A New Year Program Goes Beyond

At the beginning of the year, countless individuals pledged to make this year the year that they lived healthier, fitter lives.

The University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, was well aware of this fact, and therefore launched “The New Year, New You” personal training package to help students, faculty and staff reach their New Year’s wellness resolutions.

However, Whitney Potts, the fitness coordinator of recreation for the University of Delaware, explained the program wasn’t meant to help participants just at the beginning of the year. Instead, she hopes what they learn will carry beyond, into the rest of 2016.

“This is the time to really introduce them to the ‘new year, new you’ so they hopefully continue this through the spring, summer and fall,” said Potts.

As part of the “New Year, New You” package, participants receive an initial assessment with a personal trainer that evaluates items such as body composition, muscular endurance, core strength and more. “We want to give them an overall picture of health, and that initial assessment is not meant to discourage people, but it’s meant to give them a background to say, ‘Okay here are some areas where you’re strong, but here are some areas that we will look to improve and help you become a new you in the new year,’” said Potts.

During the program, personal trainers use MicroFit’s assessment software and fitness testing equipment to help measure client’s fitness and wellness statuses, and track their progress. “It prints out beautiful reports for clients and for trainers, so you can chart their progress and really see how they’re doing throughout the duration of time that they train with us,” explained Potts. “I really believe that a lot more universities and a lot more health and wellness centers should use MicroFit because if you do body composition and if you actually do the mathematical equations by hand, it takes forever. MicroFit takes the guesswork out of it.”

Potts reiterated that although the current personal training program is called “New Year, New You,” the university hopes to help participants reach their wellness goals at all times of the year. “We determined that we want to be able to help our students, faculty and staff really establish healthy, sustainable smart goals for the rest of their life,” she said.