A 21-year-old student instructor teaches various cycling classes in the ShipRec (REC) at Shippensburg University (SU) every Wednesday and Thursday, which can help with improving your health and meeting new people.

On Wednesdays, Catherine Anderson, a certified cycling class instructor, teaches the conditioning craze class in the REC, and on Thursdays she teaches two cycle craze classes, so attendants can enjoy working out in a group to upbeat music and stay active. Her classes, like all REC fitness classes, are open to all students, faculty, staff, alumni and guests and do not require pre-registration.

Conditioning Craze, which is taught on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., is split in two parts: In the first 30 minutes the class uses weights in a high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout style off the bike and the second half of the class is on the stationary bike like a typical spin class workout. Cycle Craze is a conditioning-only class, which is done on the stationary bike only. It is a typical spin class with different exercises on the bike. Exercises include push-ups and sprints on the bike but are not limited to that. 

All of the exercises in the classes are very music-based, and due to that a bit faster-paced than others, according to Anderson.

Alexis Chordas, a SU junior who has been going to Anderson’s classes since her freshman year, said, “I love the environment that Catherine provides there. I like to get the workout in and that is the best possible way to do it, because I am having fun while doing something productive.”

Anderson started cycling after suffering a bad concussion when she was younger. She got into spin classes and enjoyed them, but she wanted to change some things and do her own thing with it. 

“I got into cycling in eleventh grade. I got a pretty bad concussion from dancing and the doctor was like ´try stationary biking´, and I tried it and it was like kind of boring, because you were just sitting there,” Anderson said on how she got into cycling, “but then I got into spin classes and they were really fun and I just felt like I could bring a more upbeat edge to it, so that is what I try to do.” 

Cycling is a low-impact sport, so it is easy on the joints, according to Katharine McEntee on Byrdie.com. It is a good way to stay active for people with joint pain because it should not cause pain with it being low impact on the joints during cycling. Instead, it might even improve the joint function.

Emily Cronkleton from Healthline.com highlights the cardiovascular benefits from cycling. Improving cardiovascular health means improving the health of the heart and the blood vessels, so those are the same benefits that could be achieved by other forms of cardio exercises, like running or swimming.

“It is the best full body workout that you can do. It is cardio, it is strength, it is upper body, it is lower body and core, it is everything,” Anderson said.

Going to cycling class is also a good way to meet new people. Working out together can build strong bonds, and having other participants there doing the cycling workout with you and supporting you can give a lot of motivation and help finish a workout, according to Danielle Zickl on Bicycling.com. 

“I like that I can make friendships there, because I just like meeting people there and people there have similar interests. I also met someone one time from that class, and now we go to the gym all the time together,” Chordas said.

Anderson, on how cycling impacted her life, said that she has “met so many people, so many amazing people.” The cycling classes with Catherine Anderson take place in the REC on Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. and on Thursdays at 4 p.m. and at 5 p.m.

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