Workout out at college can be a challenge. It is hard to motivate yourself and find time to get to the gym in between classes and other commitments. While working out on your own offers a lot of freedom and flexibility, it also can make your workouts become stagnant and boring at times. Bison Rec offers a lot of opportunity with their workout classes for people of all fitness levels, whether you are just starting to workout or you have been working out for years. I personally have tried a variety of workout classes offered by Bison Rec to try and find ones that fit me best, and it turns out I liked all of them.
First I tried the class called “Warrior Workout” which is a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Workout) taught by Jason. This class is hard but it is only thirty minutes long. The class goes through a variety of cardio, abs, and arms/legs workouts. It consists mostly of sprinting in place, squats, lunges, and some ab exercises (but there is always a variety). Jason plays the music very loud and he keeps the energy super high. He is incredibly encouraging and the thirty minutes passes a lot faster than you would think. First-timer Kate Normandin says, “Warrior Workout was difficult but super rewarding, I would totally recommend other people to try it.”
Warrior Workout is always followed by “Warrior Ride” which is a thirty-minute spin workout also taught by Jason. The two go very well together. Jason encourages everyone to try and do both together. Spin is always what you make of it. You can change the resistance to whatever you desire, so while you are biking for the majority of the time, it could either be a leisurely workout or a hard cardio one. The spin workout includes lots of different variations of biking, like seated sprints, standing sprints, and hill simulations. All challenge you differently but again, it is truly up to you how hard you make the workout. Warrior Workout and Warrior Ride are my two favorite classes, and Jason makes them truly enjoyable to do.
While it is not being offered currently at Bison Rec, I used to take a kickboxing class two years ago (pre-Covid) that was really fun and interactive. This class provided kick-boxing gloves and punching bags. For an hour, you would go through different exercises with the punching bags and punching in the air. There was actually not a lot of kickboxing in this class, more of the focus was on arms because kickboxing can easily lead to serious injuries if not done correctly. If it is offered again, I would definitely recommend people try it if they are interested in kickboxing. It is a very beginner class and easy to follow.
Another option for a spin class is “Bison Ride.” This class is taught by different instructors, last year it was taught by students, but this year it is taught by Bucknell employees. This class is offered at a lot of different times and days while Warrior Workout and Warrior Ride is only offered on Mondays and Fridays. Bison Ride is offered basically everyday Monday through Friday and at two or three different times. This makes it much easier to fit it into your schedule if the other times the classes are offered conflict with school. Bison Ride is usually forty-five minutes and follows a similar style of Warrior Ride. The teachers are super upbeat and always excited to see which always makes the class more fun and easier when everyone is in a good mood. Bison Ride, in my opinion, is the better option for beginners because it has a slightly lower tempo than Jason’s classes. However, either would offer a great workout and boost your mood completely if you need a pick-me-up.
Going to any workout class is an accomplishment no matter which one it is. All of these are great options, and trying any of them would be a great experience. You can sign up for classes by clicking “Group Fitness” at https://klarc.bucknell.edu/, all of them are free! If you go to any of them just know I am so proud of you!