With winter quickly approaching and the Portland rain starting to pour down, UP students are going to have to find ways to stay healthy while inside. Winter tends to be a time full of family, friends and a lot of food. Luckily for you the university is surrounded by gyms and studios for any type of work out you may be interested in that will help you keep off those holiday treats!
Barre3 is a unique work out combining ballet with yoga and Pilates. With a location 15 minutes from campus in the Pearl and another location 20 minutes in southeast Portland, it should be easy to find a class that fits your schedule. From 6 a.m.- 6:30 p.m. there is a class about every hour lasting for 60 minutes. For Barre3 you must sign up online in advance to get into one of the classes, which oftentimes fill quickly. The classes are a pricey $20 per time but they do offer packages like the $99 deal for a month of classes only for new members. For other deals and packages you can go to Barre3.com. Anna Coccodrilli frequently attends Barre3, living in the Pearl she is able to walk to class two to five times a week. “It isn’t one of those workouts you’ll really sweat in” Coccodrilli says, “but you will definitely feel it the next day.” Barre3 uses a ballet bar combined with small pulsing movements to work every part of your body.
If you are looking for more intensity in your workout and trying to break more of a sweat, Firebrand may be more in your interest. Located about 15 minutes from campus on NW 14th Ave., Firebrand is easy to get to but hard to park at. The 50 minute workouts may be short but they are definitely effective. Kristin Beyrle, an employee at the Portland Juice Press located inside Firebrand loves attending the classes whenever possible she told me over the phone. “I considered myself in shape before trying Pyrolates” Beyrle said jokingly. Pyrolates is a full body cardio endurance workout that incorporates flexibility and core building. The studio also offers cycling classes. Pricing is pretty reasonable offering a $55 two-week trial, including 10 classes. A month long trial, with unlimited classes is $149. Classes are offered about every hour from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sign ups are online at firebrandsports.com.
CorePower yoga provides a variety of different yoga classes ranging from hot yoga, to beginner yoga, to yoga with weights. CorePower has a convenient location on 23rd Ave. only about 15 minutes from campus. Classes are offered from 6 a.m.- 8 p.m. making it easy to find a class that will fit into your schedule. Sessions are $15 per class. Junior, Katy Krauel, loves the yoga classes, “they have two locations, one on 23rd and one in southeast so it’s really easy to find the class you want” Krauel says. Krauel added that her favorite class is the hot yoga with weights, called Sculpt. The drop-in classes make it easy for last minute planning in your busy college schedule.
For many college students these classes may be hard to get to and even harder on their wallets. For those students there is always Howard Hall. Though Howard may not have state of art equipment, you can still get in a pretty good workout. Sophomore Lucia Cronin is a desk worker in Howard Hall and says it has its benefits. “Coming to Howard is fun because you see friends you may not have in your classes,” Cronin says. Other benefits include the facts that it is no longer than a 10 minutes walk from anywhere on campus and of course it is free. How can you beat that? Howard also offers classes including zumba, spin, and kickboxing. Though the classes are not as frequent as you may find at a studio there is at least one a day six days a week. Trying new classes with friends can be a great way to stay motivated.
These upcoming months, as the weather starts to get cold, look into making your workouts new and exciting. Try one of these options or try them all. It is not always easy to stay active and healthy as the weather gets dreary and dark but experimenting with new places and classes can make it fun.