Prioritizing your fitness can be tricky during university between the lack of time and the money to make expensive gym memberships worth it. 

Even if you miss that regular rush of endorphins, you might feel guilty for not spending as much time as possible studying for midterms or working on essays. Or maybe lack of motivation is the issue. 

Either way, it is time to put down the books and find a workout that will add some variety to your routine. Saskatoon now has a good offering of fitness facilities that specialize in activities from parkour to rock climbing — but only a handful have student discounts for you to snatch up.

There is now a trendy way to sculpt and tone your muscles. By combining elements of ballet, yoga and pilates, Local Barre is a fun, low-impact workout. And it has the best rates by far.

For the first month, students have access to unlimited classes for $95. If you end up enjoying it, you get a 30 per cent discount on their 5-class or 10-class packs, which are $85 and $155, respectively. That works out to $12 or less per class. 

Group classes are a great way to motivate you off the couch and pushing through high-intensity interval training. Crew Rowhouse has 45-minute classes to HIIT your whole body — but still going easy on your joints. 

Students have a 15 per cent discount on all membership options. They sell classes in packs but be thrifty with whichever you choose. If you believe you will attend all six classes in one month, opt for that and save yourself $22. 

Looking for something to do with that crisp $20 you saved? The drop-in spin classes at Ryde YXE and LifeCYCLE are both under $15. From a price standpoint, the spin studios are comparable as they both offer 20 per cent student discounts. Why not try both and choose your favourite?

If nothing has caught your attention yet, maybe you are interested in a different type of workout. At Freedom Fitness, some of their classes have a bit of everything: cardio, agility, body-weight exercises and strength training. They market their programming as “fun workouts, functional fitness.”

Student memberships are $60 a month as long as you sign up for two months minimum. With that, you have unlimited access to all classes, the weight room, cardio area and sauna. Freedom Fitness also has spin and yoga classes. 

For some, these options still might be a bit pricey. Keep in mind, full-time on campus students pay almost $70 a year in recreation fees to use the Physical Activity Complex. 

As a student, you automatically pay those fees so that you have access to over 80 pieces of cardio equipment, free weights and a 40 ft. climbing wall with the Fit Centre. 

Not to mention, they have regular yoga, zumba, spin and step classes throughout the week, as well as two swimming pools with scheduled lane swim. It is hard to make excuses why you had no time for the gym this week if you could have easily scheduled a spin class right after physics.

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Nykole King/ Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Victoria Becker/ Photo Editor