In Brief

Colorado State University

Renovations to the Colorado State University (CSU) student recreation center began last month. The first phase of construction, slated to be completed by January 2010, includes a new entrance and lobby for the rec center as well as the addition of a climbing wall, meeting rooms, massage rooms and court space. Funding for the project is part of a CSU campus bond that was secured in June 2008. Student programming and access to the rec center will continue during construction, school officials say.

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh recently reopened its historic University Club after a $20.2 million renovation. The club's building was originally built in 1923 and was updated to include a fitness facility, a restaurant, a library, and banquet and conference rooms for use by university faculty and staff.

The fitness facility has a full line of cardio equipment, including treadmills, upright and recumbent bikes and cross-training equipment. The club also was outfitted with resistance training equipment and will offer an array of fitness classes, including yoga, Pilates and a variety of cardio, resistance and cross-training exercise classes.

The university purchased the building in 2005 for $3.1 million and began renovations in December 2007.

Armand Tanny

Armand Tanny, a bodybuilding legend who, along with his brother, Vic, started some of the first fitness gyms in the country, died of natural causes last month at a nursing facility, the Los Angeles Times reported. He was 90.

Tanny won national bodybuilding titles in 1949 and 1950 and was a popular figure at that time on Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, CA. He was one of the original nine bodybuilders from Muscle Beach who were part of Mae West's traveling nightclub act, according to the Times.

In 1940, Vic and Armand Tanny opened a Santa Monica gym in a small, second-story loft that the brothers rented for $35 a month. They opened another gym in 1941 in Long Beach, CA, but Pearl Harbor's destruction brought America into World War II, and coastal blackouts forced the Tannys' gyms to close. By 1947, Vic Tanny owned several gyms around Los Angeles, and by 1960, the Tanny empire totaled 84 gyms throughout the country. In 1963, Vic sold his clubs in an effort to retire. Vic Tanny died in 1985.

YMCA Hosts Healthy Kids Day

YMCAs across the country planned free local activities as part of YMCA Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.

Interactive events designed to promote healthy living, bring families together and teach families tools to combat stress during the recession took place at more than 1,800 YMCAs nationwide. The organization anticipated hosting 800,000 family members for its Healthy Kids Day.

“The YMCA understands that many families in our communities are really struggling to maintain balance in their lives,” Lynne Vaughan, chief innovation officer, YMCA of the USA, said in a statement. “Through YMCA Healthy Kids Day, we give them an opportunity to have fun and be active as a family, as well as provide simple tools they can use all year long to make things a little better and a little less stressful.”

To help participants manage stress, local events promoted regular physical activity, choosing nutritious foods and finding time for family togetherness. Organizers recommended that families consider engaging in the following actions at home:

  • Involve the whole family in meal planning, preparation and clean-up.
  • Eat more meals together as a family.
  • Provide each child with one-on-one time every day.
  • Designate one night a week for walks, bowling, bike rides, roller skating or the park.
  • Serve fruits and vegetables at most meals; include a whole-grain or protein option with every snack.

Activities planned in local Ys included cooking classes, rock wall climbing, dance demonstrations and health screenings.

REX Roundtables

The REX Roundtables are working with many of its member clubs in developing a free stress management program, which will in the coming months be released to every club in the industry in order to provide free stress management programs to the public.