Fit2BTide S07.E14: Campus Recreation

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa. [00:00:09] Speaker B: Happy Sunday, y'all. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone. And we are at the end of the finish line, I think. And if our listeners didn't know this, Nika, I don't know we've had official conversations about this, but this will actually be our. Be our final show for the semester. [00:00:26] Speaker C: I. That just occurred to me. [00:00:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:00:28] Speaker C: Yeah. So for those of you who are listening in real time, as you know, we record this show before our Sunday air date, but this is officially dead week at the university. Yes, they now call it study week, but, you know, it's supposed to be where everything's wrapping up. So I'm still lecturing, but, you know, knowing you pop quizzes or assignments and because next week is supposed to be finals and then commencement. So we really are here at the finish line. [00:01:04] Speaker B: We really are. You know, it's really interesting. And you know, if you say, for example, if this is the very first episode you've ever listened of ours, it would behoove you to go back and listen to our previous episodes, not only from this semester, but also our past episodes in general. I would say, though, in particular with this spring semester, I think we've done a phenomenon, phenomenal job with our guest list. You know, we. We were really intentional about having students on this semester. You know, that's not something that we normally get to do. It's always on our radar because students encourage other students to listen because they're like, I was on a podcast. Right. But we've also had so many incredible campus partners, a lot of faculty. And so, you know, because we've kind of upped the ante with everything, we were. We wanted to make sure that we were going to go out with a bang in this episode as well. So I'm excited to say that once again, we have a stellar guest. [00:02:03] Speaker C: We have had a really good, super strong stack of guests this semester. And I have to give all the credit to you, Sheena, because you are the cruise director of this ship that is sailing in the ocean. I mean, you really are, you know, so many people on campus and you're so connected to not only the students, but also the faculty and staff that, I mean, kudos to. [00:02:30] Speaker B: Well, that's just. All I'll say is there's just a lot of people that owe me favors and they got to come sit and. [00:02:37] Speaker C: Listen to us, you know, for an hour. Says payment is due. [00:02:41] Speaker B: Exactly. So I'm like You know, there's all people that owe me favors. We're going to cash in on them, get them to be on the show. But seriously, though, it has been amazing. And again, end up getting near the end of the spring semester, if not the end, by the time that you listen to this. And then we go into the summer. And I feel like the summer is always a different pace for folks who work in a higher ed setting, depending on if you're faculty, staff, are you 9 month, 12 month? You know, if you have children at home and you're dealing with the stuff in the summer, it gets kind of chaotic. And, you know, when I was younger, I used to think of the summer as this very restful pace and season, but it is not. [00:03:23] Speaker C: It is not. [00:03:24] Speaker B: No, it's not. [00:03:24] Speaker C: I remember being in sixth and seventh grade in the summer, thinking, there's got to be more than 24 hours in a day. I was so bored. [00:03:33] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:03:34] Speaker C: You know, because there wasn't all the fun stuff we have now, like the smartphones and the Google and the Netflix. You know, I mean, you could get really bored back in, you know, my day. But now that I'm an adult, I would long for one of those. How long is today gonna go? Because I feel like it's. You get up and you have this list of stuff to do in only four hours to do it. [00:03:58] Speaker B: I know. I agree. Now, do you. Are you teaching anything this summer? [00:04:02] Speaker C: I am. [00:04:02] Speaker B: Okay. [00:04:03] Speaker C: I am teaching and I'm designing a course and I'm also working a little bit with Bama Bound. So our new students, the new student orientation. So I'll be busy, man. [00:04:15] Speaker B: Well, I would say that sounds like a very eventful summer and also to course creation. So students do not ever take for granted the fact that there is effort and intentionality that is done with the building of courses. And that's all I'm going to say about that. [00:04:34] Speaker C: Yeah, it's. We don't do it overnight. [00:04:36] Speaker B: No, absolutely not. [00:04:37] Speaker C: It'll take the whole summer. [00:04:38] Speaker B: Yes. But again, if you've been a listener of the show for any length of time, you know that Nika and I, we tend to go rogue in the first segment. In the last segment, I tend to be the one that gets us to go rogue, as the cruise ship director, as Neeka has labeled me. But thankfully, though, this conversation is not where we're going the rest of the show. I'm gonna put a little bit of a teaser out there and let you guys know that we will be introducing our guest in our next segment and until then, you guys go grab a drink of water, run to the restroom, do what you gotta do. You are listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone. [00:05:23] Speaker A: WVUAFM Tuscaloos. [00:05:33] Speaker C: Welcome back, listeners. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Neeka on 90.7 the Capstone. [00:05:39] Speaker B: That's right. And if you are just now joining us, that's actually probably a great thing because earlier we were just talking a little bit about it being the end of the spring semester, talking about how we once thought the summer was such a slow paced, kind of nonchalant season in as a professional, it's kind of the opposite. So we are not talking about that today. Actually getting to talk to another phenomenal guest. We have Mr. Jacob Tada, who is from University Recreation. He is the assistant director of fitness program. So Jake, thank you for being with us today. [00:06:13] Speaker A: Yeah, thanks for having me, Sheena. [00:06:14] Speaker B: Absolutely. And so what we always like to do in this first segment with our guests is really talk all about our guests. And so Jake, will you kind of kick us off, tell us a little bit about your professional and academic background prior to coming to ua? [00:06:28] Speaker A: Yeah. Say kind of like many of y'all, I had no idea what I kind of wanted to get myself into. But my journey in fitness and in recreation started all the way back in Iowa. So I'm not from here. I'm a Midwesterner, born and raised in a cornfield. But I started my undergrad degree at Iowa State University where I majored in exercise science, kinesiology and then did a minor in human nutrition. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life and I was just like, well, this is a great minor to have because I know a lot of people are going to ask about nutrition and give nutrition feedback. So those two just went kind of synonymous with each other. But during my time there, I worked as a personal trainer for rec sports there and I trained a handful of clients trainers, probably about eight to 12 clients a week. I was even fortunate enough to train a lot of their club sports there and do strength and conditioning for their club sports. So I really worked very closely with their hockey team there. And about my senior year I was leaning more towards strength and conditioning as my career. But I had just a general heart to heart with my supervisor there and they're like, hey, you really like to teach people how to exercise. Not so much of leading people through exercise. So I started to take on more and More mentorship roles with their personal trainers there. And it kind of just spiraled from there. And that landed me in campus recreation, where I was able to get a grad assistantship at University of Toledo and get my master's in recreation and leisure studies. And then it just snowballed from there. I graduated in 2020. So Covid was the year my job applications went from about 20 all the way down to. So that was a very hard time, but it was also a very fortunate time. I was able to move back home in my hometown and actually work for a community college back there, where they opened up a brand new health and wellness center. So it was really, really interesting to start that kind of program from scratch. And it was a very, very unique population. We don't serve the same population that we do here at ua. We have maybe some of the students because they were a big football school. So their next goal was to come to UA and play football. So with that one, I really had to work with those strength conditioning coaches and with those coaches in general to figure out how we can get their students or those student athletes some health programs. We did a lot of just yoga classes for those. For those athletes to combine that with what they were receiving in that weight room. But we also really expanded more into the faculty staff side of things and just kind of worked with them on those classes and making sure we were offering classes that they could participate in whether I was in our doors or not, out our doors. From there, I was able to go to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, a small private Jesuit school. But there, it was an absolute blast. We were able to take their programs kind of from ground up and expand out from about 20 different classes a week to about the same class schedule that we're operating here at UA to just about over 70 classes a week. Had no personal trainers on staff. By the time we transitioned out, we were up to about five different trainers on staff, each training about five clients. So it was a fantastic one to just dive into that. Into that aspect with them and just help them grow their fitness programs. But I also did a lot more kind of in lines with what Sheena does here with health promotion and wellness. I managed a food pantry for them. I was a weird transition for an assistant director of fitness and wellness to oversee a food pantry, but it was amazing to work with students that had a bunch of food insecurities and just kind of get food into their bellies. That was a really heartwarming thing for us to. For me to experience there. And Then to kind of just do the health promotion and wellness aspect for our students. I really just tried to work with a lot of the fraternity and sorority life there to make sure that they're staying active and engaged on campus and to try and expand their, their health and wellness aspects. [00:10:10] Speaker C: So you've been working with a lot of diverse populations in your time. So for our listeners out there, you know, we tend to think it's just a human exercising. [00:10:22] Speaker B: Right. [00:10:22] Speaker C: So we're all in the same boat. And it's not, it's, it's different population. So I want to jump ahead a little bit and ask you, do you have a favorite client population as I put you on the hook as you're working for a university? But listen, I know there's, there's things that are, that people like about every population. You know, everybody's got their pros and cons, but maybe let's angle it towards what client population fits your strengths and talents of who you are as a person the most. Probably, I mean, guess university, because you're here and you're loving it. But maybe if that's the first, what would be the second? [00:11:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't have a genuine, genuine answer for that. I love to work with clients across the entire spectrum. I've worked with clients that are. When I was at the University of Toledo, I trained five and six year olds in swimming to get them kind of just moving into different movement patterns. And I've worked with clients all the way up to 87 years old and I find enjoyment in all of those different ones. So my whole thing is I try to really treat you where you're at in your point in time. [00:11:30] Speaker C: Right. [00:11:31] Speaker A: I just look at it as I'm here as a guide for your fitness journey. I'm not here to necessarily coach you or anything along those lines. I'm just here to help you where you're at in your journey, wherever you're at. So I really try to wear as many different hats as I possibly can to try and communicate with them on each different level that they're at. So I can be that coach if you need me that coach. I can be that drill sergeant if you need me to be that. If you need me that drill sergeant, I can be that strength conditioning coach if you need me to be that strength conditioning coach. It's something I've just learned to adapt over the years to really meet my clients where they're at. And that's something that I think we do a fantastic job here with our UREC personal Trainers, our Group X instructors is we're just here to help them on their fitness journey. And we just try to cater to them as much as we possibly can. [00:12:16] Speaker C: And that helps prevent burnout. Because if your population is always changing, you don't get burned out on the same one, you know? [00:12:23] Speaker B: So, Nika, I want to know for you, as a personal trainer and former Group X instructor, what was your preferred client population? Did you have. Did you have a preference? [00:12:36] Speaker C: Now, if any of my male clients are listening, you know, I love you dearly. But females, I did love my female clients because I'm a female. And so it's. It's, you know, we have our own unique challenges. Hormones and weight gain. And so really listening to my females, I loved that. I loved. Kind of like Jacob said, I liked everybody because right when I would get maybe tired of getting somebody ready for spring break, then an older, you know, an older client would come in and say, hey, I've got a grandkid on the way, and I want to make sure I'm strong enough to play with them in the front yard. And so it was all always. It was so interesting to always be challenged in a different way. Sure. But I would say females over males just because males. Most of my males just wanted to get buff. And with my females, it was, I guess, because I was getting my master's at the same time and, you know, health promotion, I got to put a little bit of it all together, like behavior and tying it into the psychological. [00:13:44] Speaker B: And be a little more holistic. [00:13:46] Speaker C: Yeah, thank you for that word. Yeah, I think that's why I liked it. [00:13:50] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. No, I love that. You know, and I think it sounds like it would be an honor and a blast to work with either of you because you're both so client focused, which I really love. Yes. [00:14:02] Speaker C: You're not getting off that. A. Sheena used to come to Body Blast. [00:14:05] Speaker B: I did. [00:14:06] Speaker C: And it was our bootcamp. And we would do a warmup. Now, Body Blast was supposed to be for those who had already gotten far along on their journey and wanted a little bit of a. For those of you who are older, a P90X push, maybe. You know what I'm saying? This wasn't for newbies. So we would do our warm up with seven straight minutes of jump roping. That was warmup. And Sheena was a faithful. I did Body Blaster. [00:14:37] Speaker B: I signed up for that 6am Cause y'all had like one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I think I picked the morning. Cause I just wanted to get it over with. But no, y'all made it wild. [00:14:48] Speaker C: We body blasted ya. And you would, you know, give us little things like, hey, I can tell that I can't sit down and get back up in the chair. Thank you for working my glutes. And so you were a great participant. [00:14:58] Speaker B: I was. No, for sure. Thank you for helping off that easily. [00:15:03] Speaker C: Yeah. You have been a client. [00:15:05] Speaker B: I have been a client. That is. That is very true. Now, Jacob, I know we're about to take a break, but when we loop back in, I kind of want to talk to you about what got you interested in fitness as a profession. Because the way that you articulated your story when you talked about your major and, you know, and what you're doing now professionally, it sounds like it was a very straightforward process for you. So I'm kind of curious to know, like, how early on did you know, I like academically, I want to go into fitness. Like, this is what I want to do. But for now, we're going to take a quick break. You are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Neeka on 90.7 the Capstone. [00:15:48] Speaker A: WVUAFM, Tuscaloosa. [00:15:58] Speaker C: Welcome back, listeners. You are listening to fit to be tied with sheena and neeka on 90.7 the capstone. And we are joined today by Mr. Jacob Tada, who is an assistant director of fitness programs at the University of Alabama's University Recreation Center. [00:16:13] Speaker B: That's right. [00:16:14] Speaker C: So there's more than just one center. You know, we've got the big one on the hill, but then we also have the presidential wit and the aquatic center and all of the tennis courts and just all the fun things. It's a lot. There's a lot to cover, but kind of picking up, if you're just joining us, Sheena kind of gave us a teaser at the last segment that we wanted to ask. Jacob, did you always know this is what I want to do in life, like, academically going in, you know, a lot of times people will choose to pursue something academically, but then professionally, they'll go off in another, you know, direction. Yeah, but you went in academically. You stuck with it. Did you know from the womb that you wanted to do? How did you get, you know, interested? [00:17:07] Speaker A: Yeah. So I didn't know right from the womb. I didn't probably know until I was probably about a senior in high school that fitness was going to be my journey. I grew up playing a multitude of different sports. I played almost every single sport under the sun. I played basketball. I Ran track, I played baseball. I did a little bit of football as well. And during those times I just got banged up and battered. I had partial tears in my ACL, my LCLs, PCLS, pretty much every ligament in my knee, ankles. It just wasn't a fun time. I spent a lot of time in physical therapy and it was kind of there and just talking with them and hearing all the big words that they were using to me, and I was just like, I don't understand what you're saying to me and I'm a natural learner. So I wanted to learn what they were saying to me. And my aunt and uncles, they were both physical therapists as well too. So I just kind of, from those aspects, I didn't want to have a lot of people go through the same injuries that I did. So when I was choosing where to kind of go, I was between the University of Iowa and Iowa State. I chose Iowa State even though I was a Hawkeye born and raised, just because they were the first ones to be back to me. I didn't want to go through that whole ordeal process. But I enrolled there as a pre athletic training major because I felt like they didn't have a physical therapy program there. So I started out in the athletic training realm, did a lot of shadowing with their sports teams and I loved that aspect, but it was just, I didn't have the 8 to 5. You were there from 6am all the way till 9pm and you're traveling with those teams. But it was a part of their exercise science background. And when I decided to get out of that program, I just had a talk with my academic advisor and like, well, you're already in the exercise science program. We might as well just stay there because we've got this pre PT route for you to kind of go into. So I was like, okay, let's do that. And then I got to physics and all of those ones and I was like, no, I need to do way too much math for this aspect. But I kept it just the exercise science route. And then I wanted to do strength conditioning for that aspect. And then I started doing that with the club sports like I've already talked about. And then I realized, oh, this is the same thing as athletic training. I gotta be there 6am to 9pm, work with the boatload of different teams. I kind of want to have a family life after that. And that's where I said my supervisor really had a discussion like, well, you like to teach people about exercise and not necessarily do the research side of things. So that kind of just spiraled me into that aspect. So like many people, I never knew what I wanted to fully do, but I just kind of reflected back on my, oh, fitness has just always been there. I've always been in athletics. I've always been working out. Why not just make this kind of my career? And that's what led me to recreation, because I get to teach students how to be personal trainers and group fitness instructors while still working with clients and teaching classes myself and teaching them how fun exercise can be and how beneficial it can be. [00:19:58] Speaker B: I love that. And, you know, I think that's actually a great segue. Thinking about our next question, you know, when we think about the health benefits of being active, what do you and your staff like to articulate to clients? Because I think that social media, diet culture and wellness, wellness and fitness culture kind of has its own narrative where people may primarily correlate it with weight change, whatever else. But when you're talking about that holistic perspective of what are those health benefits of being active, what do you tend to emphasize to clients? [00:20:32] Speaker A: It's just that it's being holistic. We're here to work with you as a whole person. Obviously, we're here for your physical fitness. You're here for the nutrition side of things, the wellness side of things. But we really look at it as you're that holistic person. So we try to understand your psychology of where you're coming from, what you want to get out of your time with us, and why you're here at this point in time working with us so that way we can work best with you for that given situation. Obviously, we're going to take into account all your different health issues or ailments or things along along those lines. But on top of that psychology aspect, we really just try to stress movement is is key. That's all we want to do. We look at it as like, we're here for your fitness journey. We're just going to help you move better and feel better throughout life. We really try to tie everything back into our activities, daily life. So when I leave here, I got to sit up and stand up out of this chair. So I got to be able to do those, do those things. If I have kids someday, I got to be able to squat down, pick them up, play with them. I want to be able to do those things. Grandparents want to do those things as well. So we really just try to train you for your activities of daily life. Now, if your goal is to get bigger, faster, stronger yeah, we can do that. But we're going to set that groundwork for you on your stability, mobility and we're just going to build you up to be able to function throughout. Throughout daily life. [00:21:45] Speaker B: Sure. [00:21:46] Speaker C: I used to tell my, my clients, vanity has its place. If you're here because you just want to look hot, that's good. But are you sleeping better? Are you handling stress better? Are you thinking clear? Are you able to bend over and touch your toes and tie your shoes without having to be in the bed with a, you know, Advil and a heating pad for the next few days? Like that quality of life. I like that. Like you said, it's foundational. Like what, what does being active do for you? [00:22:18] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. No, and I love all of the aspects that both of you have brought up. And Nika, the way you say like vanity, you know that's gonna factor in there. [00:22:27] Speaker C: Yeah, it has its place at the time. [00:22:28] Speaker B: You know, I will admittedly say late last night, as I was doom scrolling on social media right before falling asleep, there was a clip of I think Britney spears from like 2005 opening the MTV, like movie awards or music awards or whatever. And I was like, oh, I'd really love to look like her. But then I was also like, okay, how, like, how many staffers does she have that really? Like, like, you know, that's, that's a, like that takes a whole village of like all these people from like personal trainer, personal chef. [00:22:57] Speaker C: Like yeah, unless you're genetically blessed just to wake up in the morning with that, that's a full time job. Like Brit 2005, I'm like, oh my God. [00:23:06] Speaker B: I'm like. I was like, I just need to get this thought out of my head. [00:23:09] Speaker C: That's not 30 minutes of crunches in the floor every now and then. [00:23:12] Speaker A: As much as they tell you that it is. [00:23:14] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like, absolutely not. But okay. So what kind of fitness programs are offered to patrons at urec? [00:23:22] Speaker A: Yeah, so we got a host of fitness programs that any patron that has an active membership with us can take part of. So we offer personal training, we've got private one on one sessions and we got small group sessions. If you guys want to come and work out as a pair, y'all can do that as well. We also offer group fitness classes. We've got over 70 group fitness classes going on a week. 18 unique formats. Like we've got Aqua fit, we've got Deep water, we've got poles, which is our replica of bar. We've got days that is A dance cardio based class that was Mira Zumba. We've got strength training classes of HIIT Circuit 45TBT on the schedule. So we really have something to fit every single need or every single want that a person can have. One of our probably very unique and hidden ones is our Pilates or forma program. Not a lot of people know that we've got that program out there and we do it just like our personal training. You can do private one on ones. You can do small group, private small groups as well. But a new thing is we added that to our grief in the schedule this year and that kind of took off a lot more as a lot of institutions are just now starting to adopt Pilates Reformer. We've had it for multiple, multiple years. So UA was on that forefront aspect and we're getting a lot of students that want to see that program a part of it and even want to start to teach those things. So it was really nice to do that, that. But a new one that we started this year is a custom monthly workout program. So for those that may not want to do personal training, are too unsure about personal training. This is just a four week workout program that is written for you and your specific needs by a personal trainer. You can go work out at any one of our facilities without that personal trainer and you'll just have that four week workout program and a bunch of videos from that personal trainer or from their website or from their resources to refresh your own form or function or how to use that machine and you just check right back in. But you're still getting a customized program for you and for your needs. [00:25:05] Speaker B: I like the diversity of your offerings because again, like kind of going back to that theme of just meeting people where they're at. I really love that. [00:25:14] Speaker C: So one thing for our listeners, Jacob, is it's not just students and faculty and staff who can be a member of urec. It can also be, can be our community as well. There you go. So I think that's a misconception that, well, I don't want to go there because it's all the 18 to 22 year olds who have great metabolisms and you know, working thyroids. As Leanne Morgan, which is one of my favorite stand up comedian says, you know, oh yes, not, you know, she's old and her thyroid doesn't work. She says that's what she blames her weight gain on. But it's not just that. It is faculty, staff, you've got retirees, alumni, you've got people that just moved here and they work at somewhere, you know, off campus. [00:26:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:26:00] Speaker C: So don't be intimidated to try out UREC just because you're not a student. [00:26:05] Speaker A: Yeah. And that's like I said, like, our whole mission here is just to help you move better and feel better. We're just going to treat you as normal person that is coming in and we're going to help you accomplish your goals that you want to. That you want to accomplish and make sure you feel 100% comfortable in all of our. All of our facilities. [00:26:19] Speaker B: Well, I will say, I have to interject and say we've got to take a break, but the fact that again, you have kind of just done the mic drop with all of the things that u REC has to offer, you know, us having that conversation about the health benefits of being active. We're going to continue this conversation. But, y'all, we gotta take a quick break. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the Capstone. [00:26:46] Speaker A: WVUAFM Tuscaloosa. [00:26:56] Speaker C: Happy Sunday. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Neeka on 90.7, the capstone. [00:27:01] Speaker B: That's right. And if you are just now joining us, we definitely encourage you to go back and listen to our earlier segments. We have had the Honor of having Mr. Jacob Tada, Assistant director of fitness programs from University Recreation. And before the break, you know, we were talking a little bit about the programming that is being offered at urec. Some misconceptions there. Maybe you think that you have to be associated with UA to be a member there, but that is not the case. But on the theme of misconceptions, Jake, what other types of misconceptions do you think individuals have when they're starting their fitness journey? Like, are there things that you or your staff have heard from patrons, you know, as they're thinking about being more physically fit? [00:27:48] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a great question. I know one that I've always experienced is that you, in order to have a successful workout, you have to leave feeling sore. That is my favorite one to just debunk with them. Like, no, no exercise. It shouldn't leave you feeling sore. Yes, you're gonna leave feeling sore after your first couple workouts, but after wise, you should leave feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and happy. Not a, oh, I just got my butt kicked. We want to do that on occasion, but that's not the. That shouldn't be that end goal. In case you want to go get coffee. Afterwards and just have a seat. You want to really feeling happy and energetic. As you know, fitness has got all those different health benefits. It's going to release all those different endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, all those feel good, happy hormones to help lower our anxiety and our stress. So that's kind of like our big one, is that you should leave feeling sore. No, no, we're gonna make sure you feel good and good and happy after. [00:28:46] Speaker B: Sure. I like that. That's a good selling point. Good and happy. [00:28:49] Speaker C: Good and happy. So you're saying that you don't have to go 90 to nothing every single time, otherwise it's a wash. Yep. Right? [00:28:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:28:57] Speaker C: Now, can we lose £20 in a week? No. [00:29:02] Speaker A: We can, but not as healthily. [00:29:03] Speaker B: Well, that's a big thing. [00:29:05] Speaker C: That's. What is it, an amputation? Yeah. [00:29:07] Speaker B: We amputate that left leg. Yeah. [00:29:11] Speaker C: What do you hear about misconceptions of like, well, hey, I've been coming for two weeks. Why haven't I lost a dress size? What would you tell those people that are maybe are new to the fitness journey? [00:29:22] Speaker A: Yeah. So that's where I kind of talk to them. Like, here's kind of what a healthy weight loss is going to look like. We want to lose about a pound a week to be on that healthier side. And a lot of it. I'm working with you on that 10% aspect, Sheena. And nutrition is going to work with you on the 90% aspect. A lot of it comes down to what's your diet going to look like in that aspect. But I also will talk with them too, because this is a big thing that we experience. A lot of guys, too. A lot of them have that stereotype of like, I gotta look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's not gonna necessarily happen unless he said earlier, we've got really good genetics. But a lot of them, a lot of people don't understand is within the first couple weeks, it's all neuromuscular adaptations. It's your brain and your body learning how to fire your muscles more forcefully and in sync. And that's where a lot of our stuff is actually gonna come from. It's not gonna be for me losing weight or for me losing water weight, things along those lines. It's just retraining all those neurons and those synapses to fire and sync and together and more and more forcefully. [00:30:16] Speaker C: So slow and easy does it Is key consistency. [00:30:19] Speaker A: Yep. [00:30:19] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. [00:30:20] Speaker B: You know, it does wonders when we throw that science at folks and it's like, look, I'm not just, like, saying this to reassure you. I'm like, there's actual science behind this. Now, Nika, you know, you were saying earlier that your favorite client population is the female group. And I'm sure that you've had female clients in the past who, you know, they start training, and then they actually notice initially that they're seeing the scale go up or their pants are fitting a little bit tighter, and then they're like, what the crap is going on? Because I know anytime, like, if I've taken a hiatus from working out and then I go back into my strength training, and then I can tell, like, my jeans are kind of tighter initially. How do you talk folks off the ledge when they experience that? [00:31:01] Speaker C: So not to get too sciency with them, I try to do it in a layman's terms. I tell them, you know, think of your muscle as, like, kind of a deflated balloon, and you're ripping and microscopic ripping and tearing. And it is. It's holding water a little bit. Yes. But it's also. It is getting harder and firmer. Like, think about, like, your play doh, because we have kids, you know. Yeah. Really ball play doh. And it's real squishy, but then as it dries, it gets smaller and harder. That's your muscle. Your fat is your squishy play doh. So it takes a lot to burn that top layer of fat, you know, off, because our body wants it. It's protective. So you've got this muscle that was laying squishy underneath the squishy fat, which makes your pants fit pretty easily. But then you start hardening that muscle, and it starts growing. Well, that fat is not melted off the top just yet. So it's expanding that fat outwards a little bit. That's why everything feels tight. Give it time. Stay consistent. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep nourishing that muscle. Keep eating right. That fat will eventually melt off, and you're going to start seeing that muscle striation come through that curve, that line, that indentation that you want to see of, like, an oblique or, you know, a deltoid. But you got to give it time. The fat's not going to just burn off in 24 hours. The muscle is going to grow quicker than the fat's going to burn off. Stay with it and trust the process. [00:32:34] Speaker B: Well, I think for both the fitness world and then for me in nutrition, we really thrive on the analogies for our clients. Whenever we're trying to explain that science, I will Say that one of my favorite analogies, and I've shared it on air before. So there is a really wonderful sports dietitian, Marie Spano, she is the sports dietitian for the Atlanta Braves. And so whenever she is talking to her athletes about the importance. Importance of carbs and protein with muscle building, when you're thinking about building muscle, thinking about it like building a house where carbs are your construction workers and protein is your raw material. And so if you have an athlete who is primarily focusing on carbs and not eating enough protein, that's like having a ton of construction workers at the job site but no raw material for them to work with. And then vice versa. If you have someone who's all protein and no carbs as a catalyst, then you know, you've got all this raw material at the job site, but there's not enough construction workers to productively do something with that. So, again, and I think when we think about all of this information in combination, it really kind of breeds success for those clients. But I think it sounds like the name of the game is patience and consistency. [00:33:43] Speaker C: It is. And Jake can talk to this more than I can because he has an actual degree in it. But nothing is going to happen overnight with the human body that is going to stay long term. [00:33:59] Speaker A: Yep, yep. [00:34:01] Speaker C: And you gotta trust the process. And that's why you've got to hire the Sheena who has her, you know, RD and the Jake who has a degree in it. Because when they're telling you these things, it's not something that they just read out of the Reader's Digest. It is something that they've studied and been tested on in class. And they know the science behind it. And they're not selling you short. They're telling you the truth. So, you know, I would have women go, no, I know that my pants won't button. So you're lying to me. And I'm like, I promise I would never lie to you. Why would I want to do that? But you have to trust it. And a lot of times people give up too soon. And then when that muscle shrinks back down, then everything kind of deflates and the pants become loose again. And they're like, see, I knew you were lying to me. And I'm like, again, science. So trust your jacket Jakes and your Sheenas when they tell you things, because I promise you, you know, they've. They've had to learn and be tested on it, so. Well, there is reason why we listen to the professionals and not the influencers. [00:35:09] Speaker B: Well, we listen. Well, we listen. [00:35:14] Speaker C: Evidence based. Yes, if you have evidence based practices, yes. [00:35:18] Speaker B: But we're. Okay, we're gonna listen to the Nikas too because. Because you've gotten the certifications and along those lines. So does UREC offer training to the student who's like, oh my goodness, I want this to be my employment experience while I'm on campus. I would love to be a personal trainer, I'd love to be a group exercise instructor, but I don't have the credentials. How can I get equipped for this? Does UREC offer any trainings to get students qualified to teach these classes, train these folks? [00:35:47] Speaker A: Yes, we do. We have a partnership with ace, so the American Council on Exercise, it's a nationally recognized personal trainer, is the one. I've got all of my one student. They're the one that provided me with my Alphabet soup a little bit. But we do a personal trainer prep course for them and we do an ACE group fitness prep course for them as well. So it's an eight week program where not just any student but any one of our members can go through that program as well. And then we'll hire directly from that pool. So we'll teach you ACES material in order to sit and obtain that national certification, but we'll also kind of teach you what it's like to be a personal trainer. That's one. We actually just finished up for the personal training side last week and we just wrapped up for group fitness as well. But our whole goal, like I said, is not only to just teach you the material that you need to know to pass that certification, but to give you the real world experiences. So we'll get you shadowing hours with our current personal trainers. For our group fitness ones, we'll do demo classes where you're actually leading in front of a live audience for our classes on our schedule. So we give you those practical aspects, as long as that's with that science based practice too. [00:36:46] Speaker B: That's amazing. Now how frequently do you offer that opportunity and does it cost students to go through that? [00:36:54] Speaker A: Yeah, so it does cost students to go through it. It's only $99. And then that helps us just kind of with our uniforms and things along those lines and some of the test costs because we are able to provide our students with a 25% discount to go get that national certification. So it takes a good considerable chunk off that one. As you know, it takes a lot of money to get that certification. So it's good to kind of have that aspect. But we do our personal Training prep course each semester. We do one in the fall, one in the spring, and Our Group Fitness 1 is every single spring. [00:37:26] Speaker B: Okay. [00:37:27] Speaker C: So for students out there. So full disclosure, that's how I got started. Was going through the urec, BAMA aerobics training and the ACE training and then set for my ace. But not everybody who is up there are in a professional role teaching the classes. Now the ones that are in the professional are like you, Jake. They all do have in the background, but like let's say your Pilates instructor or your days instructor, they may do teach history. [00:38:01] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:38:01] Speaker C: As a job, but they have a passion for. For fitness. So what would you tell those people that are like your. Like you don't have to be pursuing a degree in exercise science to come work and get trained. [00:38:14] Speaker A: Yeah, it's that right there. We're just seeking out individuals that are passionate about fitness. That's our whole goal at UREC and within our fitness programs is we just want to have our passion and then we want to make people as passionate about fitness as possible and show them it's fun and enjoyable exercise. [00:38:29] Speaker C: That's Kathy Elliott. Gotta give a shout out to Kathy Elliot if she's listening. She's been teaching for 20 years at the rec and. And she is a colleague of mine. She has other roles, but one of her roles is an academic advisor over in the College of Arts and Sciences. And so she could teach your aerobics class in the morning and then you could see her later on that day for your academic advising appointment. So, yeah, Kathy Bhagani has her doctorate. I think she teaches. [00:38:59] Speaker A: She teaches Pilates cycle and classical mat. Pilates for us. [00:39:02] Speaker C: Yes. But then she has an academic professional position on campus. And so I love that, you know, it's that you don't have to be pursuing a degree in PT or exercise science. [00:39:15] Speaker B: Dang, y'all, y'all are getting. You know, because I will say maybe at one point in time I would like to do that because. So I'm. You've got. [00:39:23] Speaker C: Yeah, you've got that you can do it. [00:39:24] Speaker B: I'm interested. I'm interested. We'll see. But okay, we gotta. Gotta take another break. Jake, we hope that you will stay with us for our last segment. Yeah, okay, perfect. You guys just hang in there. You are listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the Capstone. [00:39:46] Speaker A: WVUAFM Tuscaloosa. [00:39:55] Speaker C: Happy Sunday, listeners. You are listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Neeka on 90.7. The capstone. [00:40:00] Speaker B: That's right. And we have had the most amazing show today. Again, this is our last show of this semester. So I'm so grateful for the fact that we've gotten to have Mr. Jake Tada who is assistant director of fitness programs with University Recreation and we've kind of talked about everything under the sun, fitness related and also with what UREC has to offer in regards to fitness programs for all of its different patrons. And now this is the time in the show where we do go a little bit rogue with things. Nothing too crazy but Jake, I'm actually curious, what is your preferred way of self care for yourself? What does self care look like for you? [00:40:45] Speaker A: That's a great question. I have tried answering that multitude of different times myself. I'm a huge golfer. That sometimes raised my blood pressure quite a bit. I'm not a good golfer. I'll send it two, three, fairways, fairways over. But I love to get outside. I love to, I love to golf. Last time I was home I actually brought my guitar back and I haven't played guitar since I was probably about middle school. So I've just started picking that up again and I found like that's a lot. That's very relaxing. I'm able to just kind of reteach my fingers where to go on the chords and everything just kind of zone out a little bit. But I'm also big into Legos. That's kind of my big one. I know she has been to my office a couple times. She's seen all the Legos I've got. [00:41:27] Speaker B: I have, I have witnessed these. [00:41:29] Speaker A: Yes, it was something I got into just over Covid. I needed to something a little tactile and I just kind of dove right into it. I was a huge Star wars nerd, huge Lord of the Rings nerd. So I just kind of gravitated towards those, towards those ones I want the bigger ones that are kind of a little bit big price tag and try to try to convince my wife like hey, these are an investment because they do appreciate over time. I keep trying to remind her that yeah, they might take up some space but like we need to like these are worth some, some money over time. Those are kind of my big self care. [00:41:58] Speaker B: Okay, I like that. I like that a lot. And you know, I was thinking about earlier at the beginning of the show when you were talking about being at Creighton in Nebraska and then coming here to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Now how long have you now been in your position? I'm trying to think how long it's been when you. When. Since you've started. [00:42:16] Speaker A: Just over a year. [00:42:17] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. I feel like it's not been that long. So this should still be relatively fresh. On your mind, what was the biggest transition for you going from Nebraska to Alabama? [00:42:28] Speaker A: The amount of snow? No, that was probably the biggest thing. I mean, when we're up there, when I was accepting the job here, I probably had about a foot and a half of snow on the ground. I'm still having to go into work. That's my whole thing. [00:42:42] Speaker B: What is no. [00:42:43] Speaker C: What is no. Yeah. [00:42:44] Speaker A: Versus maybe an inch down here, and it's like, okay. Yep. Hey, you're completely, completely off. [00:42:49] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:42:51] Speaker A: But I mean, my biggest thing, I personally, professionally, coming down here, it's really kind of just that Southern hospitality there is. There's Midwest. Nice. And then there's Southern hospitality. Like, right away, I connected with Sheena. I've connected with so many folks here, and they do a fantastic job of just checking in with me and seeing, like, where I'm at and everything as well, because I am 13, 14 hours away from my family. [00:43:13] Speaker C: Wow. [00:43:14] Speaker A: I've been away from my family before, but this is now the furthest and longest that I've been away from. Been away from my family. So that Southern hospitality has been absolutely real, and I absolutely love it. [00:43:24] Speaker B: Well, you know, anytime I think about our faculty staff on campus who, you know, they're not originally from the South. You know, for Nika and I, I'll just say I feel like we're both, like, very close to our family. Like, I couldn't imagine being that far away. So I. Anytime I meet people like you, Jake, I find it very commendable just, you know, the willingness and the resilience that you have to move so far away for a job and that you've chosen Tuscaloosa. And I think it's because of that reason. I try to be really intentional with making sure, like, he. Have you found your people on campus yet? Or Tuscaloosa, like, have you found a favorite place to eat yet? You want to make sure that folks are taken care of. Because I know for UA and certainly with the Division of Student Life, we try to be so intentional about recruiting really great candidates, but then also wanting them to stay in the area because we know that work life balance is important. And so, you know, very grateful that you're here and really grateful that you've had the opportunity to be on the show today to talk with me and Nika and share your expertise Share what UREC has to offer, but I've just appreciated the conversation with you today. [00:44:34] Speaker A: I appreciate it. [00:44:35] Speaker C: I know we're running out of time, but I have one random question for you. [00:44:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:39] Speaker C: Yes, if you were. I sometimes have these panic dreams where I'm asked to do things that I don't know. I don't know how to do that. Like, you know, do you have. [00:44:49] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:44:49] Speaker C: What would be the class that if somebody came to you and said, jake, we need you to come teach this. This class for Bama aerobics. Go now. You would be like, no, thank you. [00:45:02] Speaker A: It would be a yoga class. [00:45:03] Speaker B: Would it be a yoga class? [00:45:06] Speaker A: My background, like I said, has been all, like, strength and high intensity aspects. I'm not always the best at slowing things. Slowing things down. I mean, I have led a chair at yoga class before, but that's the closest I. I've dabbled in it. [00:45:16] Speaker C: When I was there, I used to have a nightmare that I would be called to teach step aerobics, and I would trip over myself, fall, and stuff like that. So I always have to ask if you've had that panic dream yet. [00:45:26] Speaker A: Not. [00:45:27] Speaker C: Oh, no. I have put the seed in his mind. I'm so sorry. So yoga. Yoga. Okay, Chena, so I will just. [00:45:34] Speaker B: So with you referencing step. I did take a step class at lunch one time at urec, and I was like. Like, I have no rhythm in my body. My Filipino parents, who love to line dance and do all the things would be so disappointed in the fact that I literally cannot get this step combination. So that was. That was traumatizing. That was a core memory. Another core memory that I have from a UREC group exercise class was from a day's class, which is, y'all spin on Zumba. And I think I was traumatized because it somehow part of the class turned into an impromptu twerk battle, and I really. I had to distance my. I had to just kind of like, snap in the corner, you know? Like snap. Yeah. You know, it was really. I was like, I don't know. So I'm challenging myself to go back to a day's course at some point in time, because surely not every single one has impromptu twerk battles. [00:46:33] Speaker C: But. But listen, my last thing I want to say is give more grace and love to your group aerobics instructor because it's harder than you think to get out there and lead participants through stay up yoga court battles. [00:46:49] Speaker B: All of it. [00:46:50] Speaker C: Yes. [00:46:50] Speaker A: Because they've got such a unique population. You've got a student that's 18 years old, and we've got faculty and staff that are in their 60s, 70s, attending these classes as well. And like you touched on earlier, they're not necessarily really leading or had the same backgrounds that you and I have, like our days 1. Adam, he's a communications professor. He's the dean of Communications, but he's out here leading days class for us because he does it. He loves to dance. [00:47:12] Speaker C: That's right. Yeah. So, yeah, just give him a little grace next time. They get off a little bit, they're like, wait, hold on. By six, seven, eight. Because it is. It's. It can be hard. [00:47:22] Speaker A: They're just there to have fun. [00:47:23] Speaker C: Thank you, dude. [00:47:24] Speaker B: Y'all, that is the sound bite we're gonna end with. They are just there to have fun, to make UC fitness as fun. And with that said, thank you all so much for a wonderful semester with Fit to Be Tied. Jake, again, thank you. And Nique and I will catch you next semester. [00:47:39] Speaker C: Hey. Hey. [00:47:40] Speaker B: Yes. You've been listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the capstone. [00:47:49] Speaker A: WVUAFM Tuscaloosa.