Scuba diving, indoor cycling, bowling and martial arts, all of these activities have one thing in common: they are classes offered to BYU students. Here is what you need to know about each one before signing up:
Indoor Cycling (Spin) STAC 110
The spin class is 0.5 credit hours and is offered in the fall and winter semesters. Students will strengthen their cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance throughout the class.
“Students can expect to learn how to use the spin bikes and other important information about cardiovascular fitness that they can implement throughout their lives,” said spin instructor Alexandra Stadnik, MS. “We also try to help boost self-esteem, get in shape and have fun.”
Stadnik also said a typical day for students starts out with a prayer and goes right into a series of warm-ups, climbs, sprints, hill intervals, recovery time and a cool down, all while listening to upbeat music.
Scuba Diving STAC 175
Believe it or not, this class is taught at BYU during all semesters. Even on the cold winter months students can put on their diving gear and develop their diving skills. However, students should be prepared to pay a fee of about $300 for the course. The fee varies from class to class; to get the exact dollar amount, students should contact the department.
Upon completion of the course students can get their open water diving certification. This certification allows students to go diving with another diver of equal certification, but supervision from an instructor is no longer needed.
Martial Arts STAC 141
This class is offered during all semesters at BYU and is 0.5 credit hours in addition to two lab hours. Students will learn the basics of martial arts and self defense.
The class was a good stress reliever and form of exercise for Andy McKelson, a Highland resident studying ancient Near Eastern studies. After the class McKelson said he felt confident in his abilities to perform self defense if needed.
“I don’t know of anyone from my class that didn’t have a positive experience,” McKelson said. “Both the women and men in my section, even the more timid ones, ended most class periods grinning and excited to learn more.”
Bowling STAC 116
The bowling class has a one-time fee of $45 to cover rental and other bowling alley expenses. Students should expect to learn the basics of bowling and see an improvement of their bowling score at the end of the semester.
Jake Wolz, a finance major from San Diego, California, said that during the class he learned how to put spin on the ball, target spares and keep score manually. He also said he enjoyed the opportunity to socialize and meet new people in the class without getting sweaty.
“I would definitely recommend this class to anyone who even remotely likes bowling,” Wolz said. “It’s a great chance to get better and take a quick break from your harder classes.”
