The time is 5 p.m. at State Gym and the odds of a squat rack opening up are slim to none, although the perfect work-out atmosphere is in the air from the humidity of sweat to weights hitting the floor. 

“Living a healthy lifestyle impacts a lot of aspects in your life,” said Jake Petrzelka, senior in genetics who has worked for ISU Recreation Services for the past four years. “Exercise and eating healthy is a part of achieving that lifestyle.”

Iowa State recently placed 17th on the list of top-25 fittest colleges in the nation by Men’s Fitness magazine and third nationally in providing students with opportunities to stay fit by Muscle and Fitness magazine.  Iowa State has proved to be a strong contender in the world of college fitness. Nora Hudson, assistant director of fitness and wellness, explains how our university manages to compete with some of the best in the country.

“[One thing] these articles look at is if our classes are up in the higher end of the programmatic and equipment facilities as the trends,” Hudson said. “A lot of our classes are in line with what’s trending in the fitness industry today.”

Men’s Fitness considers a number of different areas when ranking colleges, such as how many facilities there are, types of equipment offered, food offered at dining centers and other opportunities offered within the school to stay active.

The number of students who actually take advantage of the opportunities offered on campus are also taken into consideration.

“Studies have shown that 98 percent of our students, at some point, have came into our facilities,” Hudson said.

Many people think the majority of this healthy movement comes from the university, but the city of Ames plays a big role in supporting this lifestyle as well.

“The city definitely impacts these results,” Hudson said. “The fact that we have CyRide, we have numerous bicycle routes, a variety of dining services offered … there are so many things that go into saying our students are healthy.”

Hudson admits that making the top-25 fittest colleges in the country is a nice recognition but it’s not an important end goal they strive to achieve.

“Our first priority is to ask ourselves how are we matching the needs and interests of the students at Iowa State,” Hudson said. “We look more in achieving goals in higher education associations.”

Iowa State continues to provide their students with state of the art facilities like the newly renovated State Gym that opened in 2012 and active opportunities that students are taking advantage of.

“I haven’t seen any other schools have the commitment to so many activities and clubs that we do here,” Hudson said. “We’re going to do our best to give the students the facilities, the space and the experiences — from there it’s how they choose to use them.”

There are approximately 160 group fitness opportunities between both recreation centers, with 250 student staff working in both facilities. 100 of the students are fitness instructors and 60 are lifeguards. 

The ISU recreation centers have become a get-away from the hectic lifestyle of college students, offering a variety of services including free group fitness classes, one-on-one personal training and the Rec Miler club designed to encourage healthy habits and help students stay interested and involved in a regular exercise program.

“Once classes get out, it starts picking up and it will get busier progressively throughout the night,” said Petrzelka.” [During peak hours], I’ve made friends here I wouldn’t of made if I never stepped foot into the gym, and exercise is definitely a good getaway from school and distraction from everything.”