The University of Minnesota’s Brains and Brawn club was created in fall 2023 to bring new people into the gym and form a weightlifting community on campus.
Created by President Kyle Cingi and Vice President Sam Gundlach, the club started small with only a few members. Thanks to workouts on Mondays and Wednesdays, the club saw growth last semester with 15 to 20 new members, according to Gundlach.
The club now has a team of officers who lead weekly meetings, held at the University’s Recreation and Wellness Center, Cingi said. By having officers lead the weekly meetings at the RecWell, the club is able to get a variety of workouts in and connect with each other.
“It’s definitely a good way to create these new experiences for the members, ourselves and also experienced lifters,” Cingi said. “We share tips with each other and share experiences, but at the end of the day, it’s really a social club and we’re pretty (much) meant to form connections between different groups of people that go to the gym and want to join.”
Club Treasurer Alex Gherciuc said that as college students, balancing class with extracurriculars and a social life can be stressful, but working out can be a way to help mental health.
“Kyle and I, we commute, so sometimes it can get really lonely,” Gherciuc said. “Having an outlet where I could work out but also connect with people is very enriching. Honestly, I come to the meetings very tired from classes and then I come out like a new person, rejuvenated.”
Gherciuc said the club often sees complete beginners attend the club and being able to help them through the workouts is “a powerful position to be in.”
When he joined the club, Gherciuc said he did not have much experience lifting weights. He said facilitating the club’s mission to other new members is rewarding.
“When Kyle told me about his club, I joined right away, and I started seeing the impact it had on myself and others, and then I progressed into a leadership role,” Gherciuc said. “So now I help to facilitate our mission to new members.”
Although much of their time is spent in the gym, club officers hope to do more than just lift this year.
At the beginning of the semester, the club held a meet and greet where they offered free Chipotle. The club is planning to hold an event with local gym Los Campeones in the winter. The event will feature an educational seminar with bodybuilder and gym owner Benjamin Loehrer.
Cingi said the event will be a chance for members to explore weightlifting outside of the RecWell and make connections with other local gyms. He said it will be an educational experience.
Having a community of people who want to meet each week and work out has been extremely beneficial for Gundlach. He said it eases some of the stress of going to the gym and having a community and a workout led by an officer makes the time more enjoyable.
“When I was first starting, I realized how nerve-wracking it can be kind of going in there,” Gundlach said. “Because the gym gave me a lot of enjoyment and made me really happy, I wanted to give that option to other people and kind of ease their mind when going into it.”