Beth Schwartz began her fitness class like normal.
鈥淗i, and welcome to your SET class 鈥� strength endurance training.鈥�
Except this wasn鈥檛 a normal class. Schwartz, an instructor at 91传媒鈥檚 Rec Center and administrative assistant at the Leeds School of Business, was filming the class in her home for The Rec鈥檚 virtual training library, which has replaced in-person classes since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the campus to go fully remote in March.
鈥淲e are in my lovely garage, so please ignore the mess,鈥� she added before beginning the lesson.
In the initial haze of closures, The Rec was required to stop in-person fitness classes on March 16, the same day students began the transition to remote learning. In response, the fitness and wellness team not only put together a library of filmed instruction, but also have continued live classes such as yoga, meditation and cycling over Zoom for students and faculty.
It was important to the team that students stay engaged: 鈥淏ecause group fitness is grounded in community, it seemed a natural way to connect students, faculty and staff,鈥� said Denise Adelsen, assistant director of FitWell, the rec center鈥檚 fitness and wellness department.
As was for most in the U.S., the transition was quick, and there was little time to prepare to go virtual. Adelsen and fitness coordinator Annie Tuck (IntPhys鈥�14) had to learn as they built the program.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have time to plan, research and gather what we would need,鈥� said Adelsen. 鈥淲e reached out to other campuses that were in the same boat, and shared ideas.鈥�
The team created a 10K program, for instance, originally designed to prepare runners for the now-cancelled Labor Day BOLDERBoulder.
Since making the switch, there have been nearly 400 participants in live classes, which currently run at six time slots every week. In the virtual library, Schwartz鈥� High-Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, has the most views with more than 520.
Yet, the road wasn鈥檛 always easy. There were some unexpected hurdles.
Adelsen explained, 鈥淲e are strong in developing and offering fitness programs, not in the production, IT requirements and AV necessities.鈥�
Monica Nabholz teaches virtual classes in Vinyasa Flow Yoga, among others.
It took some getting used to for Monica Nabholz (Comm鈥�90), a yoga, core and strength instructor.
鈥淭eaching to a screen rather than having the in-person, interactive connection with students and staff continues to be a challenge,鈥� she said.
She also faced some of the challenges that many who made the transition to working at home faced: loud construction, family-member photobombs and the like.
鈥淢y dogs try to get into my shot, and lie down on my yoga mat,鈥� she said.
It can be difficult to teach, let alone hold, a proper mountain pose with all these distractions, she said. Yet, Nabholz has made it work.
鈥淭he most important thing I鈥檝e learned teaching virtually is to continue teaching your class and ignore all interruptions鈥� she said. 鈥淣o losing your train of thought or getting rattled.鈥�
The hectic transition and on-the-job training has settled into routine, with virtual classes scheduled to continue for FitWell members after the fall reopening of campus. The Rec will also be up and running, although things won鈥檛 look quite the same as they did before, with COVID-specific protocols being implemented such as plexiglass dividers and social distancing measures.
鈥淚鈥檓 used to teaching virtually now,鈥� said Nabholz, 鈥渂ut I鈥檓 looking forward to teaching in-person at the The Rec and seeing all the people I鈥檝e missed.鈥�
To learn more about virtual Rec classes, visit /recreation/fitwell-virtual-classes.
Photos courtesy 91传媒 Fitness and Wellness; Bottom: courtesy Monica Nabholz
Cycling, yoga, mediation and more available through CU鈥檚 rec center.
Need a new hobby? The CU Rec has you covered.
Head over to the Recreation Services website to learn more.
Photo courtesy of 91传媒 Recreation Services
Need a new hobby?
City Tops "Brain Concentration Index"
A new measure of fitness for success in America鈥檚 high-tech economy shows Boulder has the right stuff. When Bloomberg News published its 鈥�2016 Brain Concentration Index鈥� in December, metro Boulder ranked first.
The index measures 鈥減er-capita concentration of residents working in science, technology and engineering occupations or who have science and engineering college degrees or post-graduate degrees.鈥�
In a story about the index, Bloomberg introduced Boulder as a 鈥渢ech incubator and the home of the University of Colorado.鈥� It also highlighted the region鈥檚 aerospace, bioscience and renewable energy industries, software firms and abundant federal science labs.
鈥淭he public-sector presence contributed to the brains,鈥� Clif Harald (DistSt鈥�75), executive director of the Boulder Economic Council, said in the story.
Two other university towns made the index鈥檚 top five: Ann Arbor, Mich., home of the University of Michigan, and Ithaca, New York, home of Cornell University. San Jose, Calif., and Washington, D.C., round out the top five.
A major Google campus is under construction at 30th and Pearl Streets in Boulder, as the Internet search giant prepares for a local head-count expansion that could eventually bring total local employment to 1,500. Twitter and Microsoft also have operations in the city, along with a host of smaller tech firms and start-ups.
Bloomberg capped its story with a headline that says it all: 鈥淎merica鈥檚 Best and Brightest Are Headed to Boulder.鈥�
Illustration by Brian Stauffer
The city of Boulder tops Bloomberg news Brain Concentration Index for 2016.Allen Lim (MKines鈥�97, PhDIntPhys鈥�04) 鈥� Photo courtesy Jamie Kripke
Kevin Costner isn鈥檛 a sports scientist, but he played one on the big screen. Allen Lim (MKines鈥�97, PhDIntPhys鈥�04), on the other hand, is the real deal, and Costner can take some credit for that.
At the age of 12 or 13, Allen watched American Flyers, the 1985 bike-racing movie filmed partly in Colorado. Costner plays a sports physician who puts his brother through a stress test designed to gauge the rider鈥檚 fitness.
Fast-forward three decades. Allen is a sports physiologist for some of the biggest names in cycling, most recently seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
As director of sports science for Team RadioShack two years ago, Allen put Armstrong through a set of paces that could be fairly described as unusual.
Allen persuaded Armstrong to swallow a pill-sized thermometer to measure and transmit the champion鈥檚 core temperature during training rides in Hawaii. Allen also had Armstrong time-trialing along the Hawaiian coast with dozens of pieces of yarn [to indicate airflow] fluttering from his body suit.
Team RadioShack鈥檚 marquee rider endured a series of crashes and hard knocks in his final tour last year, but, assisted by Allen, RadioShack won the team competition.
He is known as the sports scientist who helped popularize the measurement of power output in cycling. His CU doctoral dissertation, which focused on biomechanics, aerodynamics and physiological responses to the stress of exertion in cycling, relied in part on measurements taken by the Saris CycleOps PowerTap, one of several power meters embraced by cyclists in the last decade. Power meters measure the human equivalent of horsepower.
Allen鈥檚 dissertation validated the measurements of PowerTap and found that power meters installed on bicycles provide a much more reliable indicator of a rider鈥檚 on-the-road performance than heart-rate monitors.
Allen says the sports-science community is still figuring out how to use all these data, but the general population could ultimately benefit as well.
鈥淲e need a universal metric for describing physical activity,鈥� he says. That standardized unit could help people have a better grip on their level of exertion and health.
Although Allen loves what he鈥檚 doing, his longer-term goal is to become a Johnny Appleseed of physical fitness.
鈥淚f I can take what I鈥檝e learned from elite athletes and apply it generally, I think people can lead better lives,鈥� he says.
It is a daunting challenge. But a guy who persuades Lance Armstrong to go time-trialing in a Mardi Gras costume might have a good shot.
Kevin Costner isn鈥檛 a sports scientist, but he played one on the big screen. Allen Lim, on the other hand, is the real deal, and Costner can take some credit for that.