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The weight is over

Last year marked a milestone for Delaware County Community College. Since the college’s opening in 1967, DCCC has never had a place for students to work out... until now.

In 2010, the college opened the $60 million STEM complex that included a state-of-the-art fitness center.

Cardio and weight training equipment, an aerobic studio and a sound system are now provided to students, faculty, and administrators free of charge.

“The fitness center has great equipment,” said Tony Daley, a nursing student at DCCC. “[The fitness center] has everything I need without having to pay a membership fee.”

The fitness center is located on the first floor of the STEM building, Room 2507, next to the Burlap and Bean coffee shop. About 55 to 60 people visit per day, according to Andrew Johnson Jr., director of Wellness, Athletics and Recreation.

Open to all students and faculty with a proper DCCC ID. They are able to take full advantage of the fitness center’s sound system by requesting their own music. However, staff monitors the music to make sure it is appropriate.

A different event is offered each day during the week. Events include yoga, zumba, martial arts, boot camp and abs and arms training, each lasting about 45 minutes to an hour.

Yoga, taught by Caroline Tumola and Lisie Abrams, is offered on Mondays (4:00 p.m.) and Thursdays (12:30 - 4:30 p.m.)

“Yoga is everywhere now, but it is still intimidating for people because it differs from a normal physical activity,” Tumola said. “It is my goal to make yoga less intimidating and show them how they can use [it] to complement their other activities, like sports or running.”

Greg Skahan, 23, an energy technician major at DCCC frequents the yoga classes.

“It’s awesome and convenient with my schedule,” Skahan said. “It also saves me $30 a week [in yoga class payments].”

Johnson also instructs a boot camp course and two courses in arms and abs.

“Boot camp is a fitness class which works on upper and lower body,” Johnson said. “We start out up-beat to break a sweat then usually do muscle work. The class changes weekly however, [it is] never the same routine.”

Zumba is a Latin dance fitness class, which is designed to help cardio. The class is held on Wednesdays at 5:00 p.m.

According to fitness center staff, martial arts is the most popular class offered at the fitness center. Martial arts is offered Monday (3:15 p.m.), Wednesday (3:15 and 4:00 p.m.), and Thursday (3:00 p.m.).

The fitness center staff, required to work 10 hours per week, receive workstudy payment, which goes toward tuition and the DCCC bookstore.

The center is open Mondays at 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday at 12 p.m. to 7p.m., and Fridays at 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, contact Andrew Johnson, Jr. Director of Wellness, Athletics and Recreation at athleticsdept@ dccc.edu

Contact Andrew Rose at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

The Communitarian Opinion Policy: The opinions expressed on the editorial and the op-ed pages do not necessarily reflect those of The Communitarian staff or college. We welcome your comments on any matter relating to Delaware County Community College, and responsible rebuttal is encouraged. Write to communitarian@mail.dccc.edu. Please write “letter to editor” in the subject box.