As the weather becomes cooler, you may decide to fend off the cold by working up a sweat. One way to do this is to take a free fitness class at Central Connecticut.

One fitness program offered to students is a High Intensity Interval Training class with Sarah Born. As the name of the class suggests, it is structured in intervals. Students will do two or three different exercises for either 30 seconds or one minute each, depending on the difficulty of the exercise.

“The idea is to get your heart rate up really high for a short period of time and work really hard, and then you get a quick break that brings your heart rate back down,” Born said. “That up and down is what’s supposed to help with weight loss.”

Each class starts with a warm up, usually consisting of jogging, jumping jacks, toe touches and inchworms. These are meant to get the heart racing and the muscles prepared.

Once the students are warmed up, Born eases into the more intense exercises. These are meant to tone legs, stomach, arms and other parts of the body. The leg workouts range from squats to lunges to side knee drives. Exercises that engage the core include burpees, curl-ups and planks. Some of the arm exercises are rowing with bands, pushups and renegade rows. While all of the exercises are challenging, there are breaks in between and modifications that can make some exercises easier.

After the more intense exercises are over, Born plays calm music and facilitates a cool down, where students stretch their muscles.

“It’s really good for challenging yourself,” Born said. “I think that people who haven’t done it before get scared because they don’t really know [what it is.] It sounds like it’s super high intensity and you really need to know what you’re doing, but you don’t because there’s lots of modifications.”

Born shared why she likes teaching H.I.I.T.

“I like upbeat stuff and I love teaching people, especially with smaller groups, just being able to push people and really get them motivated and going.”

If H.I.I.T. doesn’t sound like the right workout class for you, Born plans on teaching other fitness classes next semester.

“I would like to teach a lot more classes, especially a barre class, which I plan on teaching next semester. I want to teach pilates, and I want to teach a wide range of people. I definitely want to help people who have issues with pregnancy, with postpartum, with people who are injured. Just give them a lot of modifications and allow them to still work out and feel good,” Born continued. 

If you do happen to be interested in H.I.I.T., Born’s class meets every Monday and Wednesday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m in the Mid Campus Fitness Studio.

“Anyone should definitely come check it out and try a fitness class even if it sounds intimidating because they might actually enjoy it and feel good,” Born said. “Especially if you’re looking for just weight loss or just to tone muscles in your legs, you’ll see a lot of good changes in your body.”