In 2019, several of our UVA School of Medicine students created a small gym within walking distance of the medical campus, run by students, for students. What it lacked in size, it made up for in its unique ability to foster community within the medical school. In 2021, they piloted fitness classes ranging from high-intensity interval training and kickboxing to pilates and yoga. Since the advent of UVA’s regional Fairfax campus in 2021, students lamented the lack of an analogous resource. As such, students created a gym in unused hospital call rooms, which opened in May 2024.
The new gym at Inova Fairfax is divided between two connected call rooms, with one serving as a weight room and the other housing cardio equipment. The weight room includes dumbbells from 3 to 50 pounds, an adjustable bench with a barbell, a BowFlex cable machine, 2 medicine balls, resistance bands, and yoga mats. The cardio room has an elliptical, a stationary bike, a treadmill, and a HealthRider total body aerobic machine (functionally similar to a rowing machine).
While the gym has only been open for a few months, it has quickly become a highly utilized resource among UVA medical students at Inova Fairfax. In the future, the hope is to offer fitness programming at the regional campus, inspired by the main campus student gym.
With the success of this project, it is important to acknowledge that the gym would not have been possible without the support, time, and funding provided by the following people and organizations: Dr. Gregory Trimble, Ms. Jeanette Muller, the UVA Medical Alumni Association, the Inova Getting Progressively Stronger Representatives, and the Mulholland Society. Our students are extremely grateful to have such a strong team supporting their physical, mental, and social wellness through this unique medical student resource.
Filed Under: Education