An Insider’s Look on Ladies Night

On March 21, University Recreation held their annual Ladies Night event. The intention of speciality events such as this is to attract women who may not otherwise participate in various University Recreation programs regularly and give them something to be a part of. With a multitude of classes and activities to participate in, there was something for everyone.

My name is Anne Rollinson and I currently work as a Marketing Assistant here at University Recreation. I participated in last year’s Ladies Night event and had a blast so I couldn’t wait to see what this one had to offer. The different program areas each brought something unique to the table for the participants. As an incredibly indecisive person I decided to stick with the group fitness classes to narrow my options. This proved to be more difficult than anticipated when I looked at what they were offering. From Bollywood dance to paddleboard yoga, the possibilities were endless and I was ready to try everything. After looking through all the classes I couldn’t decide on just one. I settled on both paddleboard yoga and boxing.

My night started with paddleboard yoga in the Aquatic Center. I had never done it before, but considering my previous experience with both yoga and paddleboarding, I figured I would be all right at it. Boy, was I wrong.

While I wasn’t terrible, paddleboard yoga was more difficult than I had anticipated. Holding the poses while simultaneously trying to keep your balance on a floating board took a lot of concentration. However, there were some poses that were easier than others so there was a good balance between struggling to get a pose and feeling like a pro after getting the pose on the first try. At the very end we were able to attempt any poses we wanted on the board. I decided the upward-facing bow would be a good one to try. Here is how that endeavor went:

Overall, it was a challenge but the instructors, Delaney Thibodeau and Leigha Krick, did a great job of guiding everyone through the poses, creating a memorable, if not amusing, experience for everyone.

After paddleboard yoga, I had a little bit of a break to change and then headed to boxing. We started off by grabbing gloves and circling up to learn four types of punches: a jab, cross, right hook and left hook. Once we got some practice in with our punches we split up into two groups. My group lined up to practice our punches against one of the instructors (don’t worry, we hit her punch mitts, not her face), while the other group practiced their sequence on the punching bags.  After we had been in our respective groups for about a minute, we switched sides and it was my group’s turn to use the punching bag. Let me tell you, laying into a punching bag over and over again is a lot more tiring than one might think. We switched between these stations a couple of times, each time practicing different punching sequences. I may not have been the most coordinated, but I did feel pretty fierce near the end.

Following both of the classes I attended, I felt really good. One of the best things about Ladies Night is that the instructors push you to work hard, but you’re having so much fun that you barely notice. As a sophomore, I’m looking forward to two more years of attending University Recreation’s Ladies Night events. Hopefully next year I don’t fall on my face during paddleboard yoga.