Remaining active and involved on campus is not always easy after freshman year. The residence halls engage and update students with flyers from peers and RA’s, but what happens when you move off campus?
IU offers a variety of clubs and fitness classes to keep students of all grade levels active.
Senior Clare McConahay said IU CHAARG, which stands for Changing Health, Attitudes and Actions to Recreate Girls, is a great organization to join.
The national student organization aims to improve women’s attitudes about health, fitness and well-being. McConahay is the ambassador for IU’s chapter.
McConahay said she joined the club her freshman year to commit to a consistent workout schedule and make new friends.
“I knew I couldn’t trust myself to go to the gym on my own accord,” McConahay said. “I also hadn’t found a place yet at IU or a club that I liked, so I wanted that community as well.”
The club has 113 members, but breaks into smaller groups of five to six girls to do weekly workouts.
“I’d say we’re really close, but especially in our small groups,” McConahay said.
On Mondays, the club hosts large group workouts at the Indiana Memorial Union or other fitness studios. Club members also explore different workouts off campus such as CrossFit, yoga, jazzercise, Orange Theory and ROTC workouts.
“The club connects you to campus, but it also connects you to Bloomington,” McConahay said.
In addition to the university’s clubs and organizations, the Student Recreational Sports Center offers more than 80 group fitness sessions each week.
Senior Gabi Nolan instructs barre fitness, cycling, pure strength and cardio hip-hop classes.
“The classes are great for people who don’t love going to the gym alone and for people who don’t know what to do at the gym,” she said. “I think the classes are really useful.”
The classes attract students and staff of all ages and fitness levels.
“With cycling and barre fitness, we have students of all years, but also faculty and staff, and even community members come,” Nolan said.
Nolan said she hopes to promote a body positive message through her classes.
“The attitude I try to set up with my classes is being very body positive and feeling good about yourself,” she said.
The SRSC and Intramural Center also have a variety of intramural sports leagues, including softball, volleyball, tennis, dodgeball, kickball and bags.
Sophomore Bella Steimel plays in the intramural volleyball league each week with her team “Bowser’s Angels.”
“I joined intramurals because I used to play volleyball for 10 years,” she said. “This is really my only way I know how to relieve stress, and being able to do it with my best friends is the best thing to do on a Wednesday night.”
Volleyball teams gather each Wednesday in the Intramural Center for games, but other intramurals meet in other places such as the Recreational Sports Field Complex.
“It’s just a good way to get involved with the athletic side of campus,” Steimel said.
