Pilots Prevent
Recreational Services
February 9, 2021
COVID may have hamstrung our usual workout routines, but University of Portland’s recreation staff are hard at work coming up with ways to keep the UP community active this spring.
First up: the brand-new outdoor gym, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Venture over to the west side of Beauchamp Recreation Center and you won’t be able to miss the giant white tent outfitted with a heater and lights, where everything from kettlebells to stationary bikes are ready and waiting to help you get your heart rate up. Take a quick video tour.
The outdoor gym can hold 20 people at a time, first-come, first-served, and has to be set up and taken down by staff each day. Yes, that means every medicine ball, every dumbbell, and every rowing machine gets carried in and out of Beauchamp three times a week so students, staff, and faculty can have a safe place to work out with equipment. But Kaitlin Bourne, UP’s recreation operations program manager, says all the extra effort is worth it. “Our first day was February 1 and we had 30 guests come throughout the day,” she says, “and it grows more every time it’s open.” To help avoid a traffic jam of sorts, staff are encouraged to work out from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-6 p.m., when students typically aren’t around.
You’ll need to bring your ID card, a mask, and a water bottle—especially since Beauchamp is closed to visitors and you won’t be able to use its water fountains or restrooms. If you have a yoga or fitness mat you might want to bring that too. But most important, you’ll need to submit a Facility Waiver online before you show up. When you arrive, you’ll be asked a few COVID symptom screening questions and will get your temperature checked.
If you’d rather work up a sweat at home with classes like HIIT (high intensity interval training), barre, yoga, Zumba, and conditioning, you can log in to one of the 11 fitness classes taught by UP students and live-streamed each week on MS Teams and/or Zoom. Email Bourne and ask to be added to the Rec Services Virtual Fitness Team, which will give you the ability to attend any online fitness class by just “joining the call” at the scheduled class time—and there’s a class every day of the week.
“Our instructors are just rocking it,” says Bourne. “The Zumba classes are really fun on Zoom, and the HIIT classes are doing really well, with 10 to 15 participants in each class.”
What if you can’t find a class that fits in your schedule? No worries (or excuses)—you can work out to one of the many archived recordings of previous classes. With around 10 classes offered each week since March, that’s a lot of workouts to keep you busy.
“I’m so excited about this,” says Bourne. “You just click on the class you’re interested in, find the tab called ‘archived classes’ at the top, and you’ll find every class we’ve had since March.”
Bourne is quick to give senior Brie Curran, who’s been teaching fitness classes for UP since she was a first-year student, a shoutout for helping to get all of those classes live-streamed and archived online. The program has been so successful Bourne has had fitness instructors from across the country reaching out for advice. “I’m really proud of what our instructors are doing.”
While rec services has your daily workouts covered, don’t forget that Outdoor Pursuits is ready to make your weekend warrior dreams come true.
“Our shop is designed for someone with absolutely no gear and they want to get outside,” says Matthew Libby, Outdoor Pursuits program manager. “We’re able to provide pretty much everything, from socks to hard-core mountaineering equipment.”
That’s right, students, staff, faculty—even alumni—can rent everything needed for a camping trip at the coast or a climb on Mount Hood, right down to the socks. Think tents, sleeping bags, camp stoves, boots and ski pants, plus inflatable kayaks and paddle boards that can be transported in any car. And it’s all far cheaper than the usual outfitters—some of it is even free.
“You’ll save a lot of money,” says Libby. “And we do all of the cleaning. Just bring it back to us not damaged or broken, and not excessively dirty. Like, don’t roll your sleeping bag up in the mud.”
The rental shop, bike shop, and bike repair shop are open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from noon-6 p.m., and the gear is reservable up to two weeks in advance. Fill out the rental agreement online, then call, email or stop by to place your order.
Although Outdoor Pursuits had to put its guided trips on hold for now, they’re still bringing you the option to go night skiing or snowboarding at a discount. Make a reservation for one of the Friday trips this spring, then head up to Mount Hood Meadows to meet the trip leader for your gear voucher and lift ticket, good from 2 p.m.-9 p.m. Equipment rental is $34 and lift ticket is $29.
“As soon as it’s safe to do so, we’ll start to offer guided outdoor trips,” says Libby. Meanwhile, they’ll get you set up with everything you need to enjoy all of the outdoor adventures Oregon has to offer.
“A lot of times students will say, ‘What should I do?’ and we’ll give them suggestions based on what the weather allows,” says Libby. “We really want to help students take full advantage of all the equipment we have.”
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5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
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