As part of its updated Cardinal Fitness schedule, SVSU Campus Recreation has eliminated membership fees for group exercise classes. The classes will be held in room R244, except spin, which will be held in R246.
“The cost of the classes was a huge barrier for students, per our survey results,” Assistant Director of Campus Recreation and Fitness, Caitlyn Schoenmeyer said. “We saw this and took away that financial barrier by making the classes free for students.”
Schoenmeyer is optimistic that this will help improve attendance in group fitness classes. The Cardinal Fitness schedule is framed by student input and participation trends.
“Our Cardinal Fitness schedule is developed through feedback from surveys, past attendance, and the academic class schedule of our instructors,” Schoenmeryer said.
The updated schedule offers classes throughout the day and across the week. Students can attend early classes starting at 7:45 a.m. and evening classes as late as 7:45 p.m. The weekly lineup includes a mix of yoga, spin, pilates, kickboxing, and dance-based workouts.
Instructors say the social environment inside the classes may be just as impactful as the workouts themselves. Group fitness instructor Katie Ratajczak has observed that students arrive feeling uncertain, but gain familiarity quickly.
“I think there may be some students that feel intimidated at first when they join the fitness classes, but as they come more often, they get comfortable,” Ratajczak said. “You can see the growth of the students after a couple of classes.”
Ratajczak purposefully creates a supportive environment.
“That is why I come very open-minded and try to make people feel safe at my classes,” she mentioned. “By offering instructions throughout the class, but also feedback on how the class is structured, and what they would like to see in the future.”
The program emphasized how the classes are not gender restricted. It is one of the misconceptions that prevented male students from attending last semester. Schoenmeyer said the addition of kickboxing classes has increased male attendance in group fitness classes.
“Campus Recreation student staff plays a huge role in how we run. Our [Administrative Professional] staff loves to give students meaningful responsibility through coordinator roles; many of the programs we run are the ideas of our students.”
Students looking to bond with like minded peers in a safe space could be in luck according to Ratajcak.
“I think that making friends in a setting where you may be most vulnerable is probably the easiest way to make friends,” Ratajczak said. “Seeing each other’s struggle allows you to open up and realize that it’s okay for you to do the same.”
