SINCLAIRVILLE — Cassadaga Valley Central School’s administration and school board members are looking for more students and community members to come and use the fitness center facility that the district offers.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic fitness center members have significantly decreased, and Cassadaga Valley Fitness Center Manager, Vicki Swanson, said only a handful of students use the facilities regularly these days.

“I would like to see more athletes and senior citizens (come to use the fitness center),” Swanson said.

Exercise and fitness are said to be one of the best ways to improve not only physical health but also mental and emotional health. People who consistently workout and stay active tend to have improved mental health and stability, decreased stress, and better relationships with themselves and the people around them. Students often earn higher grades, are involved in more school activities, and have better mental health and awareness.

The addition of things such as the school’s after school bus is something members hope will encourage students to use the fitness center more often as well.

“I’d like to see more students staying after school using the fitness center especially now that there is an after school bus,” School Board member Dianne Ellsworth said.

Other Board of Education members agree and say they would like to see more community members and students.

“When you start out in life with a fitness background you tend to carry that through, and the benefits of being healthy are pretty obvious,” School Board member Matt Miller said. “Everyone should utilize this facility, anywhere from age four to age 104. So when it comes to the student athletes they should absolutely be in here the most, this is their facility.”

Fitness center staff and members have put together many ongoing challenges for students and community members to use for fun or to help them make goals and work through their fitness journey. These challenges include the 1000 pound club, 500 pound club, and Friday face off.

The 1,000 pound club is directed mainly for male high schoolers, challenging them to complete a deadlift, squat, and bench press all adding up to 1000 pounds. All participants who complete the challenge get their name engraved on the plaque above the fitness center desk. Student athletes use this as a goal or benchmark for themselves.

“I use the 1000 pound club as a benchmark for lifting goals and a good benchmark to strive for high performance in the gym,” student athlete Ryley Clutter said.

The 500 pound club is very similar but directed more for women using the facilities. All lifts are the same but only add up to 500 pounds. A plaque is currently being made and is set to go up soon.

Friday face off is geared towards the adults to compete with each other and add a little fun to the end of their week. High schoolers occasionally jump into the challenges as well. Each Friday they pick a different workout or activity and compete who can do it the longest or with the most amount of weight. Some activities include a farmers walk, bench press, dead hang, and the bring sally up song challenge.

Improvements have been made recently in the center as well, in the form of new floors that were installed in the fitness center hallways over the school’s February break. Other improvements are being looked into by the Board of Education, including revamping and updating the floors and repainting the walls.

“We’re looking at how to improve the aesthetics and make it look more appealing,” Ellsworth said.

Fitness center staff and members along with the school board and administrators hope that the new floors and other planned improvements will also help to lead to more usage of the fitness center in the future.