Looking for an inexpensive way to exercise around the UA campus? Try out the UA-FIT course.
UA-FIT is the Fitness Integral Training course with stations circling campus between Cherry Avenue and Park Avenue. You may have seen some of these stations around, such as in front of the Mathematics building or in front of the Science-Engineering Library.
The course starts at the northeast corner of the UA Main Library on Cherry Avenue and University Boulevard. After looping around campus, course users can make their way up Cherry Avenue back to the start. The course is free and always open for use for everyone.
According to Casey Camamo, student facility manager at Campus Recreation and a senior majoring in finance, the UA-FIT course is a progression of 10 fitness stations, mostly consisting of bodyweight exercises.
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“All of the equipment is coated in a material that allows you to use it when it’s super-hot, so it’s not going to burn you,” Camamo said.
Descriptions of the exercises are on the blue signs in front of each station.
“I don’t think many people know about it, or know what it is when they’re looking at it,” Camamo said. “It’s a free course anybody can pick up and do any part of, at any time.”
The course can be a way to familiarize oneself with the layout of the UA campus, find new walking paths and get exercise. Many of the stations are under shade.
Tara Watson, assistant director for marketing and communications with Campus Recreation, said Campus Recreation encourages students to get active, live healthy and be well for both their academic success and overall well-being.
“The self-guided UA-FIT Course makes for the perfect blend of physical activity, set to one’s own pace and the great Tucson outdoors,” Watson said.
Watson said course users can complete the course by themselves or with a group and users do not have to complete the entire course.
“You can do a section of it at a time and build up your endurance,” Watson said. “There’s a lot of opportunity for any student on campus to use it. It’s a great way to socialize with other people and still get some physical activity too.”
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According to FIT course website, four of the stations are ADA-accessible. The website also states that before the UA-FIT course, there was a Par Course with 18 stations built in 1979 and donated by the Perrier Company on campus. With more construction projects, weather and time, only seven Par Course stations remained and the UA-FIT course replaced the Par Course. UA-FIT course construction was completed in 2007.
A map of the course is available on the site. Have fun and stay UA-Fit.
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