LIFESTYLE: Aerobics around campus

You can find them by following the music. Most of the time they're wearing spandex, t-shirts, sneakers and sweats. Five days a week, they congregate in each of the high rises and in the Quadrangle. Five times a day three days a week they flock to Hutchinson Gym. And three times a day three days a week they are bouncing, stretching and sweating at Gimbell. They are aerobicists, part of the hippest of all exercise activities on campus. "[Aerobics] is very trendy," Associate Director of Recreation Teresa Gwiazdowski said this week. "Racquetball was a very, very, very trendy sport to take up [for a while] and it died down. Aerobics hasn't. It has gotten better." Aerobics is an all-over-body workout, which concentrates primarily on the cardiovascular system and the lower body. Some students who participate to improve their physical fitness, but most said they also just like doing it. "It makes me feel good about myself," said College freshman Colleen Joyce, who works out regularly in Ashurst Lounge in the Lower Quad. "It gives me a healthier outlook on life," added Nursing freshman Myrna Buiser. Many students find aerobics far more exciting than other popular ways to exercise, like running and swimming. "To go running here, you have to run around a track and that's boring," said Ann Cappalonga, a second year chemistry graduate student. "It's not easy to run around the campus at the times I feel like running. It's not the safest thing to do." "When it's cold outside, I don't like to run, and I can't really swim that well," said Wharton senior Tracie Eng. "And it's more exciting than lifting weights." Aerobics may be a lot of fun, but many students do it in search of more immediate and tangible results. "I want to be able to wear a bikini this summer," Buiser said. College sophomore Kate McGeever admitted that her goal in taking aerobics is "to fit into my formal dress." Trimming down motivates many students to do aerobics regularly. "When I was in high school and people came back from college, I always looked at them and said 'she got fat,' " said Nursing freshman Tracey Trombetta, who took her first aerobics class this week. "I'm going to be able to walk into my high school come May 9 and people will say, 'she looks good, she didn't pork out.' " "Anyway, I'd go insane if I didn't do some sort of exercise," she added. Aerobics classes have also become a popular place to socialize. With exercise classes scheduled daily, or every other day in some locations, many students find the schedule motivates them to attend. Third year Dental student Ivy Simms said she likens her aerobics classes to "making plans with a friend." "If you're left to your own devices you might not do it," Simms said. "It's easy to make excuses otherwise." Gwiazdowski agreed, describing aerobics as a "socialization." "It's an exercise they [the students] don't have to do by themselves," she said. "A lot of people need a lot of help, a push, a partner . . . all they have to do is show up." "It's convenient because it's right downstairs," said College freshman Jennifer Gold, who attends aerobics classes in the Quad. "If I didn't do it, I'd have no excuse." Classes are relatively inexpensive, costing about a dollar per session in most cases. "I think it [the cost] is reasonable to be healthy," Gwiazdowski said. "There is no physical education here so the opportunity to offer it [aerobics] is wonderful, but it has to be a paid activity." And classes are usually filled, according to Gwiazdowski, especially those in the afternoon and evening. "If we could have more space, we could easily have another 5:30 class," she added.

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