YMCA offers exercise classes at Reinhardt College

Reinhardt College has teamed up with the local YMCA to make exercise a part of campus life.

The college and the G. Cecil Pruett Community Center Family YMCA started offering a free, on-campus exercise program this fall for students, faculty and staff.

The program was developed after several surveys showed students wanted the convenience of on-campus classes because of time and financial constraints, said Walter May, Reinhardt’s assistant dean of students and director of student activities.

“It was important for Reinhardt to establish a group exercise program as part of instilling in community members a desire for lifelong learning and commitment to healthy living,” May said. “By students, faculty and staff working out together, there is an opportunity to maintain that sense of a team atmosphere.”

The classes are offered four days a week and include Pilates, yoga, core conditioning and zumba. A student activities fee provided the money for the college to renovate the weight room where the classes are held, buy the needed class equipment — yoga mats, resistance balls, step platforms — and contract with the YMCA to provide overall coordination and instructions.