Texas A&M University-San Antonio offers students, faculty and staff various opportunities to stay fit including yoga, a fitness challenge, high-intensity training and cycling.
Students practice strength, tranquility with yoga
By Christina Henderson and Katelyn Louise Silva
Students at Texas A&M University-San Antonio can say “namaste” to their worries at two yoga classes on campus.
The free 50-minute classes meet in Room 134 of the Madla Building, the tornado shelter next to the fitness center. There, students can clear their minds and engage their bodies in the time-honored tradition of yoga.
- Adaptive Yoga is at 1 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.
- Power Yoga is at 4 p.m. Monday and Wednesday.
Both are suitable for beginners. Adaptive Yoga offers a slower-paced modifiable workout, said Nadia Padron, campus yoga instructor.
“It was created to invite everyone, even if you have mobility restrictions,” Padron said of Adaptive Yoga.
From a broken arm to wheelchair restrictions, Adaptive Yoga is made to utilize mental strength and focuses more on building spirituality while engaging the body.
Power Yoga focuses more on building strength and flexibility. It teaches students to condition their muscles while using a vinyasa style for sequence, practicing different postures. It incorporates yoga poses that engage the core so students can expect a workout that includes heavy breathing.
Students can work their way up to certain poses if they are unfamiliar with them, Padron said.
“I want to make students feel comfortable in their own bodies,” Padron said.
A&M-San Antonio has a variety of tools available for the yoga classes. They include blankets and bolsters, provided to help students during sitting positions and to bring comfort to their knees during different postures. They can also be used to lie down at the end of class.
Students are allowed to be barefoot for better grip and dress in what is most comfortable for them to move around in. Yoga mats are provided by the school; however, students can bring their own mat to class.
Lights are turned off during the class, and Padron plays soothing sounds of nature from a Spotify playlist, while, peaceful images are displayed using a projector.
Padron said she attempts to transport her students onto a spiritual plane with mindfulness exercises and breathing work. Padron uses meditation to help students strengthen their mind, body and awareness.
The benefits don’t stop there. Not only are students able to sit and meditate in an open environment, but there are several physical benefits as well.
“Yoga is very relaxing, lowers blood pressure and brings you about 10% more happiness,” Padron said. “Yoga builds your confidence, opens up your heart and mind.”
Class size ranges from two to 10 students depending on the weather, Padron said.
As of now Padron is the only yoga instructor on campus, but she says that soon there will be a male instructor to join in on teaching yoga to students.
For more information, visit JagSync.
University flexes fitness challenge
By Jewelz Pope
Students, staff and faculty can sweat it out in the next Workout Week challenge Oct. 28-Nov. 3. The Department of Recreational Sports hosts the Workout Weeks all semester through Dec. 19.
Participants must sign up in Room 128 of the Madla Building.
A gym staff member will add the participant’s name into the system and inform them about the workout that needs to be completed for the weekly challenge. A staff member will then observe the participant to make sure they’re doing the workouts correctly.
Points will be calculated by a gym employee based on the amount of time the participant spends per workout and if the exercise is completed.
“There’s always different challenges,” said fitness supervisor Dominique Scott. “One week there will be a set of push-ups and another week there may be rowing.”
Points will be placed into the system and the weekly leaderboard, and the top 5 with the most points will be updated weekly.
Prizes will be given to the top three winners at the end of the semester. Participants involved with Workout Week are automatically submitted in the Lottery, meaning low-ranking students may have a chance to win a prize. Prizes aren’t yet confirmed, but sports tickets, Beats and AirPods are being considered.
“Students get a chance to better their fitness, get healthier, improve their lifestyle, have fun and challenge themselves,” Skott said, “The purpose behind Workout Week is to get people to have more fitness and to enjoy working out. To really challenge and push themselves to see what they can do.”
Workout Week starts a week after each semester starts and the challenge continues weekly until the semester is over.
University offers high-intensity training to students
By Alexander Font
Texas A&M University-San Antonio offers the STRONG30 workout class to make every rep count in half an hour.
The 30-minute class is a high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, workout. It includes muscle conditioning, cardio and plyometric training.
“This program gives you intensive training followed by short rest periods,” said Teresa de la Torre, fitness instructor for the class.
The class is free for all students. Faculty and staff must pay for a fitness center pass to participate; the cost is $100, but it is prorated if purchased later in the semester.
The class also features different levels for those who want to increase the difficulty.
“Strong has four quadrants that get progressively more intense as the workout goes on, and you have about a minute break in between each,” de la Torre wrote in an email. “Warmup, Quadrant 1, 2, 3 4 (floor) and then your cool down. We change out one quadrant a month.”
The class is 5:15-5:45 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 10-11 a.m. Fridays in Room 134 of the Madla Building.
“So it takes a HIIT class but adds music so that you can gain muscle memory and know when moves are going to change into the next,” de la Torre wrote. “The workout is created first and then the music is created to go with the workout moves.”
Cycling club gears up for campus, community rides
By Eric Lopez and Nilse Hernandez
Spinning your brains all week at school and just need a break?
The Texas A&M University-San Antonio Cycling Club is preparing for rides on and off campus, including these two:
- a training ride at 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at the water fountain on campus.
- a bicycle and coffee ride at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 3 at Bike World, 835 S.E. Military Drive.
The training rides help students get into shape and ready for the longer city rides, said Marisol Salas-Rios, the club’s founder and president.
“The trail we do on Wednesday night is a simple training ride on campus, practicing going around the streets as many times as the students would like,”
The Nov. 3 ride is 13-16 miles long, and Salas-Rios recommends wearing comfortable clothing and to bring a refillable water bottle. She also highly recommends a helmet for safety, but it is not required.
Participants should arrive by 8:30 a.m., and wheels up will be at 9 a.m. The ride is open to students and faculty of A&M-San Antonio. They must bring their own bicycle and have money to purchase coffee. Bike World does offer bicycles to rent. Check the website for prices and information: https://www.bikeworld.com/articles/bike-world-rentals-pg432.htm.
If it rains, updates and cancelations will be posted on Instagram and JagSync.
Salas-Rios is an avid cyclist who has enjoyed the sport since high school. As she made the transition to college, she wanted to be a part of a team that shared her love of cycling. Upon finding out A&M-San Antonio didn’t have a cycling club, Salas-Rios decided to create her own.
“I believe that what these students gain from participating in these sort of events is getting to know who they are and getting to know what other interests they have outside of what they know,” said Salas-Rios.
The club meets every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at various locations throughout the city. The intensity of the rides varies from day to day.
The club also does more intensive rides at McAllister Park on Saturdays where there is an abundance of wildlife.
They also want to begin attending charity events such as the Ride for Diabetes. Salas-Rios said she hopes someday to get a real team on campus.
The club posts events on regularly on JagSync
