The Get Fit Smith (GFS) program was designed to bolster student engagement by offering a mix of different physical activities and creating a space for students and faculty to teach workout classes to the community. There are currently 13 classes offered throughout the week, ranging from spin classes to zumba, yoga and even functional workout programs.
One of these 13 classes was newly added at the beginning of the semester. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with instructor Tristan Thompson ’27, has participants looking forward to Monday nights for the ultimate mix of high energy EDM music and interval training. Thompson’s goal for the class is to create an inspiring space where students can have fun, but also prove to themselves that they are capable of pushing themselves outside their comfort zone.
The class follows the basic principles of HIIT: a warm-up that alternates between dance-based cardio and strength exercises that target both arms and legs followed by key core exercises and a cool-down period. This hour-long session keeps participants’ heart rates high while also incorporating short circuits of exercises that help sculpt and strengthen muscles.
Thompson recently became barre certified through the Body Maestro program — an Australian based barre and pilates training center — with the intention of teaching a GFS class this year. Having no previous experience as an instructor, she wanted to build a foundational background while also using her previous knowledge as a competitive dancer and workout class fanatic to shape her own unique class.
“I don’t need any training or certificate, but morally that felt wrong to me to tell people to do these really hard movements without feeling like I had the right legitimacy to be able to tell people to do that,” Thompson said.
Choosing the right music is at the top of the list of priorities for Thompson in order to create a positive atmosphere for class participants. Each song has certain beat requirements, where the beats per minute (BPM) increase gradually as the class goes on, further elevating the intensity of the workout.
“If it’s a down beat, then we’re going do legs to that song. But if it’s an upbeat, then we’re going to do arms to that song,” Thompson said. “And then the amount of beats per second [plays an important factor as well]. So it’s the pace of the beats that really conduct the class and make it go by faster.”
Sourcing from a range of music genres — particularly pulling from the greatest hits of artists like Tyler, the Creator, Drake or Mac Miller — there is also a heavy influence of EDM that makes its way onto the workout playlists week after week.
“I love listening to EDM as my go to, and I know that’s not everybody. So I’ll put in a bunch of EDM songs, but also things that I know the class would like because I have a lot of friends in the class,” Thompson said.
As the class’ participants walk into Ainsworth 304, they grab yoga mats, dumbbells and mini pilates balls and find space on the floor as they chat with one another about their day, or how sore they are from the class the previous week.
A range of students fill the room from varsity athletes, dancers, regular exercisers and some newcomers to the realm of physical fitness. The class is made for the individual with modifications to meet students where they are at in their own fitness journey. There are opportunities to increase weight, limit the impact of cardio-based movements or take breaks when needed.
“I think Tristan really brings a really nice energy to the class, and she’s always positive. She helps us not think about how much pain we’re in when we’re exercising,” Lily Cerami ’27 said. “It’s very difficult, but it’s a good [level of] difficulty for me because it allows room for improvement.”
Thompson said she spends about an hour per week working through music and planning the exercises in accordance with the chosen songs to prepare for the class. She runs through the workout and creates notes to guide her through planned routines, but has also found herself making live changes to the class based on how her students react to the difficulty of the exercise.
“It’s a very light hearted space where I also feel like I can be like myself, my Jersey-self, a little bit, which isn’t like a thing really here,” said Thomspon. “So I hope it’s like an inclusionary space, but also an inspiring space too, because [we all have] very strong bodies, and just to be able to take care of [them] in that way I think is a really rewarding practice.”
