In two weeks it'll be time to pack away the textbooks and pull out the bikinis. Spring break is coming!
Students all over campus are starting to make that last minute dash to the gym to get their bodies in perfect condition for the rays and the waves.
"I've been doing a lot of abs training lately," said first-year Vyvian Borse. "I haven't attended any classes recently, but I try to go to the gym at least twice a week."
Luckily for the student body, the opportunities to make that happen are endless. Just this week alone there have been 27 student or faculty led exercise classes.
"I think as long as you try, it's easy to come to a class and make that a regular part of your routine," said senior turbo kick instructor Kelly Killpack. "It's only one hour. You just have to do it."
Killpack's classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Lilly Center Dance Room.
"It's basically a cardio kickboxing class with dance," Killpack said.
Her classes are high impact and consist of anywhere between 15 and 20 students.
Killpack said she has not seen too much of an increased turnout yet, but she attributes this to midterms.
"I'm expecting to see more of a turnout next week after midterms are over," Killpack said.
Senior Kari Polydoris teaches spinning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Her classes also run for an hour and there are 13 bikes available.
"Toward the beginning of the year, bike spots were almost always full," Polydoris said. "I'm hoping that as the weather warms up, people will want to start making the trek to the gym again."
Bikes can be reserved on DePauw's website under the Fitness Classes section to ensure that there are bikes available.
Polydoris has been spinning since her sophomore year. Spinning classes can be extremely intensive, but build core, buttocks and thigh muscles.
Zumba utilizes the body's natural motion to work out as opposed to weight training machines.
Senior Janelle Lyons has been instructing Zumba both at home and here on campus for the past two years. She has had classes ranging from 10 to 30 people. She has seen an increase in numbers now that spring break is almost here.
Zumba is a Latin dance-based fitness program, but Lyons likes to mix it up a bit.
"Because of the fact that I studied abroad in Cuba, a lot of my songs have a reggae sound," Lyons said. "I do like to include bachata, salsa, tango, samba and even some India-based songs."
She will also play modern pop artists like Beyonce, Adele and Katy Perry.
"I tell [students] if they hear something on the radio, in a bar or in the fraternities to send it to me and I'll try to come up with something," Lyons said.
Lyons has been doing Zumba for five years now and can choreograph moves to fit generally any song.
Zumba classes are held on Wednesdays in the Lilly Center dance room.
Other fitness classes offered on campus include Pilates, ropes, yoga and hip-hop fitness. Their specific times can be found on DePauw's website.
Many of these classes encourage both genders to come out, but the majority of attendees are women.
"I see a few guys, but most are girls or girls who have drug their boyfriend to the class," Lyons said. "A lot of people think they need to know how to do the dances, but they really don't have to."
The Lilly Center gym offers students another free alternative for working out and is open to students, faculty and members of the community from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. The gym features treadmills, elliptical machines, weight-training machines and free weights, among other workout accessories.
Senior Cameron Weithoff has been buckling down and going at it over these last few weeks.
"I would say I have tried to keep a schedule of working out throughout the entire year, but leading up to spring break there is always that much more encouragement," Wiethoff said. "You find yourself working out more as the weather gets better, and you start getting more excited about the beach."
Lyons believes that it shouldn't just be spring break time when people are worried about getting healthy, however.
"Crash diets and diet pills don't get you healthy," Lyons said. "If it sounds weird, chances are it is."
Polydoris expressed the same sentiment.
"I think it's about getting your body moving and sweating each day and that's best for you," Polydoris said. "I try to move around the best I can each day to stay in shape."
Lyons believes actions outside the gym can have an influence on health.
"Eat healthy, drink with moderation and try to work out when you can, two to three times a week," Lyons said. "Try to get out there more than you do now. Do something different. Try to make small efforts turn into new habits and ultimately a new lifestyle."
Exercising also releases endorphins that make a person happier and more energetic.
"It definitely relieves the stress," Lyons said. "Even when I'm tired, exercising is really fundamental for living happy and healthy. Exercising wakes me up immediately. It does, for me, what an energy drink can't."
Whether it is for that spring break body, to live a healthier life or simply to relieve the stresses DePauw can put on students, exercising can help tremendously.
DePauw offers plenty of opportunities to make a workout happen. It just takes the power to get off of that couch or out of bed and get moving.
