By Giulia Gutzwiller, Staff Writer

This semester, eight new group fitness classes are being offered for students in the Health United Building (HUB). The new classes are Spin and Sculpt, Cycle Core, Barre, Yogalates, Yoga Xpress, Xpress Circuit, Xpress Cycling and Pilates Tone.  

Group fitness classes are specialized workouts taught by student instructors. They are available to students, faculty, staff and others who have a gym membership. Many of these new classes incorporate a combination of exercises or activities to appeal to more students and attract larger crowds. 

Rec Sports’ Group Fitness Intern and senior biomedical sciences major Shea Koley instructs the Spin and Sculpt class on Tuesdays from 6 to 6:50 p.m., which involves cycling for the first half of the session and toning for the second half. The class transitions from the Persist Studio to the Transform Studio, which is different from traditional group fitness classes.  

“We do some arm toning and some ab toning for the second 25 minutes of the class just to make the cycling more of a well-rounded workout and not just legs and cardio, but also getting those other muscle groups in there,” Koley said.  

Koley also instructs the Xpress Circuit class on Fridays from 3:30 to 4 p.m. in the Transform Studio, where participants rotate around 12 stations with different exercises.  

“It’s a nice and quick way to get in a workout before your weekend,” Koley said.  

“Last semester, we had two cycling classes back-to-back on multiple nights and they weren’t drawing in big crowds, so we thought about doing these combo classes where you switch the rooms to diversify the workouts,” Koley said.  

Sophomore psychology major Kendal Bolen instructs a Cycle Core class on Wednesdays from 6 to 6:50 p.m. After cycling in the Persist Studio for the first half of class, participants transition to the Transform Studio to do core exercises.  

“Some people might come to cycling and think ‘I got my legs worked out, but I didn’t hit the core,’ so we decided to combine the two,” Bolen said.  

Additionally, Bolen instructs a Barre class on Mondays from 5 to 5:50 p.m. in the Balance Studio. While people may hear the name of the class and assume it’s related to ballet, barre focuses more on toning and engaging multiple muscle groups.  

One way the group fitness classes are taking steps to promote their new additions is by offering themed classes. From Sunday, Feb. 9 to Friday, Feb. 14, select classes will have Valentine’s Day themes. “Love At First Barre” will be a theme for Bolen’s Barre class.  

“I like to do themed classes. I have fun making playlists and coming up with themed names, but it’s also to get people more involved,” Bolen said.  

Another effort to engage more students is group fitness’ collaboration with Better Blend Xavier (BBX). Beginning on Monday, Jan. 27, for the next two weeks students who attend a Cycle Core, Spin and Sculpt, Yogalates, Xpress Circuit, X-Nation Cycling or Barre class will receive a 15% discount at BBX. After two weeks, new group fitness classes will be selected to offer the discount.  

Adjustments to new class schedules and aversions to cold weather can make it difficult for students to make time for exercise early in the semester.  

“Sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation to come to these classes, but once it’s over I’m so happy that I came. It’s a short class, it doesn’t take much time out of my day and I feel productive,” first-year special education major Ava Konecki said.  

“Once people come, they really tend to really enjoy it. Getting people in the door seems to be our hardest obstacle,” Koley said.