Emory’s Athletics and Recreation Department has reduced the cost of Fitness Emory classes at the WoodPEC in order to increase student participation.
Students can now attend an unlimited number of classes for a onetime fee of $20.
Fitness Emory offers non-credit, hour-long classes to all members of the Emory community. Classes include zumba, cardio kickboxing, yoga, cycling as well as other activities.
Previously, students had to buy punch cards in order to attend the classes.
The cost of an individual class varied depending on the number of classes that students purchased, but one class could cost up to $6.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Chair of the Department of Health and Physical Education Paula Anderson said. “The cost of the classes has always been disproportionately expensive for students.”
Anderson, who was on the committee that decided to reduce of cost of the classes, said that the change is intended to provide students with an incentive to work out.
Additionally, she said that Fitness Emory aims to draw in participants from all parts of the Emory community.
Faculty and staff can also purchase unlimited classes for a one-time fee of $40, according to Anderson.
The reduced cost of the classes can only improve students’ exercise routines, according to Anderson.
According to Anderson, Fitness Emory has already seen triple the increase in class attendance this semester.
The Student Activity and Academic Center on Emory’s Clairmont Campus started offering students unlimited classes for $20 last year and saw impressive results, Anderson said.
Although more students than ever are attending the classes, Anderson said that Fitness Emory would not turn anyone away. She said the Athletics and Recreation Department would add more class times, if necessary.
College sophomore Sara Guasch, who has taken cardio kickboxing classes through Fitness Emory twice a week since the beginning of her freshman year, said that she plans to attend even more classes now they don’t cost as much.
“[The classes] are fun,” Guasch said. “It’s a good motivation to exercise and stay healthy and active.”
Anderson said that she foresees Fitness Emory classes playing a variety of new roles in students’ lives.
While the classes may be the primary way some students exercise, other students will take the classes in order to compliment their current exercise routines, she said.
Students who already exercise regularly may find thsee classes appealing because they add variety to their every-day routines and the classes take place in a fun and social setting, Anderson said.
Anderson also said that the classes provide students with opportunities to try new forms of exercise without committing to taking a P.E. class all semester.
The P.E. department’s new Play Emory program, which the department implemented last fall, requires students enrolled in one credit-hour Play Emory classes to accumulate 30 hours of independent activity outside of class, according to Anderson. Fitness Emory classes are one way in which students can accumulate these hours.
Anderson also said that she and many P.E. instructors allow students to attend Fitness Emory classes in order to make up for any absences during the semester.
– Contact Elizabeth Howell at
ehowel5@emory.edu
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