If you’re anything like me, going to the gym is intimidating. But, I knew that when I got to school, I wanted a way to stay active that wasn’t just walking around campus. I was a swimmer all of my life, and I never really exercised beyond that or the occasional run on the treadmill, so I knew I’d need some guidance.
Fortunately, UMD’s RecWell offers many group fitness classes, in varying time spans and activities. You can sign up for as many or as few classes as you want and go whenever you have the time or motivation to.
There are many classes to choose from, and making that decision can be hard. Over the past few weeks, I’ve taken a large variety of them and can provide first-hand ratings, comments, and recommendations.
- Zumba
The description of this Zumba class on the Recwell page is “join us for a Latin inspired dance workout featuring music and moves from Latin America! Salsa, merengue, and cumbia the night away in this cardio dance class! A fun, effective workout for Zumba® lovers, new and old. Don’t wait to join the party!”
This was the first class my roommate and I tried, at the recommendation of a friend. Located in the fitness center, it’s 45 minutes of dancing, sweating, and having a good time. At first we were a little worried, given that zumba has a connotation of being a “mom activity”.
But, we were not disappointed. The music helped hype us up and motivate us for the workout, and the moves were fun and risqué. Half of the class featured Latin dance moves, which were interesting to learn and enjoyable to do.
Zumba is a great way to get in your cardio and in my opinion, is much more fun than a treadmill. The time really flies by, and the instructors are nice and good at motivating you to keep your energy up. It was honestly my favorite class and I have started going regularly.
Rating: 5/5
- UBox
If you’re ever really angry or irritated, this is the class for you. There is something so cathartic about punching something — and you can channel your inner Rocky Balboa.
RecWell describes this class as “a combination of boxing and HIIT drills that will give you a total body workout. Learn various strikes and add the resistance of a punching bag in order to give yourself an extra challenge.”
You don’t need to have any experience at boxing to take this class, or even your own gloves (though if you have some, you’re more than welcome to bring them). The first 15 minutes of the hour-long class is dedicated to teaching you how to wrap your hands with the wraps they provide you.
Disclaimer: you still might get some cuts and bruises on your knuckles, like I did. They’ll go away after a few days. The instructor then teaches you the six most basic punches and stances that you’ll use throughout the class.
Since there are a limited number of punching bags, the class is broken up in two and you spend half your time at the bags doing different combinations of punches. The rest of the time you do floor exercises, sometimes using simple equipment. The class I went to focused on abs and glutes, and we did a variety of exercises like burpees, jump rope, plank and squats with kettlebells. I honestly thought this made the workout more well-rounded, and worked my whole body instead of just my arms and torso.
Rating: 4/5
- Cycle45
“These non-impact workouts are designed for all fitness levels. Enjoy combination rides that mix speed and resistance,” RecWell says of the Cycle45 class.
This 45-minute class was a mixture of sprints, climbs and free rides, with recoveries sprinkled in throughout. WIth climbs, you continuously increase the resistance on your bike, to replicate biking up a hill or mountain. The nice thing about it though is you can control how much resistance you add on. There were a couple times throughout the class where I was struggling to keep up, so I decreased my resistance to a level that was more comfortable to me.
Sprints are exactly what they sound like and were my favorite thing to do. When I was really pushing myself as hard as I could for those 30 seconds, I felt that I was making the most of my workout. At the end, we had a five minute free ride, where we could do whatever we wanted for however long we wanted. It was a nice way to practice the different cycling positions we learned in the class, and a good way to cool down after the session.
Cycling works your core too, not just your legs, so I left the class feeling tired and sore, but in a good way. In all honesty, I’m not a big fan of biking to begin with, so this wasn’t my favorite class, but it was fun to try. I definitely recommend it to those who do enjoy cycling, or anyone who just wants a good quick workout. There are also both longer and shorter cycling classes you can sign up for if you’re looking for something slightly different, called Cycle55 and Cycle30 respectively.
Rating: 3/5
- YogaFlow
Recwell describes this hour-long class as “a yoga class that incorporates more technical language and focuses on advanced yoga poses that flow to help you grow in your Yogi experience. Flow practice is great for the participant looking to increase their flexibility and ability to move through more difficult moves at a faster pace. Beginner experience is suggested, but not necessary. This ancient practice, with various origins and evolutions, focuses on creating harmony between the mind and body.”
To preface this review, I would like to say that I don’t consider myself to be a beginner at yoga. I’ve taken some classes in the past, and took a semester of it in high school. But I’m not going to lie, I struggled a little in this class (and sweated a lot more than I thought).
The instructor took us through several flows, each one building upon the other and getting progressively more challenging. It was toning based, focusing on holding positions and squeezing muscles. My main problem was that I did not seem to be flexible enough for some of the moves,and occasionally I had issues with balance.
That being said, it was the perfect class for a Thursday evening. Many of the moves were more about stretching and opening your body, so it was a nice way to relieve tension after (almost) a full week of classes. The instructor was also very persistent in reminding us to only do what we were comfortable with doing and making sure we didn’t push ourselves too hard. There were some moves I knew I could not have done without hurting myself, so I did modified versions that still had the same effect.
If you’ve never done yoga before, they do have classes more targeted at beginners, and other types of yoga classes in general. But I would encourage people to try it out whenever they feel comfortable to do so, as I felt loose and relaxed after finishing. Plus, we end the hour by spending several minutes in Shavasana, where both your mind and body can take a little break from the craziness of life.
Rating: 4.5/5
- DanceFit
The DanceFit class was pretty similar to Zumba. It was a little less intense, but the dance moves were interspersed with more traditional workout moves, like jumping jacks and squats. RecWell says the class is “a fun cardio workout utilizing the latest dance moves. No dance experience needed.”
If you’re new to working out, this is a good class to ease yourself into it. There’s basic exercises that more traditional workouts would include, but the dancing elements make it easier and fun.
Honestly though, I found this class a little underwhelming. While the instructors were both nice and encouraging, the music wasn’t exactly my vibe, and the moves were more simple and repetitive. Personally I would choose the Zumba class over this one, but everyone has their own taste and skill level, and I didn’t dislike the class by any means.
Rating: 3.5/5
- Barre
Going into this class, I didn’t know what to expect. I enjoy dancing, but I’m not very graceful or anything, and I was a little afraid this was going to be very ballet intense. Instead, it mixed ballet elements with some pilates type exercises for a really fun experience! The RecWell site explained the origin of barre, saying that it was “created by a Jewish ballerina after injuring her back, Barre focuses on small, pulsing movements with low weights to help you build strength, balance and stability.”
The 45 minute class worked my whole body, from abs to glutes to quads to arms. We used the barre for balance like real ballerinas, but also some weights and other equipment for strength building. There wasn’t really any cardio, but it was nice to feel the burn in my muscles. Personally I like classes that focus more on toning like this one, because I struggle with that element when working out on my own.
The music and instructor were also very encouraging throughout the whole class, which was especially helpful in moments when I thought I couldn’t keep going. It was my second favorite class after zumba, and I definitely recommend it!
Rating: 5/5
There are even more classes, like BodyPump or Total Body Strength that are offered that I did not get the chance to review. And if you’re not on campus, or don’t feel like walking all the way to Eppley (a workout within itself, at least for those who live on South Campus), some instructors live stream their workouts on YouTube! Schedules and registration can be found on the RecWell website.