Exercise Science Teaching Lab
The Exercise Science Teaching Laboratory (ESTL), housed within the department of Exercise and Sport Science, is a 600 square-foot facility designed to enhance the teaching and training of the more clinical/applied aspects of exercise physiology. The lab is located on the ground floor of Fetzer Hall, between the Neuromuscular Research Lab and the Equipment Room. The ESTL was created in order to enhance the undergraduate learning experience in the applied aspects of exercise/sport physiology, human performance, and fitness field testing. This lab also serves to prepare both graduate and undergraduate students for national certifications in exercise testing and prescription for healthy and clinical populations.
In the Fall of 1999, under the direction of Dr. Bonita Marks, the Exercise Science Teaching Laboratory opened its doors to its first 60 undergraduate students taking the 2-hour lab for their required core course, Physiological Basis of Human Performance [EXSS 376]. Since that time, over 1000 students have passed through its doors studying everything from sprinting and ‘maxing out’ on the treadmill to body fat determination. Student research projects for class have included diverse topics such as investigating the effects of hyper- and hypo-hydration on urine specific gravity concentration to whether popular fat reducing creams can reduce localized fat in the abdomen. The ESTL is also used for the Exercise Testing course (EXSS 410L), a core course for the Undergraduate Fitness Professional Track, where students learn to fine-tune their fitness testing skills. To ensure a quality laboratory experience for both of these laboratory courses, all lab sections are limited to 12 students.
Another unique feature within the ESTL are the pictorial biographies of EXSS Scholar Athlete Award Recipients that grace one wall of the lab. EXSS scholar athletes are student athletes in the EXSS major who distinguished themselves academically. Additional photos are contained on the EXSS Scholar Athlete Website.
The ESTL contains a variety of equipment that would be commonly used in a clinical/corporate wellness settings including a Parvo Medics TrueMax 2400 metabolic system, Marquette ECG Exercise Stress Test System, Quinton treadmills, Monark Cycle ergometers, a Monark arm egometer, Lange skinfold calipers, Bod Pod, Tanita BIA systems, Accusport lactate analyzer, Clinitek urinalysis analyzer, cholesterol and blood glucose screening devices, portable field spirometry units, automated and manual blood pressure measurement devices, pedometers, Caltrac energy expenditure monitors, and Polar heart watch monitors.
In addition to undergraduate laboratory teaching, the Exercise Science Teaching Lab has expanded to include exercise and fall prevention research with older adults as well as providing science learning experiences for the Morehead Planetarium’s After School Science Program.