Fitness pass system increases workout freedom

Individuals interested in Yoga, Pilates and Wellness; Group Fitness or Spinning programs can now buy punch cards for 12, 24 or 36 classes in one of those three categories. Alternatively, they can purchase semester or annual passes in those categories.

The new system allows pass and punch card holders to attend any class of their choosing within a specific category. Previously, individuals had to register for specific classes that met at the same times each week.

A trial run of the semester pass began in the spring, and a pilot punch-card program was started this summer. Punch cards and annual passes expire on Aug. 31, 2009, while the fall semester pass expires on Dec. 12, 2008.

Susan Crane, coordinator of group and instructional fitness in the athletics department, said she saw the need to change the attendance system for fitness classes when she arrived at the University in fall 2007.

“[Offering a flexible pass] was an immediate thing that we could change just to make it more convenient for people,” she said.

If a student took a class last fall and the instructor cancelled it several times without offering an equivalent number of make-up classes, Crane explained, the student would lose out. She added that if a student chose to miss a class, there was no way to transfer to another to make up for it.

In addition, students were not receiving exposure to a wide range of activities by being locked into one specific class.

“From a fitness stand point, it’s ... poor practice to tell someone to do the same workout twice a week for 12 weeks,” she explained. “You have to diversify things, or you stop seeing results.”

Pass prices vary based on category and pass duration. A fall semester Spinning pass costs $85, while its annual equivalent costs $285. A card with 12 punches costs $50 for Group Fitness, $40 for Spinning and $75 for Yoga, Pilates and Wellness.

The change to a new system means that costs for taking certain classes have increased. Twelve weeks of Power Yoga, with classes twice a week, cost $70 last fall, Crane said, but a punch card for 24 Yoga, Pilates and Wellness classes costs $95.

“We tried to keep the prices pretty close, as much as we could,” Crane said.

Crane explained that instructors are paid according to the level of training they must receive, which is why the class categories are priced differently.

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“There wasn’t a great way to combine them at one price where you weren’t going to be paying too much for spinning or not enough for yoga,” she said, adding that some of the revenue generated from sales goes toward replacing equipment.

“That’s really where all the money goes to. It’s not like we have some big pool of money that we’re swimming in,” Crane said. “This particular area of the department is like a for-profit gym. I have to make sure that the group fitness program is turning a profit or at least breaking even.”

The new system received mixed reviews from students.

“The convenience of the pass definitely makes it easier to attend the class, so I guess it did make me more likely to buy it,” said Katherine Gauydn ’11, who is taking her first spinning class at the University.

The current program requires additional expense if gym users want to take classes in multiple categories, which did not sit well with some.

“I think that the Yoga, Pilates [and] the Wellness classes should be included with the spin and group fitness classes,” said Mary Bruce GS, who is taking spinning. “If you want to take spin and pilates, you have to pay for two separate passes, and for that I’m not signing up for both.”