There is a new society at Exeter specifically for fitness enthusiasts like us! There has been a need for a health, fitness and training society and ‘MASS’ is the answer.
MASS stands for ‘Muscle & Athletic Sports Society’ and is created from David Bissell’s organisation called thebodymass. Universities across the UK each have their own MASS society based on the collective aim of bringing together like-minded people with an interest in health, fitness and training. It covers a range of weight lifting activities, including: Female Fitness, Cross-Fit and Sports Performance.
For many of us, University is a great time to focus on fitness, and visits to the Sports Park become a regular occurrence. However, until now there hasn’t been a society specifically to bring together people that just want to focus on personal fitness. MASS is bridging the gap in creating a society where people can discuss fitness, exchange tips and motivate eachother.
I caught up with the President of MASS, Adam James, to find out more about this up and coming fitness community.
Hi Adam, How is everything going with the launch of MASS?
Hello! So far so good. It’s only been 4 or 5 weeks since David first proposed the idea to me about bringing a MASS society to the University of Exeter, since then we’ve come a long way. Now I have an enthusiastic committee team of 10, our application to become affiliated with the Student’s Guild is pending, ideas for opening events and the future development of the society have been discussed in meetings, interest in the society from students is ever growing and the word is being spread through Facebook group pages, changing room door posters and gossip in the gym!
In particular for females, weight lifting and strength exercises seem daunting, what would you say for girls who might be reluctant to join?
Lifting weights shouldn’t be intimidating for anyone, male or female. MASS Exeter has systems in place to tackle this, as it can often be a barrier for females. We have Female Fitness Officers who are textbook examples of girls who’ve overcome the fear of using resistance training as a tool to facilitate their journey to achieving their desired body composition, they’ve both made fantastic progress and haven’t once looked back! Additionally, female members have a confidential group page where any questions or matters can be openly discussed between only the girls, which to my knowledge have been a great success and has attracted popularity from many female students. Also, it can be used as a forum to find gym buddies so that feeling intimidated when entering the free weights room alone no longer has to hold you back.
What plans do you have for the future development of MASS, to get people involved?
Despite several of us being in our final year of study and it being late in the academic year, we hope to have a productive summer term and run several events once we’re affiliated with our Student’s Guild and made an official society. This will include a big opening promotional day on campus named something like ‘fitness in the forum’ where students can attempt fun fitness challenges for free with prizes at stake, join the society as a member or simply stop by to chat and ask fitness related questions that our sport & training/nutrition officers will keenly answer. We’d also like to get involved with other local fitness facilities such as CrossFit Exe to run group training sessions and host competitions. A group trip up to the BodyPower Expo at the NEC in Birmingham in May is also something we’d like to arrange as a mid-exam period revision break!
How easy is it for people to join? And what benefits will they gain?
One simple registration form to fill in and just £10 from your student loan to pay the joining fee then you’re in! From then on, all planned events are open to you at your disposal. The plus point with this approach is that you only pay for what you’d like to partake in, whereas paying in excess of £200 in one go for some sports clubs may prove to not be as cost-effective if later down the line you find it difficult to attend all training sessions/fixtures and therefore not getting your money’s worth. Most importantly however, by becoming a member of MASS, you are introducing yourself to a community of friendly, supportive and motivated individuals who all share one thing in common; a genuine passion for health, fitness, and self-improvemen