If you’re anything like me, you probably often struggle to find the motivation to drag yourself to the gym. Between attending a full schedule of classes, completing an endless flow of homework, participating in extracurricular activities, working a side job, trying to have a social life of some sort and keeping up with the Kardashians, it can seem next to impossible to squeeze in some of your precious time on the dreaded treadmill. Luckily for FSU students there is quite the list of group fitness classes to choose from that are almost all about 30 minutes to an hour in length and completely free! When it comes to working out and getting in shape, I find that it’s much easier and sometimes more enjoyable having an instructor to walk through exercises and choreography with myself in a group setting as opposed to wandering alone around the packed free-weights area of the Leach or Health and Wellness Center. Although I’ve been to my fair share of group fitness classes here at FSU, I decided to shake up my workout routine by attending three very different workout classes at the Leach. Here are my experiences:
Courtesy: Gym Workout Routine
DAY 1: Spin 45
On my first day of this challenge, I decided to destroy my legs by signing up for a 45-minute spin class. For this particular class it’s crucially important to bring a full water bottle, because without one the instructor will kick you out, and a hand towel to dry off with because, yes, you will get soaked in sweat. This class is no brisk bicycle ride through the park. Upon walking into the spin room, I was delighted to see that the walls were painted with blue skies and meadows which is not a bad view for a hardcore workout. After everyone had entered the room and was safely seated our instructor began blasting upbeat music and, much to my surprise, turned off the lights leaving the room completely dark aside from the colorful flashing lights at the front of the room. She took us on an endurance ride and I honestly enjoyed the whole class. The dark atmosphere allowed me to focus on myself the entire time and it kept the room fairly cool and comfortable to contrast the sweat that was water-falling from my pores. Throughout the rapid-pace, high-intensity ride the instructor continuously reminded us to drink and to check our heart rates. Overall, my only complaint would have to be about the seats on the bikes because my butt is still feeling the pain of that seat days later!
DAY 2: Total Body Sculpt
Despite the post-spin soreness that had begun to take over my legs, I trudged my way to a walk-in for a Total Body Sculpt class. According to the description, Total Body Sculpt concentrates on all major muscle groups by using body weight, steps, body bars, cables and light dumbbells to provide a varying resistance. I’m here to confirm that this is completely accurate. In fact, Total Body Sculpt left me not only falling out of bed the next morning but also embarrassingly stumbling down the stairs of the Leach after because the soreness had already started to set in just minutes after the class had concluded. This class was fantastic as it provided bursts of cardio to keep my heart thumping to the blaring music and it incorporated circuits of choreographed strength and resistance training that had me feeling like a noodle in the end. Luckily, I brought a few friends to suffer along with me. What can I say? Misery loves company. Overall, the class went by extremely quick and the instructor was energetic which made it all the more fun.
DAY 3: Kickboxing
Day three was definitely my wildcard of the week. Kickboxing is something that I’ve always wanted to give a shot, so I signed up for the 5:30 p.m. class and power-walked all the way to the Leach after my classes ended for the day. This class utilizes only a few pieces of equipment which include a set of light dumbbells, a body bar and a mat. Now I’m going to preface my reaction to the class by saying that in my head I imagined that I’d be hitting and kicking punching bags and taking turns punching and dodging the swings of a partner. I was sadly mistaken as this group kickboxing class only allows for kicking and punching the air which was slightly less satisfying, yet totally reasonable considering the fact that I have absolutely no kickboxing experience! The class featured a lot of “boxer shuffling” that left my calves burning and my lungs gasping for breath. I punched, I jabbed, I uppercut and I kicked with vigor. It was an interesting class to mark off of my list and the instructor was enthusiastic and yelling with the music throughout the duration, but this is one class that I’ll probably pass on next time.