Students may notice an increase in the amount of people at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center in the beginning of each semester.

The SRWC demo week this semester was the biggest demo week it has ever had, Guest Services Coordinator Maggie McKendry said, with an increase of about 450 participants from last year. Running from Jan. 10 to 15, the week offered free classes ranging from spinning to swing dancing for anyone who wants to participate.

“The hope is that students who partici- pate in the demo week want to continue taking (the classes) and ultimately purchase them for the semester,” McKendry said.

This semester’s demo week had 1,250 people participate, as compared to the 800 people who participated last spring. McK- endry said that she attributes this to New Year’s resolutions and the holiday weight people want to lose before spring break.

“January and February are the busiest

months,” McKendry said. “We typically have about 61,000 to 63,000 people come to the Rec during January and then the atten- dance drops off in March.”

While the SRWC staff doesn’t have new policies to accommodate the increased amount of students, it continues to use the system of waiting lists for machines like treadmills and ellipticals, McKendry said.

Some students said they found themselves getting impatient during these busy times.

“It’s annoying in the beginning of the semester to have to wait for a machine,” said Lindsey Petrillo, sophomore integrated lan- guage arts major. “But once people get busy they’ll stop going.”

For those who don’t, the SRWC has made a few changes to some of its most attended courses and added one new class into its programming.

Yoga, Zumba and spinning used to be instructional classes with a set roster but are now group exer- cise courses. A new class, called bootcamp, debuted during demo week. Its participants meet two days a week and receive a pre- and post-assessment to help track body changes. They also work with a dietician to keep track of nutrition.

Jan. 10 was the first day of the spring semester’s opening, and SRWC swiped 3,602 students and community members into its facility, McKendry said. Monday, she continued, only 2,362 swipes were recorded.

Despite the amount of people who work out this first week, McKendry said she doesn’t usu- ally hear complaints from students or community members. Instead, she said people will usually alter the times they come in and are usually understanding.

“I enjoy working out because it keeps me healthy and in shape,” Petrillo said, who has gone to the Rec on a regular basis over the past year. “Just because it’s busy, I won’t stop going.”

Contact Erin Vanjo at [email protected].