.
“It’s something different they’ve never experienced in a group fitness class,” he says.
EIM has also partnered with chiropractor Dr. Nik Suich to prescribe exercise through a program called WinFit.
Interested participants visit Dr. Suich, receive a WinFit referral, and then meet with Lancer Recreation staff to receive free support for musculoskeletal challenges and approved health conditions.
“We are in the early stages of that program,” says Woods, “but for just starting out, it has had really good engagement. People love it.”
Going forward, he hopes to expand the audience for EIM’s initiatives beyond student populations to include other campus and community members, in addition to helping faculty incorporate physical activity into their teaching for the academic and cognitive benefits of movement.
“Even getting professors to have a three-minute movement break in their classes or have an exercise module integrated into the curriculum — I think those could be future directions,” Woods says.
“And definitely continuing to reinforce what we already have built, grow it further and get more people excited about it.”
Woods credits the EIM team with reaching the gold designation, including both student club members as well as faculty and staff support.
“Mike McMahon in Lancer Recreation has been instrumental in making this happen,” Woods says.
Director of Student Health, Counselling and Wellness Services Dr. Mohsan Beg, Human Kinetics Prof. Chad Sutherland, and HK dean Dr. Linda Rohr have also been supportive collaborators with the EIM team.
“I’m super proud of the team,” says Woods. “Once we had that vision, they all came together and everyone gave up a lot of their personal time to make it happen.”
With the new gold recognition, Woods looks forward to encouraging even more people to get involved and get moving.
To keep up with EIM’s events and programming, follow @eimoc_uofw on Instagram.