Cindy Horn
Director of Ferris State Rec Center
401 South St
Big Rapids, MI 49307
Dear Cindy Horn:
I am writing you to propose making the Rec Center at Ferris State University into a 24hour gym. Many people like myself do not always have time during the busy day to make
it to the gym. With the gym being open 24-hour a day it would make it possible to go to
the gym when ever is convenient so you can still get exercise in.
Physical activity has been shown to have more than just physical appearance changing
benefits. It helps improve your body system functions, stimulate and work your brain for
things such as improving memory, and even improving your quality of sleep.
I greatly appreciate you taking the time to look over this proposal. I look forward to
meeting with you to discuss further options. If you have any other questions feel free to
contact me at standik@ferris.edu or anytime on my cell phone (269) 426-1031.
Sincerely,
Kristen Standifer
standik@ferris.edu
Attachment
Prepared for
Cindy Horn
Director of Ferris State Rec Center
Prepared by
Kristen Standifer
Ferris State University
Table of Contents
Executive Summary............................................................................................................. 1
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2
Background.......................................................................................................................... 2
Recommendation ................................................................................................................. 2
Concerns for Rec Center ..................................................................................................... 3
Target Audience .................................................................................................................. 3
Benefits of Exercise ..........................................................................................................3-4
Statistics ............................................................................................................................... 4
Weight Gain in College Students .....................................................................................4-5
Physical Exercise and Brain Health .................................................................................... 5
Physical Activity Impact on Quality of Sleep ........................................................................5-6
Physical Activity and Appetite Control .................................................................................... 6
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 6
Appendix I ........................................................................................................................... 7
Appendix II .......................................................................................................................... 7
Appendix III ........................................................................................................................ 8
Appendix IV: Facts Sheet .................................................................................................... 9
Works Cited ..................................................................................................................10-11
Executive Summary
I feel a 24-hour gym would benefit Ferris States campus. There are positives and
negatives when looking at putting this into place. I will goes through recommendations
on what could help make this effective. Also, aspects that will benefits the students,
faculty and communities mental and physically health with increases physical activity.
The Rec Center is open each day for several hours. But, Ferris State University
has 14,000+ students on their campus. Plus, there are faculty and community members
that use the Rec Center. With there being so many people with access to the gym it is not
always so easy for them to make it to the gym.
I recommend that we open the gym to a 24-hour gym so students, faculty and
community members with membership can access it at their convenience. To help with
security you could add in ID scanners to see who is coming in and out of the gym at what
times. Also with these scanners could be used to help keep only certain areas of the gym
available during the night hours.
Concerns that may face you with this change would be when looking at staffing
and payroll. There would need to be staff to supervise the gym area while people work
out, security staff to make sure it is safe in and outside of the gym. Also, looking at the
payroll to pay the workers who would need to be added for the late night hours.
Physical exercise not only benefits your physical health it also helps your body
system functions and also you mental health. Exercise helps to boost your immune
system, increasing your heart rate increase brain cell development. Exercise is a small
task that helps your body in the future.
Many statistics have shown that many college students would like to work out if
they have the time. These students do not feel fully confident in their own body. With
exercise it helps to get the physically in shape but also helps to mentally feel confident
from the hormones that are produced in your bod during the work out.
A majority of college students in their first 2 years away at school gain an average
of 10 pounds. Built up from stress, lack in exercise and eating unhealthy meals many
students gain some college weight. I personally my freshman year of college did not have
time to go to the gym with my busy schedule. By having longer hours more students
would be able to go to the gym in their little free time they do have.
By exercising on a normal basis it helps your bodys desire for food. It has been
shown that with regularly exercise it helps control your bodys appetite control so you do
not always feel that urge to snack when you become bored.
Most people may not know but physical activity has a positive affect to your
brain. Briefly exercising for around 20 minutes helps with your memory functions and
information processing. It also helps with bringing up our brain activity helping to
prepare your brain for mental stress.
When you think of physical activity most do not always think of your sleep. But,
it has been shown with weekly exercises it can improve your overall quality of sleep. It
can help to keep you from waking up in the middle of the night and help with extending
the amount of time you are able to stay asleep and feel refreshed.
After looking at all the aspects of how physical activity can help the students,
faculty and community members. I feel that a 24-hour gym could help the community.
By making it not only a healthier community, but also a happier one as well.
Introduction
In this report I will discuss the reasons I feel the Ferris State University Rec
Center should be open to students and faculty 24 hours a day. I will discuss the positive
aspects of having a 24-hour gym on campus. But, I will also show you some negative
aspects that you will need to look over to make this possible. I will recommend ideas on
what could be done within the gym. Ill also discusses how physical activity can help
improved peoples physical and mental health by working out. This report will show how
with the extra time will increase the number of people visiting the Rec Center each week.
Background
At Ferris State University there are 14,000+ students on the main campus both
registered on campus and online. The rec center current hours of operation are Monday
through Thursday 6:00AM to 11:00PM, Friday 6:00AM to 9:00PM, Saturday 12:00PM
to 5:00PM and Sunday 5:00PM to 10:00PM (Ferris State University). With there being so
many students on campus plus faculty and community members buying membership
these hours may not work for everyone. With the gym hours now student have to work
around the schedule of it being open around his or her own schedule. I personally cannot
always find a time to go to the gym with in the hours of the Rec Center is open. Between
having 16 credit hours and working 16 plus hours a week it is hard to fit time into my
busy schedule and their hours of operation.
Recommendation
Currently Ferris State University has a 24-hour study room for students at Flite
the library and it is beneficial for students who have busier schedules or work so they
have time to study in the library. The study room has an ID card scanner to make sure
that everyone coming in and out is a student or faculty member. It accounts for who is
there and what times they are coming and going. If you were to put these in you could
make it to were you could account for students, faculty and community member who has
memberships. By adding these ID scanners to the gym could help throughout the night to
be security of knowing who is coming in and out also could help to make sure you are
only able to access certain areas of the gym during the night areas. By doing this it can
help reduce the number of staff because you only need to have specific areas supervised.
you alone. With a 24-hour gym it would help to get those moderate workouts in and also
provide a safe place to work out (The Benefits of Physical Activity).
On campus there are students of all ages starting at 18 years old to faculty and
community members being 60+ years old. If you were to open the gym to 24-hours a day
it would help the open the opportunity to exercise. Different journals have found that
physical activity can improves ones health status. With regular exercise it help to prevent
or reduce the chance of getting chronic disease such as: cardiovascular disease, diabetes,
cancer, hypertension, obesity, depression and osteoporosis. Also, exercise helps boost the
immune system helping to prevent illnesses. This helps to show with regular exercise it
helps to improve ones overall health. This helps to reduce the amount of colds on
campus (Warburton).
Statistics
Appendix III shows a sample of students who exercised on campus. With a 24hour gym there would be more time for people to work out so there would be even more
people would be using the gym at any given day. This table sets the numbers for the other
two tables. In Appendix I it shows how often each person exercised from 0-2 to 5+ times
a week. Where a majority of the people was in the middle working out 3-4 times per
week. Next it asked what level of intensity their exercise was from light to heavy. It
shows when an individual was able to make it to the gym they made it worth there while
by doing a heavy intensity workout. Then it goes into asking what types of work out they
do such as cross-training, strength-training, competitive sports, etc. Lastly this table asks
how each person feels about their own body from not confident to very confident. In
appendix II it looks over reasons for exercising. The main reasons for exercise is weight
control, stress relief, enjoyment, muscle gain, strength and fitness. The top two were
weight control and stress relief. I feel that if the Rec center were open 24-7 the number of
people visiting the gym would increase.
Weight Gain in College Students
The average college freshman will gain around 10 pounds in their first year at
college. Statistics from the Journal of American College Health show that around 70 %
of all college students have a significant amount of weight gain in the first 2 years of
living on a college campus. Some students may come to school eating a healthy diet and
working out. But, when it comes to campus living, students lack not have mom and dad
there with you making your meals. You have The Rock Caf, which has many different
delicious foods to tempt you away from your fruits, veggies, and proteins you need.
Many students once away like to go out with friends and have fun that often leads to
partying and drinking. Also, with campus being in the heart of Big Rapids it is easy for
Appendix I
Table 1
Responses to Exercise/Body Image Questions by Gender
Question
p Value (x2)
38
45
17
32
37
30
.003
8
41
51
7
22
71
.001
8
40
2
6
42
2
7
11
19
16
47
1
16
61
23
38
51
11
.001
.001
Appendix II
Table 2
Reasons for Exercising by Gender
Stated Reason
Female (%)
Male (%)
p Value (x2)
56
25
.001
Stress Relief
47
32
.001
Enjoyment
28
46
.001
16
.022
22
30
.051
Gain Muscle/Strength/Fitness
Other
Appendix III
Table 3
Characteristics of the Participants
Characteristics
# Of Participants
Gender
Male
Female
Age (years)
18-21
22-25
26+
Class Standing
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Graduate
% Of Participants
199
264
43
57
281
149
39
60
32
8
98
93
144
127
8
21
20
31
27
2
Appendix
IV
Fitness
on
College
Campuses
Ferris
State
University
What
is
exercise?
Exercise
is
an
activity
requiring
physical
effort,
carried
out
especially
to
sustain
or
improve
health
and
fitness.
Benefits
of
exercising:
More
energy
Improved
self-image
Weight
control
without
dieting
Control
over
appetite
Higher
endurance
or
stamina
-
not
being
winded
easily
Better
conditioned
heart
and
lungs
Less
tension
Greater
management
of
stress
Better
ability
to
fall
asleep
and
stay
asleep
Less
chance
of
injury
Toned
muscles
Healthier
cholesterol
level
Quicker
healing
Works Cited
5 Reasons College Students Should Make Time For Exercise. (2012, September).
Retrieved November 9, 2014, from http://www.aiuniv.edu/blog/september2012/5-reasons-college-students-should-make-time-for-exercise
Blundell, J., Stubbs, R., Hughes, D., Whybrow, S., & King, N. (n.d.). Cross talk between
physical activity and appetite control: Does physical activity stimulate appetite?
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 651-661. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
Dryden, J. (n.d.). Study finds most students gain weight during early college years |
Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved November 17, 2014,
from http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/5690.aspx
Ferris State University. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from
http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/ferris.htm
Physical Exercise for Brain Health. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2014, from
http://www.brainhq.com/brain-resources/everyday-brain-fitness/physical-exercise
Racette, S., Deusinger, S., Strube, M., Highstein, G., & Deusinger, R. (n.d.). Weight
Changes, Exercise, and Dietary Patterns During Freshman and Sophomore Years
of College. Journal of American College Health, 53(6), 245-251.
Reynolds, G. (2013, August). How Exercise Can Help Us Sleep Better. Retrieved
November 18, 2014, from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/howexercise-can-help-us-sleep-better/?_r=0
Silliman, K., Rodas-Fortier, K., Neyman, M. (n.d.). A survey of dietary and exercise
habits and perceived barriers to following a healthy lifestyle in a college
population. Californian Journal of Health Promotion 2004, 2(2), 10-19. Retrieved
from
http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Survey_of_Diet_and_Exercise_Habits_in_a_C
ollege_Population.pdf
Study: Physical Activity Impacts Overall Quality of Sleep. (n.d.). Retrieved November
18, 2014, from http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/study-physical-activityimpacts-overall-quality-sleep
The Benefits of Physical Activity. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2014, from
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/staying-active-full-story/
Warburton, D., Nicol, C, W., Bredin, S. (2006, March). Health benefits of physical
activity: the evidence. CMAJ (174). doi: 10.1503/cmaj.051351
Why Is Sleep Important? (2012, February). Retrieved November 18, 2014, from
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why.html