CrossFit has become one of the biggest fitness trends in the country. There are over 6,000 CrossFit boxes throughout the U.S. and now, Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, has jumped on the CrossFit bandwagon.
Joseph Haklin, the athletic director at Wabash College, makes it a priority to bring wellness to the campus. With classes, social life and schoolwork, it can be hard for students to make time for health and fitness. Haklin wanted to give students a unique opportunity to increase their activity levels, and he thought CrossFit would be the perfect way to do so.
In the spring of 2012, they decided to launch a CrossFit class for students and faculty. BJ Hammer, the assistant football coach, obtained his CrossFit certification in order to coach the class.
“I have a strength and conditioning background,” explained Hammer. “My wife is a CrossFit trainer and a CrossFit athlete so it is something I had dabbled in and still do. Then I got certified in a couple of different forms.”
To accommodate Hammer’s schedule, the class is offered once a day at 7 a.m. after the football workout. Even though it is early in the morning, the class has been well attended.
“Most college students don’t like to get out of bed that early in the morning, but we have a good dedicated group that is there and really enjoy it,” said Hammer. “It is a really good mix. I would say it is about 50 perfect faculty and 50 percent students, which is kind of fun.”
According to Hammer, this is just the beginning; he and Haklin frequently discuss the opportunity for growth of the program. “One of the things that we talk about is offering another time during the day depending on if we can get another coach on staff that is certified,” Hammer added. “My schedule is pretty difficult being a football coach and all the other things we have going on, but we may have another coach get certified and run a class in the afternoon.”
