Whether you’re into cardio or dance, Group X Fitness has the class for you. Monday through Friday in Recreation Center 287, instructors lead students through a set workout that caters to every student’s skill level.
Classes offered include yoga, barre (which incorporates ballet and pilates to help with balance), Zumba and many others.
Graduate student in law and justice, Emileo Guevara explained why he likes the full-body circuit class.
“It’s better than going by myself,” Guevara said. “Because I have someone directing me on what to do.”
Full-body circuit challenges the body by incorporating dumbbells, medicine balls and other exercise equipment giving your entire body a workout. Shantyle Black, a CWU student and Group X Fitness instructor, explained what her favorite part about the classes is.
Meghan Rochelle
“There’s so many different skill levels,” Black said. “And it’s really fun to create a workout that everyone can do.”
This is Black’s first quarter teaching the class on her own, last year she shadowed a class for personal training. The Recreation Center asked Black and a few others if they would be willing to teach the class, and Black agreed.
CWU student Karyn Meraz participated in the Zumba class that Group X offers. She chose the class because it’s fun and entertaining and you still get to work out.
“I like dancing,” Meraz said. “And Zumba is a great way to incorporate that.”
Meraz likes the class because she gets to burn calories and the instructor keeps her engaged.
Senior and IT Administrative Management major David Lin is the instructor for the class, and like Black, this is his first quarter teaching the class on his own.
Lin teaches the students a set workout which includes simple, easy-to-follow cardio infused dance moves like side steps and plies.
Lin started the class with a warm up routine and as the class progressed the workouts became more intense. Afterwards, he began the cool down process.
“When you’re cooling down,” Lin said. “It’s very important to stretch [the muscles] out, to loosen them up a little.”
This prevents any injuries and allows the muscles to relax so they don’t hurt as much the next day.
When asked if they would recommend these classes to others, the participants answered “yes” and “absolutely.”
Meraz said that she would recommend the Zumba class to anyone that wants to learn the movement. She said Lin is very encouraging, and you can go at your own pace. If you don’t know the movement, that’s okay because no one is going to make fun of you for it, according to Meraz.
Lin said Zumba incorporates a lot of diverse dancing and music styles. He likes that the diversity can bring students together.
“Diversity itself is just curiosity,” Lin said. “I try to unite students with different kinds of culture and different kinds of music.”
Black said that her favorite thing about the students that come through her class is the fact that each student is different, both in skill level and life. According to Black, what makes this fun is they can all come together and work out.
Whether it’s Zumba or full-body fitness, the students said that they really enjoy the way that the class is structured, and they like how encouraging the instructors are. Meraz and Guevara recommend these classes to others for those reasons.
Black also mentioned how much she loves seeing the progress that the students make.
“Seeing everyone have fun with it is the best part about it,” Black said.
