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Face to Face Labs

On-Campus Labs

AquaFit

(basic swimming ability is required)

This lab section combines aerobic swimming and alternative water workouts with weight training and various dry land physical activities to help students develop a balanced, safe, physical activity program.

Beginning Fencing

Students in this lab section will learn foil fencing from the ground up with all equipment provided. All levels of fencers are welcome from beginners to advanced, as the instructor will accommodate your needs as best possible.

Beginning Physical Activity

This lab section is specifically designed for students who are currently not participating in a regular physical activity program.

It is for those who believe they would benefit from the support, knowledge, and guidance of both the instructor and classmates to develop their thoughts, attitudes, and skills to successfully develop a wellness plan they can maintain (and reassess) across the lifespan.

Circuit Training

Circuit Training combines cardiovascular and resistance training by progressing through a “circuit” of stations to complete a total body workout.

Functional Training

Functional Training involves participation in a variety of activities to improve cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility.

Group Exercise

Beginner Yoga

This lab section will include one day of group exercise and one day of yoga each week. The group exercises are designed to improve muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, cardiovascular, and anaerobic capacities.

Integral Hatha Yoga

The objective of this lab section is to give PED 101 students experiences unlike those found in a typical gym-based yoga class. The intention of the original Hatha yogi's was to prepare the student's body, breath and mind for progressively deeper and deeper forms of self-inquiry.

Dance for Fitness/Partner Free Ballroom Dance

This lab will include “partner-free ballroom dance” as well as dance forms that do not require a partner (ex: jazz and hip hop) to improve fitness. NO dance experience is required.

Pilates

This lab focuses on a long-standing practice that strengthens the core, improves posture, increases muscle strength and endurance, and flexibility.

Yoga

This yoga lab will explore various practices of yoga, including physical and philosophical. This class will move through a vinyasa practice and will include power, yin, and restorative yoga.

More Physical Activity and Wellness Labs

Skilled swimming ability is required.

This lab is for students who have knowledge of the four competitive strokes in swimming and who want to improve their swimming technique, knowledge, and training methods.

The course will involve flexibility, strength and core training, anaerobic and aerobic interval training for students who maybe triathletes, swimmers (open water and pool).

This course will also include safety issues in and around the aquatic environment. It is recommended that students registering for this section have a prior history with swimming the 4 competitive strokes or are strong swimmers.

In this lab section, students will study Aikido, The Way of Harmony. Aikido is a modern Japanese martial art based on principles of non-resistance and intended as a way of peacefully resolving conflicts; protecting one's self and others.

Classes include meditation, breathing exercises, stretching and strengthening exercises. In addition, students will be introduced to Aikido stances, footwork, handwork, and partner practices, while connecting the study and practice of Aikido with their path toward optimum wellness across the lifespan.

This lab activity section does not require any prior martial arts experience, but students from other styles are welcome.

This lab meets off campus at times. Students are responsible for their own transportation.

This group physical training class is designed to build cardiovascular endurance, strength, and flexibility through slow running, fast sprinting, body-weight training, jump roping, balance work, partner drills, relay races, obstacle courses, and of course, teamwork exercises.

These military-style and functional training exercises will be performed throughout the UNCW “Backyard” including on campus, at the beach, on the cross-city trail, and at Wrightsville Beach Park.

This lab section is for students who are non-swimmers and/or uncomfortable swimmers who need to learn how to feel comfortable and safe in an aquatic environment.

The class will entail activities that will teach the student basic swimming skills such as floating front/back, treading water, freestyle and backstroke swimming skills and safety in and around the aquatic environment.

Students in this lab section will have the opportunity to explore a variety of cardiovascular, resistance, and flexibility activities to promote enjoyment, self-efficacy, confidence, and motivation.

In addition, this section will focus on the development of self-management skills to facilitate a lifetime of wellness (i.e., self-assessment, self-monitoring, goal setting, self-planning, coping skills, consumer skills, and time management).

This class offers three segments of different types of cardio, strength and core. The cardio ranges from basic "aerobic" moves as well as using basic step moves.

Fusing together intensities and different types of exercises create intervals and variations that promote fitness!

This course will focus on the official dance of the Carolinas, the Carolina Shag.

The Shag is a type of swing dance that developed during the 1930's and 40's in North Myrtle Beach, SC and Carolina Beach, NC. It involves nimble footwork and is traditionally danced to upbeat rhythm and blues (known as beach music) and, more recently other genres of music as well.

Students will learn the history of the dance, basic patterns, step variations, lead and follow techniques, musicality, and dance etiquette. The course is designed to improve physical health, mental health, and communication skills while learning a local tradition.

It's a fun and exciting way to express yourself while improving cardiovascular endurance. No prior dance experience necessary.

Participation in activities that are somewhat unique to our coastal environment, and will improve the health-related components of fitness: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.

Students will be introduced to a variety of physical activities that include the water, as well as trail and beach running, with an emphasis on outdoor activities.

This course focuses on team sport skills specifically related to group sport activities. Students will rotate through different sports over the course of the semester to give an opportunity to learn and practice the skills and rules of engagement.

There will be a focus on skill development, practicing the learned skills, and implementing the skills in a competitive gameplay environment. Specific sport experiences include (but are not limited to) basketball, soccer, team handball, ultimate frisbee, and volleyball will be covered.

This lab will focus on strengthening the body's core muscles, lower back, abdominals, hips, and gluteus. The body's core muscles are the foundation for all other movements of the body.

Through use of various techniques, the focus will be to develop and strengthen the body's trunk and pelvis area where the center of gravity is located.

Benefits include improved posture, increased flexibility and range of motion, increased strength and protection of the spine, more stable center of gravity and controlled movement. This class is designed for all fitness levels.

This lab is intended for beginners who wish to get into running and perhaps complete a 5k run.

After a gradual progression over the course of the semester, students should be able to finish a 5k run (3.1 miles) or at least run for 30min without stopping.

The course will take you from walking to running in just 16 weeks. Proper stretching and general strength training will also be included to aid in your journey toward becoming a runner for life.

Minimum beginning expectations are that you are able to walk for 20min without stopping and you have a desire and ability to begin running. Your progression will take you from walking 20min in week 1 to running nonstop for 30min by the end of the semester.

In this lab explore fitness in the outdoors by incorporating cardio, body weight, and flexibility training varieties. Try out different techniques focused on mindful movement in any setting.

This class builds your toolbox of fitness formats in any space available to you from campus to the beach to the parks!

This section introduces fitness through walking. It is designed to introduce students to walking as a lifetime activity and to progressively develop cardiovascular endurance by walking.

Emphasis is placed on developing correct, safe and effective walking techniques, stretching, conditioning exercises, proper clothing, fluid needs, and injury prevention.

Students will monitor and demonstrate improvement in individual fitness walking performance.

This lab will provide students with a comprehensive experience playing and learning about flag football and pickleball. Students will learn sport rules, sport skills related to safely playing the games, and the benefits of recreational sports participation.

The course format will include skill practice, simulated competitive games, and fun! No experience in either sport is required and we will place on emphasis on fun and participation in both sports. All equipment required to play will be provided during the course.

You will need to be prepared to actively engage during the course including physical movement and team communication in both indoor and outdoor class settings. We will spend an equal amount of time during the semester on each sport.

This lab is appropriate for students who are new or experienced with yoga. It is ideal for those who are active in collegiate sports or consistent athletic activity.

Class activities will focus on a yoga practice that is gentle and allows students to practice breathing techniques, stretching, and self-myofascial release to support active recovery from more intense physical activity.

Participation in group exercises and activities designed to improve muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, cardiovascular, and anaerobic capacities.

Students will learn group exercises and activities to incorporate the ones they enjoy into their lifetime wellness plan.

Specific examples of exercises and activities include yoga, resistance training, circuit training, step cardio, core training and more.

Ability to run 3 miles continuously required.

Humans are considered among the best distance runners among all running mammals.

A half marathon is a running event covering 13.1 miles and is one the most popular disciplines of endurance sports.

In this lab, students will develop fitness and techniques required to complete the half marathon. Emphasis will be placed on running form, the aerobic and anaerobic cardiovascular system as they relate to endurance, and the proper nutrition required to complete a long distance event.

At the conclusion of the semester, students will have developed the appropriate fitness to complete a half marathon race.

This lab section will utilize the outdoor track to alternate running/sprinting and functional fitness moves with brief periods of recovery. Progression will be made by varying intensity, distance and recovery intervals to achieve cardiovascular fitness, strength and power.

No running experience required.

(Concurrent Endurance/Resistance Training)

This lab is intended for students with an intermediate to advanced level of fitness.

The hybrid athlete encompasses skill development in the following disciplines: END-Strength (hybrid endurance and strength), Endurance/Triathlon/Ultra racing, Military – Mission Specific and Selection Course preparation, OCR (Obstacle Course Racing), Powerlifting, Olympic Weightlifting, Hypertrophy, Sport Specific, Off Season / GPP (General Physical Preparedness).

The lab will be individualized to the student’s desired goals and abilities. At the conclusion of the lab, students will have developed the skills (though not necessarily the required fitness/strength) to compete in races and competitions across all of the above mentioned disciplines.

For experienced swimmers.

This lab is for students who have a basic knowledge and swimming skills to perform freestyle/backstroke. This course is design improve your basic skills in freestyle and backstroke as well as teach and improve your skills in breaststroke, sidestroke and butterfly.

It will also cover some advanced treading water and survival skills, and safety issues in and around the aquatic environment.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a grappling based martial art. It utilizes leverage, timing, and takes advantage of mistakes made from an attacker.

Students will learn technique that will help escape dangerous holds, strikes and ultimately result in a dominant position used to control your opponent and lead to a submission (without hurting attacker). The course also teaches self-defense moves such as bear hug, headlock and other escapes that can keep students from being injured during an attack.

BJJ hits all components of fitness including cardiovascular, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility and balance. It also teaches your mind to think critically; leading to smart, efficient decisions even during stressful situations.

The Lab is great for both male and female students, with no previous experience required.

This lab section is designed to give you flexibility in developing and participating in an individualized physical activity program.

Students will be introduced to a variety of lifetime activities that are safe, well-balanced, and can improve fitness (i.e., cardiovascular training, resistance and free-weight training, aerobic training, walking, or jogging).

Students in this lab section will explore new and safe lifetime-based physical activities in order to find those they enjoy for the development of wellness across the lifespan.

This lab engages students in a variety of sports that can be enjoyed across the lifespan.

Students will rotate through different sports over the course of the semester to give an opportunity to learn and practice the skills and rules of engagement.

Sports that students may engage in over the course of the semester include (but not limited to): ultimate frisbee, racquet sports, field sports, and court sports.

This lab teaches the basic moves appropriate to the seven styles of Jedi lightsaber. Students will then learn some basic stage combat so that they can prepare their own lightsaber duels and battles.

The class will also approach the different rules and styles of the two major federations of lightsaber fighting. All necessary equipment for in class instruction will be provided.

Have you ever watched a gymnast and wondered how they were able to achieve such feats of flexibility and strength? Ever think about how a dancer moves through space with such precision and control? Both disciplines utilize mobility to balance their body’s strength and flexibility.

Increasing the body’s overall active range of motion (i.e. mobility) will be the primary focus of the Mobility Training lab. Mobility is fundamental to sports involving both repetitive and non-linear movements (ex. Soccer, football, lacrosse, swimming, running, baseball etc.).

Developing mobility may lead to greater performance and injury prevention in sport and daily life. The Mobility Training lab will utilize the relevant exercises from a broad range of disciplines such as gymnastics, Pilates, yoga, and martial arts to achieve both an understanding and greater ability to increase mobility.

This course is geared towards students with individual needs within their physical activity as a result of specialized physical activity training, university-registered accommodation needs, or other circumstances.

Students will create and engage in their own physical activity plan under the guidance of the instructor. The plan will be for approximately 12 weeks during the semester and based on the student’s fitness/physical activity/performance goals.

When applicable, students will identify impacting conditions that may affect workout/fitness goals and create options to mitigate or address those impacts. Students will be introduced to and increase confidence using a fitness facility and the equipment and resources within.

Students interested must contact the instructor and provide justification for admittance to the course.

Do you ever feel like you don’t have time to exercise? With all the hustle of the daily grind, we often get so busy that we feel there is no time to fit a workout in.

This lab section offers interval style workouts that are designed to improve cardio, strength, power, flexibility and balance in a shorter amount of time. Workouts can be done with little to no equipment and can easily be incorporated into everyday routine without having to worry about traveling to a gym or purchasing expensive equipment.

Lastly, this course is for all skill levels as exercises are easily modified to match ability. Practical Fitness is realistic fitness!

Students should be able to run 15 minutes, without stopping, upon registration for this course.

This lab is intended for students who are already doing some running at least on a semi-regular basis. The class will explore various types of run training, including track intervals and fartleks, as well as grow your running ability to 30 min or more throughout the semester.

Students will be introduced to running form drills to enhance efficiency, as well as stretching routines and running specific general strength training to help keep you injury free.

Upon completion of this class, students should feel more than confident to jump in a local road race.

This class utilizes the basic styles of Latin dancing, predominantly Salsa, in a fun and energetic way to improve students’ cardiovascular endurance.

Through a variety of movements and sequences done individually, with a partner, and in a group, students will work their legs, arms and core, whilst getting their groove on to Latin tunes. No prior dance experience is necessary.

You will learn not only physical skills to keep yourself safe for a lifetime, but awareness skills that will help you avoid possible dangers in life. Through awareness and mindfulness practices, you will learn to recognize and defend yourself from potential threats.

he techniques you will learn are aikido-based, and are currently used by many police departments around the world due to not only their effectiveness, but due to the philosophical aspect of pacifism.

In this activity section, you will gain strength and flexibility in both the body and the mind through stretching and breathing exercises, and practice of the self-defense techniques.

In this lab section, students will be studying Tso Style Tai Chi. The Tso style is a branch of the historic root of the Chen style of Tai Chi from which other modern styles have evolved.

The class will include meditation and breathing exercises, stretching and strengthening movements, and core foundation of single-weighted movements. It will include Tso style foundation building and students will learn the Tso-style through the Chen 18 essential movement form.

Through the practice of Tai Chi, the class will address the dimensions of wellness presented in the WPA 101 lectures, and learn ways to connect practice to the goal of optimum health and wellness across the lifespan.

Total Body Conditioning involves participation in a variety of activities to improve the health-related components of fitness: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.

Students will be introduced to activities that can be performed at the gym, outside, and/or at home, depending upon the setting in which they most enjoy being physically active.

Lab will consist of a variety of forms of circuit based training, including a mixture of light running intervals, medicine balls, core, general strength, heavy sled pulls/pushes, and plyometrics.

Some circuits will involve equipment, while others will involve no equipment at all to demonstrate that aerobic, anaerobic, and strength training can be done anywhere at any time.

This lab meets on Greene Track.

Basic swim ability required.

This lab is intended for students with an intermediate to advanced level of fitness. Students will develop skills related to the three disciplines of a triathlon race: swimming, cycling, and running.

All standard triathlon race distances will be covered in the course (Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman, Ironman distances). In addition, the concepts of training periodization, weight training, mobility/flexibility, and nutrition as they relate to triathlon will be explored.

At the conclusion of the semester, students will have developed the appropriate fitness level and knowledge to complete a sprint distance triathlon.

It is recommended that students registering for this section have access to a bicycle.

This lab will focus on the body and mind discipline of Yoga which enables posture improvement, flexibility development and learned relaxation.

This lab will focus on learning an ancient posture series incorporating breath control and the body and mind relationship will be explored. The practice of meditation will be employed as an opportunity to experience stress management. Relaxation is Yoga practice's key.

This lab contains sequential stretches, postures and relaxation exercise, incorporated with self-reflection, breathing and meditation.

Students will assess their cardiovascular fitness levels at the beginning of the semester and then set goals to improve as a result of the implementation of walking and/or jogging (as well as participation in outside class cardiovascular activities they enjoy) to develop the cardiovascular component of their physical activity program.

Being an able swimmer is required for this class.

This lab is based on all-around well-rounded physical activity. Participants will perform various types of exercises immersed in the swimming pool.

Classes throughout the semester will take place in the deep or shallow water of the pool. Students will work with body weight, water resistance, foam weights, aqua belts, kick boards, and other swim equipment to create an aerobic workout.

Students will also learn different forms of physical activity to promote fitness in the water including resistance training, yoga, barre, endurance training, rhythm sequencing, and more.

By the end of the semester, students will have a creative and diverse selection of water aerobics exercises that they can use throughout their lifetime.

Includes instruction on basic weight training techniques, muscle groups, safety considerations, and an introduction to a variety of different types of lifts and exercises to develop the resistance component of their balanced physical activity program.

This course will focus on the world's most popular couples' dance, West Coast Swing. It is a true usable dance anywhere you go.

Students will learn the core patterns of the dance and also the connections necessary to establish a great partnership on the dance floor and with the music.

Additionally, students will learn to creatively use movement to carry on a "conversation" with their partner. The course is designed to improve physical health, mental health, and communication skills while learning social dance skills that are applicable to all life circumstances.

It's a fun and exciting way to express yourself while improving cardiovascular endurance. No prior dance experience necessary.

This lab meets off campus at times. Students are responsible for their own transportation. Yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning to unite.

In this lab students will work on uniting their body, mind, and spirit through the exploration of the Eight Limbs of Yoga. Students will learn the fundamentals of yoga postures, breath work, meditation, and basic philosophy while incorporating the elements of the outdoors.

In rain or shine, students will be expected to embrace the weather during their practice so they can learn how to live their yoga off the mat and into the world.

The objective of this lab section is to give students a more comprehensive experience than what is found in a studio based or gym based yoga class.

This class is appropriate for both beginner and advanced yoga students. Students will learn alignment principles in order to practice safely in class and in the community. 

The class will include breath work, physical postures, and meditation, while discussing how to incorporate the physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of wellness into a yoga practice.

Yoga is more than holding poses and twisting into funky shapes on a mat in a sweaty gym. When yoga originated approximately 5,000 years ago in India, ancient yogis weren’t practicing physical yoga much.

Though they did hold poses, what they considered asana (physical yoga) is very different than the yoga we practice today. Most importantly, their practice had little to do with working out. Instead, ancient yogis’ practice of yoga sought to find Oneness—to unite the mind, body, and spirit.

In fact, the word yoga stems from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means to yoke or to bring together. This extended 100-minute class will meet once a week to explore the various facets of yoga.

In addition to physical yoga, students can expect to learn Sanskrit language and chanting, canonical yogic texts, meditation, and the tenets of yogic philosophy.

This class is geared for students who are serious about not just studying yoga, but also living it on and off the mat.

Contact Us

Amy Olsen, Program Coordinator

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