By KAROLINA JURESIUTE
Senior Reporter
She comes in the classroom glowing with energy, ready to lead the cycling class. Fixes her hair, gets up on her bike at the front of the room facing all the other bikes, fastens her feet in and turns the music on to start the workout.
Olivia Yandel, director of the Wellness Center, teaches the spin class every Tuesday and Thursday at noon and 5:15 p.m. In addition, she leads the high intensity interval training class every Monday and Wednesday at noon and 5:45 p.m. and Friday at noon. Yandel has been active her whole life. Her mother taught water aerobics and workout classes herself. Yandel, her brother and her stepdad then got really into the weightlifting, and it was their family thing. Her brother owns a gym, and their family enjoys running 5Ks during the holidays.
Even when Yandel is not exercising, she enjoys being outside instead of sitting at home. Always prioritizing her wellness. Nothing can break Yandel’s everyday workout routines even when she is eating for two. Yandel is in her second trimester and couldn’t be more excited to become a mother but also does not want to abandon her fitness classes. “I’ll do it up until as long as I can,” Yandel said. “My plan right now is just to do it as long as I can and as long as I’m comfortable. I probably won’t be able to go as hard or as intensely as I want to because obviously, I have to listen to my body.”
Yandel uses the exercise as her preparation for labor. She said if she can get through a hard set or 10 seconds of a hard exercise, she can definitely get through labor.
“Training my mind right now and also my body, but mostly my mind, because labor is definitely a mind thing over physical,” Yandel said.