The Kind of Class You Feel Good After: Fitness Classes at UMD

Being a student at the University of Maryland includes many hidden perks, one of which being the unlimited access to free workout classes at the recreational facilities on campus.

The University Recreation and Wellness Facilities offers students fitness programs from cardio-dance to mixed martial arts, welcoming all levels of abilities through various modifying options in each class, according to the UMD RecWell website.

“Our goal is to give everyone the opportunity to feel good about themselves, no matter where they are starting out,” Tami Lee, RecWell’s fitness coordinator said.

With five different studios around campus offering a variety of fitness class options, students have many different options for getting in shape outside of the classic weightroom. One of the most popular classes at UMD is BODYPUMP™, which involves a combination of dumbbell and barbell repetitions, meant to increase total body strength.

“People come to this class from all levels and are asked to challenge themselves,” Allison Sugarman, a junior at UMD said after her first class of BODYPUMP™. “Fitness classes are intimidating at first, but once you’re there, you realize it’s just you and the weights.”

For an hour and five minutes, members of the class go through a series of circuits working different muscle groups from quads to shoulders with popular music. Because participants can choose the amount of weight they wish to use with each workout, the class gives everyone the ability to challenge themselves as individuals, welcoming newcomers with each class.

Another popular class, for the more cardio-inclined people, is Dance Fit, which incorporates today’s top hit music and dance moves into a fast-paced workout. With no dance experience necessary, students who take the class say they do it for the fun.

“My friends and I are usually pretty lazy, and we don’t usually go to the gym too much,” Julia Carey, a sophomore who has gone to Dance Fit for the past two semesters, said. “We like Dance Fit, because it lets us goof off together, but we also feel good after.”

Many of the classes RecWell offers are similar to more popular, pricier alternatives. Cycle 45, a class similar to those offered at SoulCycle, and BodyShread™, which is designed after Jillian Michael’s fitness plan, are just two of the many classes that give students a cheaper, more convenient place to take fitness classes, according to Lee.

Some students have cancelled their memberships at other gyms and fitness studios because of the options offered at the university, but senior Sofie Levinson says she would rather keep up with her usual workout instead of transitioning over.

“I didn’t even know they did yoga classes on campus,” the communications major said. She regularly attends classes at Numi Yoga on College Avenue. “I like the atmosphere of Numi, though, so I don’t see myself branching out to any on-campus gyms.”

While students like Levinson hold strong feelings about certain fitness studios, others such as Ilana Hoffman, a sophomore finance major, enjoy seeing what the university has to offer them.

“It’s already incorporated into my tuition, so I might as well give it a try,” Hoffman said. “So far, I have gone to a few classes, and I enjoy having that option as opposed to regular, boring workouts.”