Newly added to the Hilltop, “Workout Mondays” offer West Liberty University students, faculty, and staff of all athletic levels the opportunity to attend a free fitness class taught by Steve Quickle of the YMCA of Wheeling right here on campus, held every Monday at 6:00 p.m. in Blatnik Gym.

While I wasn’t able to attend one of the classes myself, I’ve heard only good things about the event, as well as the excitement that always come with more free classes and activities being added and available to our campus community; even if someone can’t attend, like my case, it’s nice to know that the opportunity will always be there. Offering these kinds of classes on campus, led by an experienced and professional instructor, are integral to opening the culture and conversation surrounding things like fitness to more WLU students who might experience anxiety around working out alone, because they might not know what they’re doing or be unexperienced, or, on the other hand, the nerves that can surround going to a fitness class, especially with your peers.

Personally, I have some level of anxiety around the idea of just going to a gym in the first place, because I feel out of place and get worried about being judged, but I hope to be able to attend one of the classes in the future so I can work towards overcoming that personal obstacle.

As for other students on campus, I spoke to two individuals, who have requested to remain anonymous, who truly exemplify each end of the spectrum surrounding how people might approach something like a fitness class. “We actually met each other at one of the Workout Mondays here on campus,” Student A shared, “and while they [in regard to Student B] had never taken a fitness class, I had, so our experiences were very different.”

Elaborating on this, Student B talked about how since that first class, they would regularly workout with Student A; “Since they had taken classes before, they knew what they were doing, and they helped me out when I was getting confused, and now I have a workout partner. I think, for me at least, just overcoming that first obstacle of actually going to participate in a class was a big achievement, but now I know it can be a consistent thing in my life because I have a friend I can do it with.”

Like many things on the Hilltop, it seems that Workout Mondays are just another great opportunity to make friends and expand your interests here on campus, and I hope to be able to join one of the classes soon.