Affectionately known as ‘The Well,’ Taylor’s designated student workout space is not just a place for student connection but welcomes those from the greater Upland community as well.
While there, you may notice students sporting T-shirts that say “trainer” on them, leading people through one-on-one, tailored exercise plans. This title distinguishes these students as exercise science majors who belong to a program called “Fit into Health.”
Fit into Health is a student-led program that connects Taylor’s exercise science undergraduates with clients from outside campus’ borders. This group ranges in age from high school students all the way to those in their 70s.
Ethan Brown and Logan Ross, both junior exercise science majors, are this year’s Fit into Health student directors, along with being trainers themselves.
Both Brown and Ross have found the program to be a practical way to apply what they are learning in class by engaging in real-world interaction.
“It’s one thing to know all of the right things — all of the perfect exercises to do — but if you can’t talk to people and help them to do it properly, applying what we’re learning, then the knowledge is pretty much useless if you want to help others,” Brown said. “I think it’s pretty laid back, but it’s just a great opportunity to have that in an environment where it’s not necessarily life or death.”
The program is a unique opportunity, one that gives these students an advantage compared to their non-experienced counterparts as they prepare to apply for competitive graduate programs, Ross said.
As student directors, Brown and Ross work alongside Brandon Dykstra, department chair and associate professor of kinesiology, to match trainers with interested clients at the beginning of the school year.
They are also responsible for coordinating between the groups and recruit freshmen within the major each year.
Ross, who grew up in Upland and utilized The Well as her gym throughout high school, felt drawn to this job before she even heard it pitched to her as a freshman in her exercise science classes.
Pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy, Ross believed this job would be the perfect way to prepare her for client-facing work post-grad.
“This is literally what I’ll be doing — hopefully, for the rest of my life,” she said.
Brown only started as a trainer this school year but has gathered experience working with patients from the community through his involvement with Taylor’s Invitation Clinic.
He and Ross see value in the way the program offers accountability to clients as they pursue their individual health goals.
“My client — she doesn’t not enjoy it, but working out probably won’t happen if she doesn’t know that I’m going to be there at 6 a.m. Monday morning,” Brown said. “Just having that accountability with people is important.”
Ross has found fulfillment in celebrating her clients’ wins, whether it be achieving better numbers, feeling more in shape or even getting better sleep.
Though the trainers have historically kept up long-standing relationships with their clients, the goal for the whole program is not necessarily that the clients will never phase out.
“If they are in the program for a year and they’re like, ‘You know what, I think I’m done. I feel comfortable in the gym, know what I could be doing,’ our work’s done then,” Ross said.
Fit into Health is currently only open to exercise science majors, but there may be an opportunity for students in adjacent majors to participate in the future.
