If you are looking for ways to stick to your New Year’s resolutions, Oakland University Campus Recreation has just the ticket.

The Oakland University Department of Campus Recreation will continue offering GroupX classes such as Zumba, Bodyweight Bootcamp and kickboxing for free. New this semester, they will offer all GroupX Mind Body courses free of charge as well. This change comes following an increased interest in Mind Body fitness courses.

“The Department of Campus Recreation has always offered GroupX classes for free to students,” said Melissa Wolak, Fitness Programs and Services Coordinator for Oakland University’s Department of Campus Recreation. “There has always been some confusion regarding the schedule and drop-in fees, so we decided to make some changes to accommodate the interests of our students.”

In the past, OU Campus Rec has offered a variety of free fitness classes to students, with the exception of Mind Body classes, including yoga, barre and Tabata training. These were offered for a three dollar drop-in fee.

“Because we were beginning to see confusion from our students, as well as a higher interest in Mind Body and yoga classes, we made the decision to eliminate drop-in fees and found ways to include them in fees students are already paying.” Wolak said.

In the two weeks since offering the classes for free, the staff has noticed an increase in attendance.

Aside from opening these classes as an attendance experiment, OU Campus Rec is continuing to expand their weekly course variety.  This is in an effort to keep up with popular fitness trends such as barre, yoga, Tabata and cycling classes.

“We are hoping that the additional classes and increased response to feedback will help us meet our ultimate goal of meeting our students needs,” Wolak said. “Our mission is to become a recreation center that students want to come to and create a comfortable environment for everyone. Students should feel like this is their rec.”

OU Campus Rec is also gearing up to launch a women’s fitness initiative campaign called OU Bar Belles as a response to the large contrast in male and female students in the fitness center.

OU Bar Belles is a program focused on the education of female students. The program involves a variety of fitness tutorials, workshops and other topical education classes that will aid in encouraging women to become more comfortable and involved with OU Campus Rec events.

“‘I hate walking around the rec center and seeing girls lined up in the hallways doing abs,” Wolak said. “I believe that we should have an environment that has a place for everyone to feel comfortable, as well as to create and provide functional spaces and resources where students are free to use them however they want.”