Staying fit for fall

Fall 2019 fitness offerings at Douglas College

By Atiba Nelson, Staff Reporter

The Freshman 15  might not be real, but student life does consist of lectures, exams, and unfortunately, decreased physical activity.

Although walking up the Eighth Street hill to campus from New Westminster Skytrain station could be considered a complete workout, you’ll probably need more than those three hundred and something steps to stay fit.

For those students who want more, recreation and wellness has you covered.

The Douglas Recreation and Wellness department is going out of their way to offer a myriad of fitness options this semester available to all Douglas College students.

Similar to (another wonderful staple of your life) the Other Press, recreation programing at Douglas is subsidized by a portion of your student activity fees. Specifically, the $35.80 “athletic and activity fee,” which means all students, both part-time and full-time, get access to both Douglas College fitness centres and all available fitness classes.

The New Westminster Fitness Centre is easy to find, since the facility coupled with the gym and occupies a large footprint on the New Westminster campus. But for students looking for fitness options on the Coquitlam campus, Douglas’ second workout hub may not be as well known.

Douglas College has an agreement with Pinetree Community Centre, owned by the City of Coquitlam, which permits Douglas students and employees to receive a free activity card that allows them to use the fitness centre at the Community Centre.

To receive an activity card at the Pinetree Community Centre, simply show your Douglas College student ID card and proof of enrolment at the front desk. Proof of enrollment can be a printed copy of your current schedule, or proof of Douglas College tuition and fee payment.

Once registered, students using the Coquitlam campus facilities have more fitness class options than their New Westminster counterparts—with longer workout hours and weekend choices.

The fitness class schedules for the New Westminster Fitness Centre and Pinetree Community Centre can be accessed on the Recreation and Wellness section of the Douglas College website.

There are two classes offered at both sites: Zumba—the frenetic exercise class based on Latin dance choreography, and Hatha Yoga—which “[…] uses bodily postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), and meditation (dyana) with the goal of bringing about a sound, healthy body and a clear peaceful mind,” according to the fitness class descriptions on the Get Healthy section of the Douglas College Recreation and Wellness website.