Campus Connection

Exercise program for La Crosse community hosts open house Sept. 26 at UWL

The La Crosse Exercise and Health Program at UW-La Crosse celebrates 45 years with an open house Monday, Sept. 26. Any La Crosse-area resident interested in joining the program may attend from 8:30-11 a.m. Staff will give tours, provide membership information and those interested can enroll. The program at UWL’s Recreational Eagle Center, located at 1601 Badger St., offers participants individualized exercise programs developed by students in UW-L’s Clinical Exercise Physiology master’s program. A wide variety of group exercise classes are also available including: warm-ups, Pilates, aerobics, chair weights, functional fitness, moderate to high intensity interval training, yoga, volleyball, outside walking/running groups, and more. “We offer a medically-supervised exercise program to the community that allows our participants to improve their overall health and well-being while giving graduate and undergraduate students clinical, hands-on experience working with participants who have known cardiovascular disease, positive risk factors for heart disease or who are simply trying to improve their overall fitness level,” says Kim Radtke, Executive Director of the program. [caption id="attachment_46777" align="alignright" width="350"] Rachel Shaw, Clinical Exercise Physiology master's program class of 2015-16, and LEHP participant Wayne Ruppel.[/caption] Students are supervised by Radtke, who has 18 years of experience working in a clinical hospital setting in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, stress testing, health promotions and wellness. The culture and the history of LEHP is very different than a typical gym setting, says Radtke. “The LEHP participants live vicariously through the UWL graduate and undergraduate students, which keeps the participants young at heart,” she says. “The students are able to learn life-long wisdom from the LEHP participants that will serve the students well in their future careers. Our participants come for the exercise, but they stay with us because of the social interaction.”

Program history

The LEHP program started in 1971 as a joint effort between UWL and the La Crosse County Medical Society. Representatives from both institutions felt that with their combined expertise, a medically-oriented exercise program could be developed to benefit area cardiac patients. The first exercise session took place June 6, 1971 with six patients and three attending physicians. The program has since grown, primarily by word of mouth, to include more than 150 active participants. It has also expanded to include people with other medical issues, as well as people with no known health concerns.

Program details

Participants must be at least 18 years old to participate. People can enroll at any time. The cost is $40 per month with discounted rates of $210 for a six-month membership and $350 for an annual membership. A spousal discount of 50 percent is available. Current and retired UWL employees also receive a 20 percent discount. For more information attend the open house or contact the La Crosse Exercise and Health Program at 608.785.8683 or visit the program website.