Blood was pumping and hearts were racing in Tuttle Park on Wednesday as members of the Ohio State chapter of Changing Health, Attitudes and Actions to Recreate Girls participated in a different workout regimen than their normal routine.

CHAARG is a national organization with 24 operating chapters at universities across the country. As a women’s fitness group, they strive to offer a multitude of different exercise options for college women who are looking for a change to their routine. It’s a chance to experience fitness routines that can provide the motivational spark to stay in shape.

“We’re super excited to spread that mission of liberating girls from the elliptical and allowing them to ‘find their fit’ here in college,” said Claudia Doyle, a fifth-year in special education and ambassador for the OSU chapter of CHAARG.

Doyle, who has been a member since CHAARG’s founding at OSU in 2013, took her place with the other women in the chapter as they faced their physical challenge for the evening. The workout, designed by members of the OSU Navy ROTC, involved teams competing to complete a variety of exercises in a circuit as fast as possible, including platoon pushups, fireman carries, group situps, wheelbarrow runs, burpees, cadenced flutter kicks and extended leg lifts.

It was a true challenge for the participants, making them sweat and forcing them to push and work hard as a team to complete each phase of the workout.

Michael Ditzler, a third-year in aerospace engineering and athletics officer for the Navy ROTC, took charge in designing the workout with several other cadets. After demonstrating each exercise in the circuit, they each took lead of a team of participants, motivating and pushing them toward victory.

“We gave CHAARG a real taste of ROTC. This isn’t some watered-down workout,” Ditzler said. “This is the real thing they just did, and it was fun to see them do it. I saw everyone working as a team and putting out a lot of effort.”

It was also a learning opportunity for the cadets as well, as they will be running the same workout themselves in a few weeks, Ditzler said.

Doyle testified to the difficulty of the workout upon completion and said she was pleased with the results.

“It was really challenging, but also really rewarding,” she said. “We got to know everybody a little bit better, and that’s really what CHAARG is about. It’s finding your own fit, but also having that awesome community to push you through these awesome workouts.”

Throughout the semester, the chapter will partner with other studios to offer to its members a variety of similar workout opportunities, including boxing, yoga and swimming, Doyle said.

Doyle said all female students enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program can participate in CHAARG. Graduates who would still like to be involved can become involved as virtual members, she said.

“It’s all about positive vibes, spreading that positivity, great energy and really committing to becoming the best version of yourself holistically,” Doyle said.