Bobby Kaplan | Staff Photographer

Leaning into a difficult stretch while grasping a ball and balancing on one leg may feel difficult, but the students who lead weekly workout classes as a part of WashU’s BearFit program make it look effortless, all while providing the encouragement and positivity that you need.

Angela Kim, Nicole Resnick, and Ruby Short are among those WashU students who create and lead their own free 50-minute workouts at Sumers Recreation Center, or Rec. The BearFit program allows both students and professional instructors to lead weekly workout classes for students to attend.

Short, a sophomore, is studying biology and anthropology on the pre-medical track. She wants to be an orthopedic surgeon, but in the meantime, she teaches twice a week. Her two classes are Sunday Reset, a mindfulness-focused mat pilates workout, and Align by Design Pilates, and she speaks highly of being a student instructor.

“It’s such a fun way to not only be involved in a work situation, but it’s such a good way to stay active and talk to peers and be involved in the WashU community,” she said.

For Short, her experience as a dancer led to some of her interest in becoming a BearFit workout leader. During the interview, she enthusiastically demonstrated moves that she loves, showing her passion for teaching and attention to detail in her stretches.

“I’ve been a dancer for 17 years, so … I knew a lot of how to do the specific strengthening exercises and movements,” she said. “So then taking that and transitioning it into a workout class? It was so easy to do, and it keeps you flexible, but it also trains you and it keeps you toned!”

Similarly, junior Angela Kim, a psychology major, teaches three times a week: a heated class, Hot Mat Pilates, when the temperature is raised during the 50 minutes, and Pilates Sculpt twice. She also has a foundation in dance that led to her joining the BearFit program.

“I’ve been doing Pilates since I was probably 12 years old. I was a ballet dancer forever and ever, and we did a lot of Pilates,” she said. “I took classes at the Rec, actually. That kind of led to me being more interested … I just decided I could teach, and I really have been enjoying it!”

In order to become a BearFit instructor, a specific certification is needed that depends on the class taught.  Each of the three students are certified in various exercise forms. Kim and Short are certified to teach Pilates, and Nicole Resnick, a sophomore who is studying philosophy-neuroscience-psychology and American culture studies, is certified to teach yoga.

“It’s pretty easy to get yoga certified, so I did that over the summer,” Resnick, who teaches Power Vinyasa Yoga, said, even though the online course she took was 200 hours long. “The training was very, very technical, they had this guy teach about anatomy for maybe 10 hours. It was a lot of knowledge on how to reposition and stuff like that.”

In contrast, Short had a shorter, but still intensive, certification process. 

Her training consisted of “six hours total of initial training, and then … a week to film this video and submit it, and then I got a coach that instructed me on it.” According to her, the course verified “if I was able to, number one, construct a class, if I was able to showcase certain movements that were required for Pilates instruction, and then I also had to showcase that I knew how … to also maintain timing.”

Once completing training, the three discussed how the process of becoming an instructor was relatively easy.

“I was getting certified [in Pilates], and I reached out to some lovely people here at the Rec, and they interviewed me, and I submitted a video application, and it all worked out!,” Kim said.

However, the work does not end there. Each of these students are exceptionally talented. During every class they teach, they have to apply their certification knowledge by designing the workouts they will teach in each of their classes.

One strategy for Pilates courses involves the use of burners, which are a combination of calorie-burning and strength exercises focused on one area of your body.

“I love to construct my classes with burners, so that way everybody kind of feels it at the end.” Short said. “I don’t mean like, sore for three days and can’t walk and can’t move and can’t get out of bed, but you’re feeling completely refreshed after you finish a class.”

 Kim writes her classes based around themed exercises instead of burners.

“I try to have a somewhat thematic class, because I’ve just found it’s easier to have a nice class flow,” she said. “Today’s mostly focused on glutes and quads, or today’s mostly focused on abs and arms… I program in what props we’re using, if we’re using a block, if we’re using a ball, if we’re using weights…  Once the class is programmed and I have everything written out, all my exercises, all my cues that I might want to use, then I go and create my playlist based on that.”

Music plays a large role in each workout, and the instructors carefully craft their own playlists to match their class’ tones and provide a steady beat for those participating. Resnick said how important it was to have songs that people are familiar with that still match the tone of a yoga class. She loves to use artists like Adrianne Lenker and Big Thief, Erykah Badu, Mazzy Star, and Ms. Lauryn Hill, crafting a relaxed and focused environment.

Instead, Short leans into some more pop and electronic, or specifically house, artists for her Pilates classes. “I do have house music in there, but I also have Sabrina Carpenter, I have Charlie XCX, I have Labrinth, I have Kendrick, I have Drake. Messy! I have never had them in one playlist.”

For Hot Mat Pilates and Pilates Sculpt, Kim has a wide range of artists she selects based on matching the tempo of each exercise. But despite the variability of her songs, her music ultimately creates an upbeat and fun atmosphere throughout her classes.

“I have to pick music with a fairly high BPM, so beats per minute, just so we can be moving to the music. I really like programming my classes being somewhat on beat so it flows cohesively,” Kim said. “We do a lot of pop. We do a lot of remixes because of BPM. And I’ve been into some country lately. I like that, but I try to change it up. I’m always open to song suggestions.”

The idea of teaching and seeing one of your classmates in a workout might be an intimidating idea for some, but for Kim, it’s an exciting part of her job.

“I love when people I know come to my classes, and I love when I get to know people who come to my classes, that’s been a lot of fun. It’s always fun when my friends come, but it’s also really fun to make new friends with all the people who come to my classes,” she said.

Kim’s trademark wink that she does in her classes is just one way she, and all of the instructors, provide encouraging boosts to everyone participating in the class. It is clear that all of these instructors believe in the importance of exerting yourself while having the positive support of a student community surrounding you.

“I am never the type of instructor to make somebody feel like they’re being targeted in a class … I want you to walk away feeling like you put your best foot forward, and your quality of life has been increased, like you want to continue to work your body.” Short said, “Because every time that people walk away from a workout, it’s like, ‘I have to go to the gym.’ I hate that. Saying ‘I want to go to the gym’ is kind of what I want: the mindset to flip.”

“I think my academic interests stem a lot from, ‘How can I help people to become their best self?,’ in some way, or help people reach a level of genuine happiness! And I think a lot of that translates well to teaching Pilates, of building community and just creating a space for people that’s non-judgmental and just an hour of just having fun,” Kim said, referencing her psychology major. “I’ve just really enjoyed connecting with people and doing my part to foster [a] space on campus that’s positive, and a place that people really enjoy. That’s awesome!”

Angela Kim teaches Hot Mat Pilates on Sundays at 6:20 p.m. and Pilates Sculpt at 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Nicole Resnick teaches Power Vinyasa Yoga at 7:00 p.m. on Sundays.

Ruby Short teaches Sunday Reset at 10 a.m. on Sundays and Align by Design Pilates at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.