Led by coordinator of fitness, health and well-being David Jenkins, Campus Recreation’s FAST program helps URI community members reach their goals in and out of the gym

KINGSTON, R.I. – Dec. 12, 2025 – Much like mental health, one’s physical well-being is crucial to their workplace performance, an ideology that sparked David Jenkins’ latest journey at the University of Rhode Island.

Hired in 2023 as the coordinator of fitness, health and well-being for the university’s Campus Recreation department, Jenkins is the creator of URI’s Faculty and Staff Fitness Training Program, otherwise known as FAST, designed to help university employees prioritize their fitness while balancing work responsibilities.

Asked about the correlation between physical fitness and workplace productivity, Jenkins, a Florida native, says he could “talk at length” about that topic, but focused primarily on the increased energy, focus, and creativity along with the reduced stress that helps employees do their job better and with fewer errors if they maintain a consistent fitness regimen.

“Think about your sleep, hygiene, your physical fitness, activity levels, what you eat – that all plays into your performance. Stress management can affect your emotional well-being, and if you lack sleep that will affect your overall cognitive function,” Jenkins said. “Everything is intertwined, and proper fitness and physical activity can reduce a lot of the stressors that slow down productivity.”

Having created and implemented similar programs in his role as a group fitness instructor at Florida International University and later as a graduate assistant at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Jenkins hit the ground running when he arrived at URI in the summer of 2023 and launched a pilot run of FAST that following fall. The initiative was led by Campus Recreation’s associate director Dr. Jarrell Garcia, who identified a need for faculty and staff exercise programs and tabbed Jenkins as the perfect to begin the process.

“Our first real objective with FAST is to establish a foundation for exercise and fitness for your fitness journey, whether it’s just exposure to different type of exercises, weight adjustments, or modifications – like, ‘Hey, welcome to the gym!’ I want you to gain independence and feel confident and comfortable with everything that we’ve done so that you can do it on your own without risk of injury,” he said.

“Lastly, it’s about community and the opportunity to immerse our faculty and staff in everything Campus Recreation offers, which is one of our values. Physical fitness and wellness are what we do, but we’re more than just a gym, and that’s a big part of what we offer to faculty and staff. It’s not designed to be a networking opportunity, but it’s great for people to see someone in their class from a completely different department and make those connections.”

As it enters its fourth semester and second full year of existence, FAST continues to gain momentum as the university’s premier on-campus fitness program for faculty and staff. The program is divided into two five-week blocks each semester with a break in between – usually for holidays or corresponding breaks for students – with each block focusing on a different level of fitness.

The membership fee is $75 per five-week block with two classes each week, or 10 sessions for $75, which Jenkins says is a “great value” compared to fees at commercial gyms or personal training studios. Each participant who registers for FAST must sign a waiver and fill out an intake form, allowing Jenkins to better assess their needs and fitness goals. Classes run for 45 minutes with anywhere between 20 and 30 participants.

The first five-week block is an introduction to fitness concepts, or more of a beginner-level program, with the second five-week block providing a more advanced workout regimen with adjustments to build a foundation for exercise. Jenkins said his goal is for employees to stick with FAST until they are comfortable taking what they’ve learned and continuing their fitness journey beyond the program or possibly segue to one-on-one personal training, which is also offered through Campus Recreation for faculty, staff, and students.

FAST sessions are held in the fitness studio of the Tootell Aquatic Center. Capacity is limited and spots fill quickly once registration is available online. Jenkins, who was recently featured in Campus Rec Magazine to describe his process for building a fitness plan, said he builds group fitness programs based on industry trends from the American College of Sports Medicine in addition to what has worked for him in the past at Florida International and Nebraska.

In addition to his work with faculty and staff, Jenkins also develops training programs for several of URI’s club sports programs, including sailing and lacrosse, and was instrumental in developing Women on Weights, a five-week program for female students similar to FAST that helps women learn and develop skills for strength training in a supportive, safe, and empowering environment.

“This is really just the start,” Jenkins said. “I eventually want to develop more student-centric fitness programming and break down whatever barriers discourage people from coming to the gym, which a lot of times is not feeling confident or not feeling comfortable in that space. That is something we continue to work on with our personal training teams, and it remains at the forefront of what I want to accomplish in my role at URI.”

###

Michael Parente, director of communications and marketing in the URI Division of Student Affairs, wrote this news release.