Power 50 is a group fitness class provided by Northern Michigan University. The 50 minute fitness class is led by instructor Lynne Mestnik and is a weightlifting class focused on getting a full-body workout down in under an hour.

“I saw some older people doing it in Florida,” Mestnik said. “And I thought ‘wow,’ because I was a little intimidated that I couldn’t do that. And when they could do it, I thought ‘I’m gonna go in’ and they helped me learn how to do it.”

A group of elderly seniors is what led Mestnik to want to bring a power 50 class back to Northern Michigan.

“Northern is always very accommodating, just wonderful to us. They said tell us what you need. So we got those bars and the kids jumped on it. That’s how we started Power 50,” Mestnik said.

Mestnik described Northern as very supportive when asking to add another class into the group fitness schedule. The class itself uses bars, hand weights, bands and other training equipment.

“It’s just a whole body combination of big bang 50 minutes,” Mestnik said. “You’re in, you’re out but you got a complete body workout.”

The class hits all your body parts while also targeting forgotten segments such as the core and your hip flexors.

Anika Bos, a Nursing major, has been coming to Power 50 the whole semester and enjoys the stress relief it provides. Bos’s main motivation for coming back to train each week is her friends coming with and participating.

“It’s a good way to relieve some stress and just to get your mind off other things,” Bos said.

Lauren Blaske, a nursing major, has motivated to join her friends too.

“Obviously the instructors make it really fun. They make it enjoyable to workout,” Blaske said. “Anytime that Lynne tells a personal story from her life is just really entertaining and funny.”

Anna Christiansen, a fellow nursing major, enjoys when the other instructor, Charise, joins the class as she adds in other unique movements to do. Christiansen said her favorite movement was the clean which is when you move the bar from the ground then explode it up to your shoulders.

“It’s your time that you’ve dedicated to that you dedicate time in the morning to take a shower, to brush your teeth. I think you should dedicate time to do it,” Mestnik said. “To join, you can ask at the front desk, and then they’ll take you to our room or you can get a day pass. Yeah, it’s easy.”

Students that are interested in signing up for the Power 50 or any other fitness class can visit the Northern Michigan University Rec Sports (nmu.edu). to sign up for a session.