Savvy FitRec Advice
Show up, and fun course credit could be yours
At 270,000 square feet and 56.8 feet tall at its highest point, FitRec, the University’s fitness and recreation center, is a bona fide landmark. Inside the cavernous sweat-a-teria at 915 Comm Ave are 46 elliptical machines, 32 treadmills, 2 pools, 932 student lockers, and 8,500 pounds of free weights — equivalent to the poundage of two adult hippos, says Kris Covarrubias, FitRec’s membership manager.
“Incoming students to BU have one of the best campus recreation centers at their fingertips,” she says, “and it would be a shame not to take advantage of the never-ending opportunities here, all available with the swipe of a Terrier card.”
Aside from its 1/7-mile running track, multicourt gymnasiums, and climbing wall, FitRec’s intramural sports program attracts more than 6,000 athletes each year; 32 club sports are available, too, from fencing to rugby to women’s water polo.
But at the start of a new semester, don’t forget the for-credit physical development program (PDP), Covarrubias says. Most full-time students pay for 18 credits per semester, but academically need only 16. “So it’s important for them to understand they have two credits to play with,” she says. “Our classes are perfect for that.”
Students can browse PDP offerings — aerobics, aquatics, court sports, dance, emergency response, martial arts, yoga — through BU’s Student Link. PDP classes range from half a credit to two credits.
And if a class you really want to take is full, Covarrubias has this piece of advice: don’t give up hope.
“Go to the first day of the class you want to get into,” she says. “People add or drop. People even drop after taking the class the first day. We can’t make promises, of course, but if you show up, like with any academic class, oftentimes you can get in.”
Caleb Daniloff can be reached at cdanilof@bu.edu.
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