New USF REC program offers fitness classes in Spanish, Portuguese

Get ready for a new fitness program in tres, dos, uno or três, dois, um. 

Regardless of their native language, USF students can now join workout classes hosted in Spanish or Portuguese through Fuerza Fit, a new fitness program at the Recreation and Wellness Center (REC).

Ana Sayuri, a Brazilian sophomore integrated public relations and advertising major, said the program will give international students a larger sense of community at USF.

“I know a lot of people who, even though they love to study here, still don’t feel at home,” Sayuri said. “Sometimes we all get tired of speaking English the entire day, so it is very cool what The REC is doing for us.”

The program launched on Wednesday with a cycling class taught in Spanish by instructor Carlos Coll, a junior econometrics major from Peru.

Coll said he had been preparing for this class since the beginning of summer and was excited to be USF’s first Hispanic fitness instructor to teach in their first language, he said.

“I was about to suggest adding fitness classes in Spanish when I received the news — and I couldn’t be more excited,” Coll said.

Annika Larson, the REC’s group fitness coordinator, said the program’s first class had 26 participants, just three short of the maximum capacity of 29 in the cycling studio.

Larson said the program’s classes are held 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, with registration opening 25 hours in advance.

Classes will alternate weekly between cycling, yoga, zumba, cardio dance and cardio step, Larson said. The class format, language and instructor will be announced every Monday on the REC’s website. 

Camila Navas, a senior political science major from Puerto Rico, said she had taken workout classes at the REC with some instructors and could tell their first language was Spanish. 

“After I noticed, I thought it would be interesting for the instructors to teach in Spanish,” Navas said. “If they already did great in English, I am sure they would do great in their first language.”

The program was created because the group fitness team has a lot of instructors who speak languages other than English, such as Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Polish and German, Larson said. 

Depending on how well Fuerza Fit goes this semester, Larson said the REC may incorporate some of these other languages into the program.

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Spanish and Portuguese were chosen to kickstart the program because most of the REC’s instructors have learned to speak one or both languages during their educational careers, Larson said.

Coll said another reason both languages were chosen to launch the program was that the Hispanic and Brazilian communities are starting to be more present at USF.

As of fall 2023, 23.8% of USF’s student population self-identified as Hispanic, making it the 

second biggest community at USF. They only trail behind white students, who make up 49% of the student population.

The Brazilian community is becoming one of the most “prominent” student populations on campus, according to USF World’s website.

Sayuri and Navas both agreed that even though they love going to The REC, some of their international friends aren’t as confident about attending English-only workout classes.

Coll said some international students don’t take fitness group classes in English because they fear they won’t understand the instructions. 

“I have had to introduce international students to instructors before classes to help them feel more comfortable,” Coll said.

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Just because the program is taught in Spanish or Portuguese doesn’t mean students who don’t speak the languages can’t attend or won’t understand the classes, Coll said.

Larson said the instructions at the beginning of the class are restated in English to ensure everyone is on the same page before class begins.

One of Larson’s favorite things to do in college was connecting with students who spoke a different language, she said. Now, as the REC’s group fitness coordinator, she said she wants to ensure these students have a space to work out comfortably.

“I have always admired our Spanish and Portuguese communities because I know they are so close together,” Larson said. “I hope the program gives them another sense of belonging within our university’s studios.”