Penn State Triathlon Club President Jill Dugan said she enjoys running outdoors as an escape from the long wait found at on-campus fitness facilities.

"Most of us would rather be outside and work outside than have to go to the gym and deal with crowds and wait in line," she said.

Chip Harrison, head strength training coach at the White Building, said January is usually a busy time for fitness facilities every year.

"The magnitude of difference this year is on par with other years," he said. "We see about a 15 to 20 percent increase in the number of people that are coming in on a daily basis."

Because of this increase, some students have switched to off-campus health centers.

"I didn't like the crowds," Meghan Hamilton (senior-management) said. "And I didn't like waiting to get on the machines."

As a result, she said she has decided to use an off-campus fitness facility.

Penn State Outing Club supervisor Ashley Sweda said other outdoor activities like hiking, cross-country skiing and snow shoeing offer a great aerobic workout without lines.

"You're not with banging machines and ... you're breathing fresh air," Sweda said.

Other students try to avoid lines by going to health and yoga centers downtown, which typically offer smaller class sizes and more individual attention.

Russell Spinney (graduate-history) said he was drawn to the Harmony Center for Yoga and Body Arts, 103 E. Beaver Ave., because of the on-campus fitness facility crowds.

"The fitness facilities were generally really crowded," Spinney said. "And I wasn't looking for weight lifting, I was looking for something to help me relax, help strengthen me, clear my mind."

Brittany Berman (junior-sociology and public relations) said she went to the Harmony Center for a new approach to working out.

"I think what made me go there initially was that I knew I needed something different than the regular old gym workout," she said. "It wasn't like a whole body, soul, spirit thing."

Harmony Center owner Laurie Bonjo said doing yoga brings together body, mind, and spirit, and increases mobility as well as the length of a runner's stride.

She said there has been an increase in students at the center this time of year, but the largest class is still about 10 people.

Erin James (graduate-rural sociology) said she does yoga at Movement Arts Studio, 140 Kelly Alley, because the smaller classes at the studio were more focused than the crowded atmosphere at the White Building.

"Every time I would go, there would be a line of, like, 40 people for the classes," James said.

However, the increased crowds this time of year is not limited to on-campus facilities, Harrison said.

"I'm sure there are people that come and look at the lines and they want to go off campus," he said.

"But they may run into exactly the same problem this time of year," he added.