Quinnipiac University students are now able to utilize the new cardio wing and attend fitness classes in the new studios of the renovated Recreation and Wellness Center.

The new center features a yoga studio, a large dance studio, a zen room with outdoor access and a new cardio wing, which all opened for student use Oct. 24.

Tami Reilly, director of fitness and well-being, said the new cardio wing has new treadmills, ellipticals and step-mills and there will be rowing machines, bikes and a row of heavy bags in the future. The new equipment includes built-in technology so students can watch TV, sync their smartwatch and wirelessly charge their phone while in the facility.

“We’ve also moved over any dance-based fitness class into the large dance studio, we did not get all of our equipment in yet, that’s why we only moved that piece,” Reilly said. “We have our barre classes, our Zumba, our balletone and we’ve moved all of those into the new studio.”

Reilly said that her hope is that students who might have been intimidated by the old space will feel more comfortable and inclined to attend classes.

“I’m most excited to deliver a different view of what fitness and wellness can be,” Reilly said. “It’s so much more than just (getting) on the treadmill.”

In addition to new studios and equipment, there are a variety of outdoor spaces coming to the new center such as outdoor seating surrounding the building, an amphitheater and a rain garden, Reilly said. In addition, she said the medium dance studio will have a retractable wall with an outside terrace so students can also take classes outside.

Reilly said some of the classes that will be offered include more meditations, bootcamp style classes like “butts and guts” and a “gymology” class, which is a class that focuses on educating first time gym users on how to lift and exercise properly.

Students can sign up for a multitude of student-taught classes 24 hours in advance by signing in to the website IMLeagues using their Quinnipiac email address.

Ellie Bissell, a junior 3+1 biology major and balletone instructor said balletone is a ballet-based fitness class that doesn’t require any dance experience and takes ballet and dance inspired moves and puts it into a fitness format.

“I love having new people come and see what balletone is, it’s a very niche thing, everyone knows what Zumba is, what spin is…but balletone is pretty unique and not very popular yet,” Bissell said.

Alyssa Carroll, a junior political science major and Zumba instructor wrote in an email to the Chronicle that the new space has a lot more room with “amazing views” of the Quad and library.

Carroll wrote that the new space “definitely has its perks,” such as a new sound system that is being installed and more natural lighting. Although, she said she still feels like she is teaching in a construction zone.

“The room technically isn’t ready to use, as the speakers still have covers on them (we use temporary speakers in the corner of the room) and it looks like a water filling station is in the process of being installed so I would almost prefer to wait teaching until the room is in its fully glory,” Carroll wrote.

Students are able to use the new cardio wing Monday-Thursday and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Michael Dieli, a first-year business undeclared major, used a treadmill in the new cardio wing and said the equipment was definitely an improvement from the previous facilities. 

“It was a little confusing at first because there were so many gadgets and apps you can use… but it’s really interesting that you can watch stuff, they have a Kindle app so you can read while you’re running or walking which I thought was really cool,” Dieli said.

The Recreation and Wellness Center will have even more spaces available to students come Thanksgiving, Reilly said. Additionally, she said the juice bar and some fine tuning things will be coming in January, which will mark the completion of the new center.

“Moving into finals I think we can do some fun programming in there to get people to relax and destress before they enter finals,” Reilly said. “We will come back ready to utilize the whole building in January.”