New Fitness on Campus: How Villanova Just Upped their Workout Game
By Annie Condodina
For too long, Villanova has fallen behind when it came to fitness options for students. The dark Stanford basement that all freshmen have endured is certainly a downside, but the lack of fitness group class options for students of all ages was the constant kicker. With the introduction of The Commons, the brand-new student housing option lining Lancaster Avenue, it looks like Villanova has finally upped its game. The Commons project included the addition of four group fitness rooms, plus a state of the art spin studio.
Yoga, Zumba, and barre classes have been offered in the Davis Fitness Center in previous years, but the schedule for students was limited, and there was little flexibility for payment plans. The new Fall 2019 group fitness schedule offers body toning, total body circuit, pilates, cardio kickboxing, and more. Seven class options are held from 11 am to 8 pm Monday through Thursday, and four class options from 7 am to 1 pm on Fridays. Students can choose to pay $25 for six classes, $40 for twelve classes, or $90 for unlimited classes throughout the semester. “The [workout] space is essentially the same, but there are now more class options and more rooms,” says Canon Hall resident Elizabeth Williams. Living in Canon means living directly above the spin studio and group workout rooms — an extremely convenient location for all students in the new housing.
Senior Sophia Cook told us about her experience thus far: “I’ve taken a traditional spin class and a HIIT class. The only indoor cycling I can compare this to is SoulCycle because it’s the only one that I’ve done. It’s similar, but not at that caliber, obviously.” She discussed the similar moves and setup, good music, and motivational instructors, and commented that it was overall a great workout. Unless you take the HIIT Spin class, you’ll miss out on the weights that boutique studios like SoulCycle provide. But for the convenience and price, it’s still certainly worth it.
“I really enjoyed the HIIT class. It was really hard; it was rigorous,” says senior Commons resident Jen Finnegan. According to Jen, Endre was an awesome instructor. He owns True Grit Fitness and even brought his own towels for participants to use — all signs of a personable and thoughtful instructor. “He was surprised by how out of shape the class was,” Jen laughed. “So he adjusted the class to what we needed. But I was definitely sore the next day.” Other participants noted that the instructor was very knowledgeable about the body and clearly knew what he was doing. Overall, it proved to be an informational workout session for those interested in what they’re working and how they’re working it. Other students comment that Krista is a great instructor for yoga, which is offered multiple days throughout the week.
Junior Courtney Hoss is paving the way for more students to teach classes in the Commons. “My family opened a spin studio my senior year of high school which got me to love spin,” she says. “This is my first time being an official instructor! I am so excited to bring my passion for exercise and music to campus and hopefully, others will see why spin is so great.”
There are plenty of workout options for all students looking to be more involved in campus fitness life, so take advantage of these budget-friendly options in the Commons this semester!
