Physical activity helps relieve stress

Amarillo College students can be physically fit for free at Carter Fitness Center. At the beginning of this semester, Carter Fitness Center became free to all AC students. Before the fall semester, the center had charged students $30 a semester. “Because the Carter Fitness Center is free for students, that is one less hurdle they have to get over to become more physically fit,” said Craig Clifton, the center’s director. “The goal we have is called Success Through Fitness. Our goal is student success. We want students to use this facility more. We want them to become more physically fit, and we want them to be more successful students.” The CFC’s main reason is that exercising helps relieve stress and keeps people healthy. “We offers classes like yoga, spinning classes, fight night and volleyball,” Clifton said. “We also have academic classes and physical education classes for anyone who attends the center.” The CFC offers free intern trainers for those students who need help exercising. All trainers are certified. “The Carter Fitness Center is a place for students to get physically fit. It is also a place for students to be social and hang out with friends,” Clifton said.

Students can take classes per semester at the Carter Fitness Center. The classes are like regular classes, so students must pay for them. The center offers free volleyball games to play with others who like the sport on at noon Tuesdays and Thursdays. It also offers other fun activities such as free basketball games to play every Tuesday night. “Since the center is free, it is highly beneficial to me,” said nursing major Valeria Prado. “I have kids, so it gives me more time to work out in between classes, and since it’s free I can use the $30 that you would pay for a membership to get diapers and more stuff for my kids.” If people who are not AC students want to use the facilities, they have to pay a membership fee. Darcy McMahon, a general studies major, said she usually works out at the CFC. She said she worked out there for a semester when it was not free, but she likes it better now that it is. Now, students will not have any economic excuses to not stay fit.