This year students, faculty, and staff at Saint Joseph’s University are being offered a new way to work out: SJU Hawk-Fit.

The new fitness program, which offers a wider range of group classes and personal training options than the previous system, begins holding classes this week. According to Corey Shannon, director of Campus Recreation, the opportunity to launch SJU Hawk-Fit this semester came as a result of the university’s elimination of the wellness coordinator position last year.

“Unfortunately we lost that position, so for the second half of last year, we just split up the duties among our staff and tried to cover as best we could, but knew that wasn’t a viable, long-term solution,” Shannon said. “So with the help of Cary Anderson, vice president for Student Life, and John Jeffery, assistant vice president, we were able to move some funds around and create this opportunity to outsource the fitness/wellness operations under campus recreation.”

After a bidding process for a one-year contract, the company selected to handle student fitness was Class-Fit, a personal training and fitness class studio owned by two St. Joe’s alumnae, Ann Marie Catania, ’11, and her sister Kelly Catania, ’13. The sisters got into the fitness business after graduating from St. Joe’s.

“When Kelly graduated, she got certified in personal training, and I had a business degree from here in marketing,” Ann Marie Catania said. “So when we started our business together, she took her person- al training and I took my business side and we brought it together.”

Shannon was happy to have the Catanias enter Class-Fit into the bidding process. “We were excited to have them put in a bid and thought it would be a great opportunity,” Shannon said. “They’re young and hungry and wanted to expand their business as well, and we just thought this would be a win-win for both of us.”

Kelly and Ann Marie Catania, along with the rest of Class-Fit, created SJU Hawk-Fit with the goal of offering students, faculty, and staff a more flexible workout plan. In the past, students could choose from a selection of three to four exercise classes, each of which were usually offered once a week. Now, SJU Hawk-Fit doesn’t require members of the university community to register for a specific class; instead, participants purchase semester or yearlong passes and take advantage of whichever classes fit into their schedules.

“We’re offering flexible packages because I know in the past you had to sign up just for one class, and I know when I was in school, things would pop up,” Ann Marie Catania said. “You have a paper and you have to fo- cus all of your time on that, or you have an exam or meetings or things like that, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to come to any class on the schedule. You don’t have to commit to just one. We have unlimited memberships, and then we have flex passes, where…you can come once a week to a class, or you can come twice a week, and you can try yoga, Zumba, boot camp, or anything that’s out there.”

Shannon confirmed that SJU Hawk-Fit allows students greater freedom in attending fitness classes.

“Theirs is a much more robust offering, where you have the opportunity to do as many classes as you want,” Shannon said. “You want to do 10 classes a week? Go for it.”

This aspect of SJU Hawk-Fit is something that students are looking forward to, as well.

“The Hawk fitness classes will give me a healthy way to destress and enjoy time with my classmates,” Thomas Nagle, ’17, said.

SJU Hawk-Fit offers classes such as conditioning, core and flexibility, Zumba, boot camp, barre, kickboxing, yoga, and other group exercise activities. Participants can also sign up for personal training sessions. These classes and sessions are taught by Ann Marie and Kelly Catania, Class-Fit instructors, and even students.

“That’s part of our plan, too, to mentor students coming in that have an interest in this, whether it be for fun or part-time or something that they want to do in the future,” Ann Marie Catania said. “We’re going to show them the ropes, talk to them about different certifications, and hopefully by the next year or two, it’ll be almost entirely student-taught.”

Students, faculty, and staff can attend SJU Hawk-Fit classes for free this week. To view the SJU Hawk-Fit schedule and register for classes, visit the St. Joe’s Campus Recreation website.