Passing through Anderson Hall, one might hear sounds of feet pounding or the splash of swimmers working toward the same goal: fitness.

These participants are provided this opportunity through the FIT program, an on-campus adult fitness program run by the NIU kinesiology and physical education department, said Juli Mobley, FIT coordinator.

FIT program sessions last one semester and cost $65. The spring session for 2005 runs until May 13. Dates vary for each semester.

Any NIU employee or adult in the community can participate in the program, Mobley said. Enrollment averages about 80 to 100 people each semester.

Membership includes access to weightrooms, pools and aerobics classes in Anderson and Gabel Halls.

“People keep coming back for the water aerobics classes,” Mobley said.

The FIT program has been in effect since the 1980s. It was formed as a learning tool for kinesiology and physical education graduate students but grew into a fitness-based program, Mobley said.

When the program started, graduate students aided in exercise coaching and body fat testing. Students currently help teach classes, Mobley said.

Mary Lou Schaeffer of DeKalb has been participating in the FIT program since the mid-1980s.

Schaeffer began by participating in the on-land classes but started doing water aerobics because of her arthritis, she said.

“Most people in this class have some sort of problem either with their back or with arthritis so they exercise in the pool because it’s so good for you,” Schaeffer said.

Schaeffer also said having the program on campus is beneficial because it’s convenient for members.

“It’s hard to find classes like these, especially with a pool because otherwise you would have to go to the ‘Y’ or the high school,” Schaeffer said. “People can either go to classes on their lunch break or after work.”

For more information about the FIT program, call 753-0335 or e-mail [email protected].