By Madeline Bartos | Staff Writer
Remember being a tiny fifth grader and eating an entire sleeve of Oreos? And how adults shook their heads and warned you about how in your twenties you won’t be able to eat like that without consequences?
Unfortunately, your twenties are here. While you may not be able to break up with Oreos quite yet, it’s the perfect time to start a new relationship with the gym. It’s easy to make excuses, but with the Power Center offering free classes from 6:45 a.m. to 9 p.m., there’s bound to be a class this semester for everyone. That includes you, even if you don’t know what half of the classes are.
If you are ready to take a step and change your lifestyle, it doesn’t get much more life-changing than waking up for a yoga class at 6:45 a.m. Ashtanga Flow is a class offered in the Yoga Studio from 6:45 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Ashtanga Flow isn’t about lying on a yoga mat with your eyes closed, though. It’s about focusing on your breathing and getting your blood flowing. The instructor encourages the students to breathe, deeply and loudly, through their noses while guiding them through yoga poses that transition one right into the other. As soon as you think you finally have your balance, you’re on to the next pose. The last few minutes of the class are spent in savasana, lying down on the mat and focusing on your breath, which is definitely deserved after sweating and shaking through a difficult hour of yoga.
Maybe you don’t have an hour to spend at the gym. Express Spin fits a whole spin session of cardio into a half an hour class. It’s offered on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m, so there are several opportunities to try out a class.
Express Spin is just like a normal spin class, but condensed into half an hour. Students sit on a stationary bike and pedal to the beat of music. The instructor suggests a speed and a gear, but the pace and resistance is really all up to you. And while it’s only a half hour, students leave sweating more than they thought possible. It doesn’t help that the spin room has a thermostat that doesn’t seem to budge from 80 degrees.
“Spin is super fun,” said freshman Hannah Reddecliff. “It’s a good cardio workout and makes you sweat a lot. The music makes it a lot of fun and helps you not to think about the pain you’re in while biking.”
If pretending you’re Lance Armstrong climbing hills and racing across the finish line doesn’t sound like enough fun, there’s always a dance class (that doesn’t require much skill). Cize is offered from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays and is just like going out and dancing with your friends, except you have to learn a dance.
“If you like dancing at all, then this is like the best exercise class,” graduate student and regular Cize attendee Chelsie Horne said.
She explained that every week an eight count is added on. The combination gets put to different songs, each one getting faster so the workout gets harder. It’s a full body workout, with a focus on abs, arms and legs.
Those are just three of the classes the Power Center offers. Grab some friends and go ahead and try a class. Worst case scenario you hate the class and end up with a funny story to tell. Best case scenario, you find your new favorite way to work off the Oreos. It’ll be like you never even ate them.
