Meet senior Harrison Mullen! Harrison is from Oyster Bay, New York and is a Biology major. He is passionate about fitness, nutrition and living life to its fullest, which is why he created our SLU Health and Fitness club here on campus! We decided to ask Harrison to tell us a little bit more about what his club is all about but we also gained lots of insightful advice too!
Q: Why did you decide to start SLU Health and Fitness?
A: Living an all-around healthy life has always been important to me and I noticed that none of the existing clubs on campus really embodied this. Luckily, I had some great upperclassmen friends who encouraged me to start one and put me in touch with everybody I needed to know.
Q: What has been the most challenging thing about founding a club?
A: Creating the club was pretty easy! It involved filling out some papers and going to a couple of meetings but it was all very straightforward. The tricky part of starting a club and getting it established is finding out what the people who signed up for it actually want. Initially, I had these great big visions for programs, events, diet plans and more, but I quickly realized that something in my approach had to change once everybody stopped showing up to the meetings. One thing you learn pretty quickly is that to stay relevant, you must continuously adjust your clubs missions, projects, and events to something that people actually want. So in short, always make sure to test your assumptions because they often aren’t as they appear.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about what SLU Health and Fitness is all about?
A: SLU Health and Fitness tries to make being healthy on campus as well as in the surrounding areas a little bit easier. We often fundraise for the Canton PeeWee Sports Association which helps pay for local kids initiation and equipment fees allowing them to partake in their sport of choice. Last semester we focused our efforts on making the Fitness Center a less intimidating place by having over 80 laminated workout cards geared for any fitness level. Those cards have also since been uploaded to our website (https://sluhealthandfitness.wordpress.com/).
Q: What sparked your interest in fitness?
A: My senior year in high school I sustained a couple of injuries to my knees which prevented me from doing any strenuous lower body activity for multiple years. Once I learned that I would no longer be able to play sports or anything of the kind, overall fitness and health became much more important to me. I was able to accommodate for my lack of cardiovascular exercise by learning more about a proper diet along with some other ways I could stay physically fit.
Q: What advice can you give people to get them into a fitness routine?
A: I would say start small and never make exceptions. If you want to make a change in your health and fitness you need to start off with something you feel is manageable. It doesn’t matter if your initial goal is to go to the fitness center three times a week for thirty minutes or begin training for a half marathon, pick something you feel that you can do. The second piece of advice I have is to never make exceptions. If you really want to get into a routine make sure you follow through with your goals and plans even if you don’t feel like it because if you skip one day, everybody knows it just gets easier and easier to miss the next.
Q: How do you think fitness can be beneficial in college life?
A: Obviously, I am biased, but I think staying fit in college, or any part of your life, is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. By making fitness and health a priority in your life, you are investing in yourself. You will feel better, have less stress, and so much more.
(Photos from Harrison Mullen)