Finding the right fitness class for you at the CU Rec Center

By Leala King in Entertainment, Front Page on Feb 28, 2013 9:05 / comments

The CU Rec Center is not just like any other gym.

First of all, its huge, and only getting bigger. Second, the majority of people using it are students, and most importantly, it has so much to offer. You can find everything from scuba diving lessons to meditation and everything in between.

Freshman communications major Savannah Bathke performs an exercise during “Core Conditioning,” one of the many classes offered at the rec center. (James Bradbury/CU Independent)

The Fitness and Wellness program is dedicated to offering consistent, weekly classes throughout the day to keep students and other gym users active.

The classes on the Spring Fitness Schedule have a drop in rate of $5, or you can purchase a 10-punch card for $45 . The most economical option, however, is the Be Fit Pass for $78 –student price– for the entire semester. To make the Be Fit Pass worth your money, you would have to attend at least 20 classes.

So if you purchase your pass this upcoming week, you will have 10 weeks (not including spring break) to make your pass worth it, averaging at about two classes a week. Two classes a week is very doable; with over 85 classes to choose from –and ten at the Bear Creek Rec Center–you are bound to find something that will fit your schedule.

Assistant Director of Fitness and Wellness Nicole LaRocque explained that the rec center sells “around 600 to 700 Be Fit Passes each semester, and most of those are students.”

Obviously, these passes are popular, and people recognize that the “Commit to be fit” program really works for them. Pass holders can also look forward to a pass upgrade in the near future.

“Hopefully by next fall, we will have purchased a new software that will allow us to integrate the Be Fit Pass into your Buff OneCard,” LaRocque said. “This will make the whole process that much easier.”

If all goes as planned, you will never have to carry around your little paper square again.

Classes start as early as 6:30 a.m. and go as late 9:00 p.m. On the weekly schedule, you can find something to fit your own schedule and something that will help you accomplish your fitness goal. LaRocque said the most popular class is Zumba, which may attract the most participants because of its focus on fun dance moves and lots of cardio.

“Our Tuesday and Thursday Zumba classes are packed,” LaRocque said. “We have a regular attendance of about 50 students. In the first week of each semester, when we have our free week, there are as many as 100 people packed in the room. Now I wouldn’t recommend that many people every week, but it’s definitely an experience to have that many people dancing at once.”

If you’re looking to get toned by using weights, a great place to start is Strictly Strength. This class is “a creative total body strength workout using a variety of fitness toys and unique muscle conditioning exercises” that ensure you leave tired.

Other classes that you will feel the next day include HIIT, which integrates “functional strength training, cardio intervals and core conditioning,” cardio kickboxing,which uses “basic kickboxing techniques and cardio drills” and sports conditioning, where you will enhance speed, power, agility, strength and endurance, to just to name a few. If you’re interested in pure cardio, check out the many cycling classes that the rec has to offer.

You can also get your mind and body in the right place with the rec center’s many yoga and Pilates classes. Classes vary from Power Yoga –”an invigorating vinyasa style class that focuses on strength, stability, endurance and flexibility”– Vinyasa Flow Yoga –”an energetic yoga class that uses a flowing series of postures to create heat within the body”–and Yoga & Meditation– “reduce stress, improve mental clarity and increase well-being with a regular meditation practice.”

These are only a few of the awesome classes available, so take advantage of them!

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Leala King at Leala.king@colorado.edu.