It’s not the average kind of “happy hour” that one may be thinking. Instead, the Recreation inMotion program has featured a variety of free classes at noon on Friday.
Happy Hour is a free inMotion class every Friday but the classes change every week. People can get a chance to see what all the different classes have to offer.
“The Happy Hour inMotion is a great idea because it allows participants to try out classes throughout the semester for free which has been proven successful for many of our instructors [and] is why we have kept it for so long,” said inMotion Coordinator Meeka Burks.
For instance, on Friday was an indoor cycling class where students could embrace their inner Lance Armstrong, while getting pumped up with motivating, exciting music. The class accepts all skill levels, where people don’t need to feel intimidated.
The indoor cycling class is a high-energy workout on a stationary bike, set to music and sometimes combined with strength training, yoga or pilates. Working out isn’t all about the pain. People can achieve a runner’s high, it gives people a rush of endorphins after a workout.
The instructor Laura Lupei started going to inMotion classes at the Recreation Center while she was in graduate school, she found it to be a great 45-minute workout to get her cardio in.
“I love the energy that comes along with this exercise so I figured I get more involved and be an instructor so I can share the high intensity of fun cardio,” said Lupei.
One of the major advantages of indoor cycling is each participant can control their level of intensity or fitness level, but still remain a group. Participants can control there levels so everybody in the class does not have to be on the same at the same pace, which gives an opportunity to people who are new to be less grueling.
“Laura, the instructor, really engaged with people of the class in all levels. I’m glad I got a chance to experience this because I would love to do it again,” said senior Hillary Hill.
“It was a great class because it pushed me, but wasn’t too strenuous to the point where I felt like giving up. It was the perfect consistency where I felt like I got a great workout while having fun,” said senior Melissa Jenkins.
The class consisted of many different intervals of sprinting, squatting, standing and a cool down. The energy was exemplified through the instructor as well as the music.
“I also loved how Laura incorporated each song with the workout especially when we were doing high-intensity intervals the music would get faster which motivated me to keep going,” said Jenkins.
The whole point of Happy Hour is to give students a chance to explore what inMotion classes have to offer, so they can find the workout that fits for them. There is a variety of classes inMotion has to offer from pilates, yoga, zumba, self defense, insanity or indoor cycling. They can explore the many different fitness options they might enjoy in a class setting.
If interested in the class, check out the Indoor Cycling schedule posted in the Recreation Center or drop into one of the free Happy Hour classes. There will be one more Happy Hour class and it’s Insanity on Friday at noon.
