Students are some of the most money conscious people around, but they don’t always take advantage of what they are paying for.

All Missouri Southern students pay a fee each semester for use of the Beimdiek Recreation Center, but not many know what that entails. It is more than just access to the gym. The fee includes a range of activities including student-taught fitness classes.

Cindy Webb, director of fitness at the recreation center, thinks a large number of students are missing out on these classes. Classes have several goals, Webb said, including offering high quality fitness instruction, giving students a chance to let their minds relax and helping them realize exercise can be fun and interactive, not some torture to be done alone.

As director of fitness, it is Webb’s responsibility to hire and train instructors for these classes, and this is something she takes very seriously. Often Webb finds her best instructors in her own classes. She grooms them to teach classes and earn whatever certifications they may need to do so. Mostly she is looking for instructors who already want to inspire others.

She said she hopes her stringent hiring process means students will have “confidence that the instructors are good and qualified, and to know that this is not something you can find everywhere in the real world.”

Makina Kelley, a junior health promotion major, is one of these instructors. Besides her duties as a rec center supervisor and personal trainer, Kelley teaches some of the classes offered at MSSU. This includes a body sculpt class that focuses on toning the body using dumbbells and bodyweight.

“It makes me feel good making people like fitness,” said Kelley. “Coming to these classes gives you extra motivation, and it is fun to work out with others. Plus it is a great way to learn new things, especially if you don’t already have a plan.”

Webb and Kelley agreed students are not taking advantage of the free

classes, speculating that students are nervous about coming for the first time.

Kelley said getting started is the hardest part about fitness.

“Once they start it becomes a habit.”

Webb echoed this sentiment. “I am always astounded by the number of people who think you have to be in shape before you go, instead of that is what they are there for,” Webb said. “Everybody had their first time. What is the worst that could happen?”

For more information about classes are offered, visit the Beimdiek Recreation Center on campus or follow the link at www.thechartonline.com.