Alice Adams (left) and Stephanne Musser co-teach the Nike Fitness Training Club class Jan. 28 at the RPAC. The RPAC is the only location on campus to offer the class. Credit: Lee McClory / Design editor

Alice Adams (left) and Stephanne Musser co-teach the Nike Fitness Training Club class Jan. 28 at the RPAC. The RPAC is the only location on campus to offer the class. Credit: Lee McClory / Design editor

Ohio State isn’t the only university that has a contract with Nike, Inc., but it’s one of only two universities piloting a Nike fitness class this semester.

The course is similar to a boot camp or a body challenge class, but emphasizes teamwork in a group setting, said Alice Adams, fitness programs coordinator at OSU and instructor for the new fitness class.

The class, called Nike Training Club, is held in the RPAC’s South Gym on Wednesdays from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m., and has filled to its maximum of 60 people for the past two weeks the class has been offered, Adams said.

The class was developed by Nike Master Trainers, Nike spokeswoman Lisa Beachy said in an email.

Nike Master Trainers are personal trainers certified by Nike to work with Nike athletes and develop workout plans.

The fitness class is an in-person workout that’s based on and uses Nike’s Training Club app, but is presented in a group setting with more partner work, Adams said.

The Nike Training Club app is a personal training app that provides workout plans for its users and encourages them to connect with others.

The app has been downloaded 16 million times, Beachy said.

While the class is designed to be challenging, Adams said anyone of any fitness level can join.

Because Nike created the class and the class is still being piloted, Nike is fully involved with the process, Adams said.

“(The class) works just like any of our other sponsorship deals that we have with group fitness,” Adams said.

Adams said the RPAC has previously worked with companies like Aveda Salon and Victoria’s Secret Sport.

Although OSU has a current contract with Nike, Adams and Beachy both said the contract had nothing to do with the reason OSU was selected for the contract.

OSU signed three separate seven-year contracts with Nike in August 2007 that were extended last year to last until July 31, 2018. Those agreements are set to gross OSU nearly $46 million.

During the first class, Nike gave away water bottles and hand towels, Adams said.

Students who attended the third class were given the opportunity to test Nike’s latest cross-training shoes.

Beachy said Nike chose to bring the class to OSU and the University of Texas at Austin because it thought that they were “two of the most physically active campuses in the country.”

The class came at no additional cost to the university, as adding a fitness class happens nearly every semester, said Kristen Smith, assistant director of sponsorship and stewardship for OSU’s Department of Recreational Sports.

Some students said they enjoyed having the opportunity to participate in the class.

“I really liked (the class). I liked the intensity. I would do it again,” said Emma Curtis, a first-year in chemical engineering.

Stephanie Fabry, a third-year in chemistry, said she appreciates the teamwork aspect of the class.

“I liked being partnered up, it was fun to root each other up,” she said.

Adams said she thought the class would appeal to a wide variety of people.

“With the idea that everyone is an athlete, the class does attract everyone, from the person who has been in the RPAC maybe only once in their life to the high school athlete who maybe is just missing that challenge, that competitiveness, whatever they’re looking for,” she said.