Ohio State’s Department of Recreational Sports is encouraging students to exercise and relax during finals week by offering free fitness classes.

This Monday through Friday, students, faculty and any paying member of the RPAC are welcome to attend to a fitness class for free.

Scott Holmes, fitness coordinator for the Department of Recreational Sports, said this is a motivational technique for students to exercise.

“We do it as a way to kind of reward at the end of the (quarter, for people) to relax, let off some steam and encourage people to exercise,” Holmes said.

Typically, there are about 70 different types of fitness classes offered each week at the RPAC, Holmes said. Some fitness classes include indoor cycling classes, aerobic classes, dance fitness classes and yoga.

Department of Recreational Sports is offering 11 free classes including cycling classes, Indo-Row, yoga, Shake It!, kickboxing, cardio abs and H.A.B.I.T (Hips, Abs, Butts, Inner Thighs).

Since finals week changes many students’ schedules for the week, the fitness class schedule is also adjusted to fit students’ schedule changes as best as possible.

During finals week, the fitness classes are on an “abbreviated schedule,” Holmes said.

“All of our students who teach those classes (have their) schedules change because of finals, so we cannot have the regular one,” Holmes said.

Personal training sessions, however, are separate and not free during finals week, Holmes said.

During the quarter, a cost for a 10-week fitness class pass costs members an additional $50. Members can also purchase five-week passes for the first five weeks or second five weeks of the quarter for $30. Members also have the option to pay $5 per class to be paid as a per-use basis.

Holmes said some of the more popular classes are indoor cycle, ZUMBA, cardio dance and its Shake It! dance class.

Department of Recreational Sports is able to budget the free classes with supplemented fees received throughout the quarter, Holmes said.

Department of Recreational Sports provides free classes also to inform students what it offers and give students to try a class.

Some students said they think that if classes are free, others are likely to go.

“I think that’s a great idea. Free fitness class is always good,” said Lori Meyer, a third-year in industrial engineering. “It’s a good reward.”

Ericka Lynn, a first-year in mechanical engineering, thinks the free fitness classes are a good idea.

“I think a lot of people will need a break during finals week just to relax,” Lynn said.

Members can find the changed fitness class schedule at the RPAC bulletin boards or online at recsports.osu.edu