College wellness programs go well beyond a major in exercise science. You can now take classes like social dance, snowboarding, and spinning - all for credit. You can also participate in university-sponsored events like wellness week, which offers numerous opportunities to exercise, de-stress, and discover resources for taking better care of your physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

Other schools are taking wellness to the next level by incorporating wellness techniques into their learning format and curriculum. Take a look.

Having a Ball
Replacing chairs with exercise balls has been happening in offices nationwide, but the practice hasn't completely caught on in academia. Slowly but surely, however, teachers are seeing the benefits of exercise balls and ball chairs to sharpen students' attention and improve posture. In fact, the tiny movements students make to stay balanced stimulate their brains and help them focus.

While elementary schools are the education institutions most likely to adopt ball chairs, one college has experimented with exercise balls in the classroom. As part of a research project headed by a movement sciences professor, students at Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI) were invited to take a course while sitting on exercise balls instead of chairs. By semester's end, the students said exercise balls in the classroom helped them concentrate, take better notes, and perform well on exams.

Living at the Gym
Quite a few colleges offer wellness living-learning communities, but not many house these groups in a fitness center. As opposed to a traditional dorm, the Fitness and Wellness Center is what some Indiana University Bloomington students call home. In this unique learning community, students broaden their view of what it means to live well by actively pursuing sustained healthy lifestyles through education, fitness, and community involvement. Of course, fitness facilities are right there in the building.

Plus, all residents take a semester-long foundational fitness course that includes a physical activity lab component. Through an integration of health education and physical activity, the living-learning environment provides an effective means of enhancing overall health and establishing healthy lifestyle choices in college and beyond.

Getting Fit for Life
In similar fashion, during a semester-long fitness course at Michigan Technological University (Houghton, MI), students don't just talk about fitness, they experience it. The class begins with basic fitness testing to provide students with a starting point on their fitness journey. During the cardio segment of the class, students receive theoretical and practical instruction in cardiovascular fitness, target heart rate, and tracking intensity. In the strength segment, students learn about muscular strength and endurance and learn how to develop their own strength training program. Students are required to exercise each of the 12 major muscle groups each week. 

In the final segment, the class may choose a different game to play each week, such as racquetball, wallyball, squash, volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, flag football, kickball, floor hockey, or soccer. At the end of the course, students take the same fitness tests they took the first week of class to discover the improvements they've made.

Are you ready to embrace a healthy lifestyle? Consider what college wellness programs can do for you.

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