As students, we are obviously all broke as-is. Plain and simple.

Even if we do get our paychecks, the money quickly vanishes due to the combination of school tuition, gas, rent, and cell phone and credit card bills. Not only do we like to splurge on ourselves with treats and goodies, but we also like to keep ourselves in check and maintain our physical well-being by working out at a gym.

However, that’s where the problem lies. Gyms such as 24 Hour Fitness, Gold’s and others, charge way too much for monthly fees (trust me…I work at a gym, so I know of the costs).

However, there is a much cheaper alternative. Work out at a gym for a small fee for the length of an entire semester, as opposed to having to pay upwards of $50 on a monthly basis.

Where is this gym, you ask? Well, it’s right here on our very own campus.

Hidden in the confines of Pacific Heights in room 202, the ambiance of the room looks like that of a classroom, but the workout equipment tells me otherwise.

As a student, I can speak from personal experience, as I had taken an Adult Conditioning class last semester. I had access to the same kind of equipment available at a gym, except that I paid $26 because the class was only worth one unit.

Obviously, the workout room didn’t have all of the up-to-date machines and other aspects of a gym that you would normally see; like a sauna or towel service, however, as a student at a junior college with very little money, the workout room sufficed for my willingness to stay in shape. Although the room is small, the class size itself was small, allowing for everyone to have enough space to complete their workout.

Even though I only had access to the gym for one hour, three times a week, I made sure to attend every class, because not only did I want to get into better shape, but because I was going to receive a grade for the class as well. However, if I were to join a real gym, I knew that I’d get lazy and definitely not go three times a week because there isn’t an added incentive for me to go (even if I am paying a lot more), like a grade and college credits.

Not only is the Adult Conditioning class a great way to stay in shape, but Skyline offers plenty of other physical education classes on campus as well, ranging from weight conditioning, spinning, karate, yoga and tennis.

Granted, these classes aren’t of the same caliber that’s expected at the gym, but the facilities and instructors on campus are just as good, if not better, than a real gym, court, or dojo.