Back by popular demand, The Miller Wellness Center has expanded its group fitness classes from past semesters.
These fitness classes have become popular with students and the community in recent years. In 2018, the Wellness Center started offering free classes with student passes and memberships.
Classes are offered throughout the morning, afternoon and evening with some classes being offered more than once a day because of their popularity. Times range from 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. with most classes lasting 45 minutes.
Jacob Heidenreich, fitness and aquatics coordinator, has helped with scheduling more classes.
“This semester we have 52 classes throughout the week, with the most popular class being Pilates,” Heidenreich said.
Pilates is fairly new to the group fitness roster. It was introduced last year and has been a hit.
“Over 500 different people attended a Pilates class last year, with each class holding up to 36 participants,” Heidenreich said. These huge turnouts led the center to increase the number of pilates classes from two classes a week to four.
Another one of their most popular classes is cycling. The Wellness Center offers three different cycles, Heidenreich said, cycle and core, spin and strength and rhythm ride. All classes are cycle based, but cycle and core and spin and strength have a short ab or lifting portion to finish out the session.
The number of cycle classes has been increased this semester as well. Heidenreich said they now offer 12 cycle classes a week.
Along with the normally scheduled classes there are also specialty classes offered. These are normally spin classes, but have been Pilates, pool or dance classes as well. Heidenreich said that registration is always full for specialty classes and that many students and the community have expressed that specialty classes were the first class they attended.
“This is a great way to spend 45 minutes and meet new friends and community while getting in a good workout,” Heidenreich said.
“We try to create a really fun atmosphere with having (LED) lights, neon signs and a welcoming environment,” said Mariah Weber, assistant director – Programs and Development. Weber has also taught many spin classes and other group classes the Wellness Center offers.
Weber said that she enjoys group fitness because it helps people get over their gym anxiety and gym fears that may be holding them back.
“People can be intimidated by group fitness because they assume everyone will be more experienced, so we create an environment where people feel comfortable even if it is their first class,” Weber said.
Students like group fitness and the wide variety of classes available. “Group fitness has been a great resource for me to workout in different ways than just traditional gym methods,” said Sydney Campbell.
Campbell said she has tried a few different classes and tries to regularly attend as many as she can. Other students expressed similar enthusiasm when asked about their experiences with group fitness.
“The classes helped me get over gym anxiety when I got to SDSU,” said Teryn Sparling, a student at SDSU.
The size of the gym was overwhelming and the group environment of classes helped to get her in the gym.
The schedule for classes and registration can all be found on wellnesscenter.sdstate.edu.