Fitness on request: Classes you want, when you want them

Published Sept. 30, 2013
By Margie Arnold
21st Force Support Squadron Marketing

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The Friday before Labor Day, Tech. Sgt. Michelle James went to the fitness center expecting to take a kickboxing class. It was a family day; there were no aerobics classes scheduled and she was disappointed.

But she did what any motivated, curious person would do. She figured out on her own how to sign in and select a kickboxing class from a fitness kiosk outside the aerobics room. And she got the entire kickboxing workout she wanted, no instructor required.

It's called Fitness on Request, and there are two such kiosks in the fitness center - one outside the aerobics room and the other inside the spinning room. They offer a choice of programs: dance - Latin, urban, hip hop and more; yoga and Pilates; kickboxing - punches, kicks, stripes; step; and cycling - sprints, climbs, intervals. Each lasts anywhere from 20 to 50 minutes, depending on the selection.

"I really like it," said James. "With the screen as big as it is, I didn't lose focus. It was like having a real instructor right here. It provides you with a classroom environment and the encouragement of an instructor, without one physically being there." Plus, she said, each video begins with a list of safety measures for students to read before the class starts.

With aerobics classes reduced from an all-time high of 29 down to the current seven, fans of certain classes like Pilates, step aerobics, and kickboxing remember the days when classes were offered multiple times during the week. These fitness kiosks provide options to satisfy a craving for more of the popular classes.

"These fitness kiosks are pretty easy to use," said Roger Hill, fitness center director. "They are not going to take the place of a live instructor, but these fitness kiosks are a resource people can use when we don't have a class they want, when they want it."

Fitness on Request programs are available in the aerobics room whenever there isn't a regular class scheduled and, because the spinning room is locked when class is not in session, Hill said the kiosk can only be accessed by contacting the front desk staff.

Stop by the fitness center and give them a try, or for information, call the fitness center director at 556-8069.

Fitness on request kiosk at fitness center