By Davi Jacobs

Students face a variety of barriers when trying to implement movement into their lifestyle, from finding time to fit in a workout to navigating foot traffic at Eppley. But many students do not realize the opportunities available to them. 

Students and members of the community with RecWell memberships have access to over 90 group fitness classes and reduced-price small group training that provides a more personalized and collaborative environment.  

Group fitness classes cover all grounds, from strength training to themed cycling, and are spread out between Eppley, Regents Drive Studios and Ritchie Coliseum throughout the week. Small group training provides the opportunity to cultivate a close-knit community with people also interested in improving their fitness. 

Melissa Minnifield, the coordinator of the group fitness programs, supervises the 70 instructors leading the classes. She advertises recruitment by working with the student development and marketing teams to solicit prospective applicants and provides continuous feedback and evaluation to the instructors. 

Minnifield also oversees special events that engage different participants, such as Hispanic Heritage and Black History month-themed programming, and the launching of new workshops where participants can get prizes for attending. 

“Our instructors come from a variety of backgrounds,” Minnifield said. “A lot of people who become instructors just do so because they believe in what we do and they want to separate their school work from something new like teaching.”

Instructor Tara Eyler, a junior kinesiology major, has led small group training since the second semester of her sophomore year. 

“I’ve been lifting since I was a freshman in high school and when I came here, I saw the trainers and thought that was something I could do,” Eyler said. “I wanted to be able to put that on my resume and get the experience.”

Eyler received a certification exam scholarship offered by RecWell using knowledge from a Kinesiology class.

“I had only one client for my first couple months and I was extremely nervous, but she ended up being the perfect first client,” Eyler said. “We got along so well and we got really close.” 

Since then, Eyler has trained 15 people, who each introduce new needs and goals. 

“Adapting and being flexible to different kinds of populations is important,” she said. “I had one client with a crazy back problem … I had to do a lot of research to look up what workout is safe. I also have a mother-daughter duo and figuring out how to train them efficiently at the same time is also a challenge.” 

But even with these responsibilities, Eyler loves what she does. 

“I like seeing people enjoy working out and then starting to workout on their own. It’s fulfilling,” she said. “I’ve gained so much more interpersonal skills and it definitely improves your confidence because everyone comes to you for guidance.”

Shani Hofer, a senior psychology major and neuroscience minor, started taking advantage of group fitness classes last semester and has some words of advice for those who are interested but hesitant to try these resources. 

“Before, I was too nervous to try it,” she said. “I already barely went to the gym and I thought I was too bad to be in a class of good people. But after I tried my first boxing class, I realized that everyone was so nice and I loved it. Don’t wait until the last year to do it and just try one class.”
Students can sign up for a group fitness class a day before here and can learn more about the small group program here.

Featured Image: An empty cycling class in Regents Drive Garage on Nov. 21, 2021. Photo by Minnie Stephenson.