SJSU offers options for summer fitness
Jill Rae Seib
Posted: 5/15/06
With swimsuit season around the corner, some students will be looking for quick ways to drop those unsightly pounds gained during the semester from too many late nights, stress, pizza or beer. However, the students who take advantage of the fitness classes offered on campus may be left without a way to fight the battle of the bulge and will be left in need of an alternative method to keep in shape over the summer.
Carol Sullivan, a kinesiology and aerobics instructor at San Jose State University, teaches step-training, cardio kick-boxing, and fitness walking to classes full of students each day. "Quite a few students take advantage of the fitness classes. We have four sections of aerobics and four sections of step-training, they are pretty popular classes," Sullivan said. "On average there are about 50 to 60 students in my classes."
According to Sullivan, a lot of students take advantage of these classes because it is easy for them to make a commitment when they are enrolled in a class.
"I don't have time outside my school schedule to exercise," said Alex Starzynska, an international business major, who took an aerobics class on campus last semester.
"It worked perfectly for me just to take the class here."
However, Alex and other students will be left without the option of taking a class on campus to remain physically fit during the summer months.
"We always stress to students that you need to continue their conditioning and physical activity over the summer but we don't offer any classes during the summer," Sullivan said.
There are a few other fun and different options available to students looking for a ways to stay thin during the summer months. Bay Area Adventure Boot Camp is an outdoor adventure boot camp that combines nature and fitness.
Lindsey Peters, a senior kinesiology major at SJSU, is also an instructor with Bay Area boot camp.
"I think our workouts are really good because we do really diverse things," Peters said. "We do cardio and resistance and we target all fitness levels from former collegiate athletes to people who have never exercised in their lives."
According to Peters, everyone who has done the class has found it to be a really good program.
Heather Glenn, owner of Bay Area boot camp, believes that this would be a perfect opportunity for students looking for summer workout options.
"The program is four weeks long and you can choose to come either three, four or five days during that month long period," Glenn said. "We always meet outdoor usually in a park."
Bay Area Adventure Boot Camp has seven locations throughout the Bay Area. The Campbell and Sunnyvale camps are the closest to SJSU.
Another choice for a student looking to embark on a summer diet plan is to do it the old-fashioned way, join a gym. Ray Pung, a sales manager at 24 Hour Fitness, said that the company is offering memberships that are only three months long and perfect for a student on a summer break.
"These are perfect for college students because they can get it just for summer time," Pung said. "There is also a pretty significant discount in price because they are only three months long."
According to Pung, 24 Hour Fitness offers free classes for all members and the students usually take advantage of them.
"We are technically a fitness center so we have a lot of different classes, like salsa moves and hip-hop dance classes," Pung said.
Of course there is always the option of lacing up those old running shoes and hitting the track, but with choices such as adventure boot camp and Pilates conditioning, there are many new and fun ways to look fabulous this summer.
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