Lately, it’s been hard to find an elliptical or treadmill at Emerson’s Fitness Center. Maybe students are sticking to their New Years resolutions this year, or maybe it’s just too cold to be outdoors. Whatever the reason, the gym’s much too crowded. Instead of skipping the gym altogether, however, why not use one of the college’s fitness classes as an alternative to the stationary bike? We asked our staff members for the scoop on some of their favorite and not-so-favorite exercise classes.
“Spinning is an awesome way to push your mind and body to its fullest potential, and the fitness instructors at Emerson make it wicked fun. With Marcus, who teaches the Sunday class, we work on strengthening our cardiovascular system, and we burn fat with a series of light and hard intervals. Although your legs feel like Jell-O after, the juice is totally worth the squeeze. The Tuesday/Thursday class with Peggy is also great for building endurance and burning fat. You work out your quads with stationary jumps, and you keep your tush looking bootylicious.”
– Larissa Green, 2011
“Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the Emerson fitness classes. I get distracted so easily, that in order for me to enjoy a fitness class it needs to move at a fast pace and be ridiculously challenging. Luckily, I found both of these qualities in the core fusion classes at Exhale Spa, right down the street from Emerson behind the Four Seasons. Exhale’s core fusion classes combine pilates, yoga, and strength conditioning into one grueling hour-long class. Classes are only $15 for students, and they even let you use their spa facilities afterwards!”
– Nikki Fig, 2011
“I’m neutral on the fitness class I take, which is spinning with Ron on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I like it, but I also like to switch it up with my own routine, because it can get monotonous. I will take the class once or twice a week, I just do cardio and weights the other times I’m there.”
– Emily Dyess, 2012
“I wrote an article last semester that gave an overview of most of the fitness classes. This gave me the opportunity to try out many different classes and challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone. Hands-down, my favorite class is yoga with Mona on Fridays from 2-3:30 p.m. Mona is such a dedicated and passionate teacher who really explains the different poses and their particular purposes. She encourages students to push themselves and ask her any questions they have. Another class that I’ve really come to enjoy is Marcus’s spinning class, offered on Sundays (4:30-5:30pm) and Wednesdays (5-6pm). I used to be terrified to take a spinning class, because the idea of committing myself to 45 minutes of continuous rigorous biking was terrifying. However, after pushing myself, I found that I actually looked forward to my weekly spin class. My advice would be to try any class that sounds interesting to you. After all, they’re free!”
– Marissa Ericson, 2012
“I will admit, I’ve only been to one fitness class at the Emerson gym. And this is not because I do not like classes, I just find myself too busy to get to the gym at the specific time they are being held. The one class I did manage to get my butt to was yoga. This was actually the first yoga class I ever took and I have to say, it wasn’t that bad. With it being my first time, I was scared I wouldn’t be able to keep up, but Mona, the instructor, was very understanding and made sure to give me detailed directions for each move. So, for all those who just want to try something new, I’d recommend giving yoga a chance.”
– Corey Catanese, 2014
To check out the Emerson Fitness Spring Class Schedule, you can click here.