If you are a student who’s worried about your fitness, then there’s a class which can help you and even meet the necessary requirements needed for graduation while raising endorphins and giving you a boost of energy for the day.

It’s called “Aerobic/Cardio Conditioning” listed in the curriculum as EXSC 124A. In the class students spend a specific amount of time on one station such as a treadmill and then switch to another such as a weight rack. This class focuses on transitioning through a series of aerobic/cardio exercises in an organized fashion to better help students achieve the fitness goals they laid out during the first class of the semester. While this may sound like crossfit, it isn’t, because the exercises are done on machines and students choose the level of intensity.

This class is one of the many physical fitness courses offered in the fitness center that help students achieve a desired level of improvement in their health. It is also one of the many courses where the professors at the fitness center feel that their classes lack in students.

One of the professors in the fitness center as well as a City College Knights softball coach, Coach LeeAnn Taylor is concerned with the lack of students in many of the fitness courses. The minimum number of students per class is 17, and the highest has been 40. Unfortunately, lately many classes have only had single digit numbers resulting in the cancellations of those classes.

She said she believes the main reason for this is the distance from main campus to the fitness center seems too far for many students in between classes, and that many people believe that having a demanding weight training or cardio class in the middle of the day will make them tired throughout the rest of their classes.

The instructors are flexible working with students’ other class schedules, “we regularly let students out early so that they can make it to other courses on time.” As for being tired after a workout, Taylor explained that the endorphins worked up during class “give you energy to continue on with your day,” actually helping you get over that afternoon sluggishness many students experience.

Taylor has seen a “100 percent success rate” in students who attend classes regularly and show up to work hard.  The facilities are also one of the newer buildings on City College’s campus and provide lockers and shower rooms for students to freshen up after a hard workout.

According to Taylor, each student might have differing goals from one another, some may want to build muscle while others may want to burn fat, so these students will have slightly different workouts or additions to their training during class.

A freshman at City College, Erica Chairez, finished up a hard workout on an exercise ball instructed by Taylor during her introductory weight training class. The cool down demonstrated by Taylor involved a series of sit-ups, air punches, and stretching to help each athlete recover effectively after.

When asked if she enjoyed the class and why she took it, Erica Chairez said,“Yes I enjoy the class, I feel that exercise is very important to my well being.”

Paige Forrester