Student Kicks Off Mornings With Exercise

Most Harvard students are probably still having nightmares about their chemistry midterm or dreaming about the cute girl in section at 7:30 a.m. on a typical Thursday, but not Chelsey S. Simmons ’06.

Instead, Simmons goes to the Hemenway Gym at Harvard Law School to instruct her cardio-kickboxing class.

“We’re going to walk up three steps, then left kick, back three steps, and then right kick,” she said last Thursday as she instructed the class.

Every Thursday morning, Simmons teaches an hour-long session for Harvard students. Though waking up in the morning might be difficult to some, she said she appreciates the morning exercise.

“I’m mostly a morning person, so it’s not a big deal for me,” said Simmons, who is a Cabot House resident. “But, some of the people that come into class, you can tell it’s a problem for them to be up.”

But Simmons believes waking up for exercise is more than worth it.

“One of the things you notice about exercising is that people know it’s important but don’t make time,” she said. “If you wake up at 6:30, there’s not much else to do. If you exercise first thing in the morning, you actually do it.”

For Senait Tesfai ’07, who admittedly is not a regular at the gym, the group exercise classes have been a great alternative to traditional exercise.

“It is early in the morning and with the imminent horrible weather, I’m not sure how I’m going to feel about getting up so early, but both times [I have attended] it’s been a lot of fun,” Tesfai said.

Malkin Athletic Center (MAC) Fitness Program Manager Dawn Murdock said that the group exercise programs offer multiple advantages to people of all types of fitness.

“Most people, if they work out on their own, are not internally motivated,” Murdock said. “Most people are motivated by external factors—whether it’s looking good, doing something socially with friends, music—and a group exercise program offers all those things, as well as an instructor who knows what they’re doing to coach you through that hour.”

Simmons also said that people are starting to realize the advantages of group exercise.

“When I was a freshman, there were maybe three or four aerobics classes a day at the MAC,” she said. “Group exercise wasn’t a big deal. Now, we have an indoor cycling room, and seven or eight classes a day, classes fill up. There is huge demand.”

According to Murdock, Harvard now offers 20 different classes such as yoga, pilates, and interval training that meet 47 times a week.

Murdock also said all the instructors are nationally certified. Certification requirements vary—yoga instructors spend 600 hours training, while other instructors might only train for a weekend.

“Being certified basically just ensures that you know the safety information; it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good instructor,” Murdock said.

To ensure quality, each new instructor must complete a mentoring program with an experienced teacher before he or she can lead a class.

Murdock and all the other instructors are employed by Town Sport International and contracted out by Harvard.

“Getting paid to work out is one of the coolest things ever,” Simmons said. “It’s definitely something I’d like to do in the future. Exercise and fitness is a big part of my life.”

All Harvard students can enroll in the classes for free. Non-students pay $35 per semester or $60 per academic year for unlimited access to all the classes.