Campus Rec offers virtual classes, resources to help Carolina community stay active
Live group fitness classes, led by instructors teaching from their own homes, and pre-recorded workouts are available on the Campus Rec's social media accounts.
With current social distancing guidelines in place, chances are your workout and wellness routines look a little different these days.
But with the help of virtual resources from Carolina’s Campus Recreation, Tar Heels can find ways to stay active anywhere.
Since mid-March, Campus Rec has offered virtual workout classes, group training and personal training options to engage the Carolina community. They will continue offering the resources through the summer, as most campus operations remain closed due to the coronavirus.
Lindsay Brookey, Campus Rec’s assistant director for fitness and wellness, said that the virtual wellness resources are an extension of Campus Rec’s mission to support physical and mental well-being within the Carolina community.
“Given the situation, we’ve realized that mission is still true, and it’s not limited to a physical space,” Brookey said. “It was important for us to still be able to support the Carolina community and their physical and mental well-being, and to provide that sense of community that a lot of people are looking for right now.”
Live group fitness classes, led by instructors teaching from their own homes, are available on the Campus Rec Facebook page. At least one live class is offered every day.
Many instructors for the live classes are student employees who previously taught in-person courses at Campus Rec facilities.
“We still really wanted to — if they wanted the opportunity — provide them the opportunity to continue to work and continue to do what they love,” Brookey said. “They love working with other people.”
In the spring semester, Campus Rec launched Heel Fit, a small group training program focused on strength and conditioning.
While Heel Fit can’t operate in-person during the pandemic, the Carolina community can participate in “Heel Fit at Home,” which offers live, 35-minute strength and conditioning workouts via Zoom. Because the Heel Fit classes are designed for smaller groups, participants can receive more specific training from the instructors.
Pre-recorded workouts are also available on the Campus Rec YouTube and its Instagram pages.
The live and pre-recorded fitness classes and workouts, as well as Heel Fit, are available to the community for free. Online tailored personal training is also available for a monthly fee.
Brookey said that, regardless of how Tar Heels choose to stay active in this time, Campus Rec hopes to provide a positive, inclusive space.
“Our hope is that folks that trust us and come to us as a resource,” Brookey said. “We, as an organization, know that there are a lot of things that we can’t control right now, but one thing that we can do is find ways to move healthfully, move in a fun way that we enjoy, to hopefully help relieve that stress a little bit.”
