As the weather begins to warm and students finish their midterms, we are becoming aware that spring break is on its way. The gym has been filled with collegiettes working hard to maintain or improve their physiques. Sometimes, you can go to the gym 3-4 times a week and feel like you aren’t seeing any results. To strengthen and tone your body you need to be doing a mix of cardio and strength training, and without proper education it can be difficult to know exactly what workouts to do (or even if you are doing them right).
To learn how students can overcome these struggles, I met with Brooke Dragon, the intern for the Bodywise program. Bodywise is a program run through the student recreation facility. They have spinning classes and a variety of strength, HIIT, X-fit, and recovery classes. Each small group class has a highly experienced student trainer. Brooke gave me some helpful advice for a beginner wanting to get involved with Bodywise. This is an amazing program because there are classes that run from thirty minutes to an hour and a half. You work super hard for the full time so you can leave the gym afterward feeling like you got a killer workout.
Brooke broke down the makeup of the classes they have, explaining the difficulty levels. Strength training, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), and X-FIT are their toughest classes (but even beginners are advised to go!). These classes work on building muscle through a variety of workouts. Pilates and yoga are full body exercise, and kickboxing and Zumba are more cardio-based. If you are looking for a recovery, you can do yoga or foam rolling. If you want a short, 30-minute core-targeted workout, they have a “Hard-Core” class.
For a beginner, Brooke recommends doing two spinning, one HIIT, and one strength training class a week. Bodywise is created in a way to be inclusive to all levels, so don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it! The trainers know various modifications to make the workout tailored to your needs and abilities.
Personally, I have been doing Bodywise classes all year. I began with just spinning and then started to take the strength classes. My favorite classes are HIIT with Dan on Thursdays 8-9pm, and X-FIT on Wednesdays from 6-7 with Emily. I am challenging you all to do Bodywise for one month with me! I am going to follow this schedule: Sundays: Strength training 7pm, Mondays: Spinning 6:30pm, Wednesdays: X-Fit 6pm, Thursdays: HIIT 8pm, Friday: either 7:00AM Spinning or 4:30 pm Spin & Strength. Come out and join me or pick your own classes! Do you have what it takes?
Here is the fitness schedule for this semester:
(Each day’s classes are listed horizontally)
And the spinning schedule for this semester:
Follow Bodywise on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Check back next week for a profile on Brooke Dragon (who also was on MTV’s Made and is a BodyBuilding.com athlete). I will be doing profiles on some of the trainers and giving my opinions of some of the classes listed above!
Cover photo here.