Janelle Patterson
jp004@marietta.edu
** Editor’s note: This article has been revised at the request of a CrossFit Inc. media representative to distinguish the cross-training program run by Jarred Malcolm from officially affiliated CrossFit gyms. Malcolm is not licensed to use the CrossFit trademark.
Over winter break, sophomore Jarred Malcolm planned an athletic conditioning program that blurs the lines between Marietta College sports. After garnering interest via Facebook, Malcolm introduced a small group of student athletes to a cross-training routine called Iron Pio Strength and Conditioning.
The efficacy of group-based exercise regimens can be seen across the board from popular Zumba classes to hot yoga to team sports. Research published in the Sport & Exercise Psychology Review has shown that as inherently social creatures, people tend to perform better and stay more committed to a healthy lifestyle when held accountable by a group. This information is not new (see the many ads for Weight Watchers, or even locally for POUND), yet stigmas are often what keep individuals from getting involved in group fitness.
However, Malcolm said that group exercise programs which challenge one’s normal routine actually increase the overall health of the individual through extra motivation. As an Army veteran that now plays football for the college, Malcolm says that by the end of last semester he was looking for more of a challenge to conditioning throughout the off-season. During his service Malcolm became involved in olympic lifting and saw favorable results through CrossFit workouts. This semester he decided to bring that knowledge to campus.
His focus is applying those workouts to sport-specific performance.
“We do [workouts inspired by] CrossFit but with mild twists on it,” Malcolm said.
Since the group consists of current student athletes Russell Lewis, Sam Kelley, Ashley Montgomery, and assistant women’s soccer coach Rachel Gutowski, Malcolm gears the lifts and endurance workouts toward football and soccer. The group meets Tuesday and Thursday evenings in either the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center or at the McCoy Athletic Facility depending on the type of workout planned for that day.
Gutowski asserted that the workouts are affecting the overall strength and health of the group.
“Usually when you specialize and train with a team you do specific strength training or speed training for that sport, but with [our workout] you’re strengthening your overall body,” she said.
Malcolm says the workouts are a group effort, and as such, each individual is essential to motivating the group. At workouts he is often not the only one yelling, “Too much thinking, not enough lifting – lets go!”
In fact, Gutowski seemed just as equal a motivator for the women as for the men, calling out Malcolm during a workout: “Sounds like an excuse to me; keep going, Jarred.”
“She makes me work twice as hard, and more often than not beats my time which only makes me want to get even better and ups my competitiveness,” said Malcolm.
Gutowski emphasized the sense of community the workouts provide.
“Everybody is there for the same thing and we all want to get stronger and get better,” she said. “We’re a small family.”
Gutowski’s membership in the group also allows the use of the McCoy Athletic Facility which is usually reserved for the college’s sports teams. Gutowski acts as the staff supervisor for the group when they meet at McCoy but according to Malcolm everyone is individually responsible for their own safety during workouts. He said that just as individuals in the weight room in the DBRC are responsible for their own safety during lifts, he expects those in his group to maintain correct form during the group workouts. Malcolm, Gutowski, and Lewis all monitor correct form during their sessions and try to correct unsafe practices when necessary.
Though the group is small Malcolm emphasized that all who are willing to work are welcome. He spoke about the need for a work ethic that is often found in athletes but is not opposed to introducing non-athletes to the lifting and endurance regimen.
“If someone wants to come in and put in the work and commit to pushing their hardest to get better, that’s all I can ask for,” Malcolm said.
Indeed, that was along the lines of what he said at the conclusion of a workout last week. In motivating his friend Lewis he said, “the only time you can get pissed is when you have the same workout and you get worse, but if it’s new then you have nothing to compare it to.”
For more information on how to get involved with the group, visit “Iron Pio Strength and Conditioning” on Facebook.
