Recommending New Strength Equipment in the EOU Fitness Center
For a small college, we have a really nice fitness facility that was added onto Quinn Coliseum about a year before I came to Eastern Oregon University. That was 2001, and much of the equipment hasn't been replaced since then. Usually, fitness centers cycle through equipment regularly because of the constant use. Lately, I have noticed that some of our equipment has become dilapidated. I feel there is a need for upgrades. So, I went down and talked to the facility boss about this and we are planning to go take a look at the equipment and see if we can push for some funding to get new equipment.
I'm particularly interested in a new fixed weight circuit as a top priority, but I'm open to suggestions for any equipment. I would like feedback and recommendations on what equipment we should get. Have you worked out on any equipment that you particularly liked? If not, you may want to research some equipment options online and provide links to what looks good? What I am wanting is some advice and discussion on this topic.
I'm opening this up to both classes (in La Grande and online) because I figure we can get good input from everyone. Those of your outside of La Grande may have some experience with weight equipment at your local gym that you really like. Please provide your responses as comments below.
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Comments
I would like to suggest that perhaps a fundraiser would be a great way to contribute to funding once it has been established what types of equipment would be best. In addition, perhaps a small research study taken of what equipment is currently used and what equipment students would like to have available would be very beneficial as well. This could be conducted via email and would make for an excellent project!
Thank you. Melissa Williamson
I would suggest the ab coaster. It's the newest piece of equipment at my gym, and I love it! However, this is the only new piece of equipment at my gym. Nothing has been updated since the 80's and it all looks old and getto, so I understand the desire to update equipment. Having newer equipment would be safer as well as bring in new members to the gym.
I have a treadmill at home and love it. I think that this is a great exercise machine and would be of great use in the gym. In addition, an eliptical is suppose to be really nice too as you are working out both your upper and lower body. With our lovely snow filled winters these machines are likely to be put to a lot of use.
Thanks, Melissa Williamson
I like all of the ideas stated above. I think that more ab exercise machines in the weight room would be VERY beneficial. There is not much for "ab" machines. In my opinion there are already enough elipticals and there was a new one put in last year if I'm not mistaken. However tradmills and elipticals are both machines that will always be in use...EXPECIALLY in the winter season! I'm on the track team and have noticed that in the past there was always a line for the incline and decline bench/es. It would be nice to have at least another decline bench. Also, the idea of a survey would be a VERY good way of going about things. It would give users a say in things...VERY good idea! I like it!
I too am on the track team as well as the soccer team here at Eastern. I also work in the fitness center. One of the main things that I think we need new and more of are treadmills, one is always broke and the other two aren't all that new. We have so many elipticals and like Kimmy said they just added a new one in there last year. I think we should have at least 5 treadmills in there, when doing sprint workouts for track we have to try to beat out all the other people who work in the fitness center for a treadmill and than we have them for a few hours and people get angry. We also need new cycling machines, some of these are ancient and most of them are broken. I guess you could say a lot of new equipment is needed and it would be great to get new ones and replace the old.
I agree with a lot of what has been said. I think that a survey and fundraising would be great for the weight room because I always felt like I was battling others to use a lot of the equipment that was in Quinn. I do think that there is an extreme need for treadmills with the broken one and how little there are to begin with. It also appeared that incline/decline benches were needed because I have noticed when I use them with friends that people tend to be waiting for them. More exercise/ weight balls could be nice too because there did seem to be people waiting for those as well.
Thanks for the comments. We are going to take a look at it tomorrow. More suggestions are welcome. Think in terms of, "if I had $60,000 to spend, what would I buy for fitness?" That would buy about 7 treadmills, a couple bikes, and incline/decline benches. That is what I am hearing we need. Is that how you would spend it?
I think new treadmills are of importance. All 3 of them seem to break every other week. And none of them can reach a pace fast enough for everyone to utilize. You can walk/run but anything more intense cannot be reached on the equipment we have which hold some people back from getting the desired workout.
I also though fund raisers and possibly letters asking for equipment donations from fitness clubs could be a really good idea.
I would like to suggest new stationary bikes. because most of them are really old and are breaking up. I personally like them because they are great for when you are hurt for a sport that you play and need to be moving still.
I would like to suggest getting a new preacher bench. The one we have now is crooked, falling apart, and getting ready to break. More treadmills would also be nice because it is hard to find a open machine, because of such a high demand for them.
I would suggest replacing some of the older stationary bikes with new ones. Also, I think that another good way to go about getting suggestions for new equipment would be to have students fill out surveys. If these surveys were filled out as students finished using the equipment, they would have a good idea of what improvements could be made.
Keep the suggestions coming. These are good. Many of your are mentioning stationary bikes, but there are several styles. Are you talking about an indoor cycling (spin) bike, or something that is a recumbent seated bike?
Also, you may want to take a look at these links to see what you think (you will note an indoor cycling bike there too):
FreeMotion
http://www.freemotionfitness.com/webapp/wcs/s...
Nautilus
http://www.nautilus.com/nautilus_brand_commer...
Cybex
http://www.cybexintl.com/products/strength/Ea...
http://www.cybexintl.com/products/strength/FT...
Indoor Cycling w Power
http://www.saris.com/c-8-indoor-cycles.aspx?s...
A fund raiser is a good idea, however, the yield from a fund raiser is not likely to even put a dent in the costs of obtaining new, updated, and more variety of equipment. I suggest that someone write a grant. People give out grant all the time and writing a grant is fairly simple. With one grant you could obtain $5,000, possibly more depending on the funder. The trick is just finding funders that want to fund athletic related things. I would definitely be willing to team up with someone who wants to find funders and apply for a grant.
I'm with Salome and Jayna new stationary bikes would be really nice for the gym. At the rec center where I would work out back home one thing I did almost every time was the stationary bike. One thing that would be nice to have are newer models. For example ones with screens that tell you how far you go and have different work out modes so you can get a better work out in. Also a rower is something I love using at the gym too.
Deneil, you have a good idea with the grant because we would probably need to pull from several funding sources, and raise much more than $5000 for the next several years. It would probably be closer to $100,000 in the next 10 years to upgrade equipment. The most appropriate source for replacement would be student fees, since that is what some of the fees are intended to do (i.e. update of equipment that students use). I think awareness of the problem is the first step, then followed with concerted efforts to raise the money. Even if some grants bought us a few new treadmills or bikes, that would be a great start.
Also, I heard another perspective on the lack of treadmills/bikes: get outside and exercise instead. That was actually some good advice, something I have been doing for a few years now. Studded tires on a bike work great for winter riding in La Grande. However, the clothing costs can be very expensive, but workouts outside offer quite a few extra benefits.
I really wish we still had a pool here at EOU. I used to love swimming and taught lessons for six years. I have gotten out of it over the past few years however, because the Veterans Memorial Pool is awful. I can't stand to be there; it is dirty badly staffed. I think we should invest in some endless pools. They give you the expanse of a large olympic size lap pool, but only take up minimal amount of space. Furthermore, because they are so much smaller- the up-keep is much less of a hassle and because they are only three feet- they may not even require lifeguard supervision. I'm not sure on that one though. The water resistance can be adjusted to the swimmer's preference and you never have to slow for turns. They are so cool and fun.
There are grants out there for a lot more, I'm just working on the little ones right now while I learn the process. You may find multiple funders that would make up a fourth to half of what you are asking for. The Student Fee Committee will begin meeting soon, perhaps I could mention it.
I also use studded tires in the winter. And I just wear normal clothes, so don't let that be a deterrent; studded tires are a very good investment and lots of fun. Also, even though I use studded tires, it is so nice to be able to come inside where it is warm and workout in the winter. The cold air hurts my lungs sometimes and makes me cough and this makes sense, because I read a study a few years ago that demonstrated that running (and biking I'd assume) in freezing weather isn't great for your lungs or body. So, "get outside and exercise instead" is a good perspective for the summer, but in the winter, the inside treadmills/bikes are very nice to have.
I agree with Deneil. I love swimming, I use to swim for a team. I think just re opening or getting the endless pools would be great to have here at EOU. I know I would use either one all the time.
I just realized that some may not know what endless pools are. Endless pools are roughly the size of a hot tub. They create a current that pushes against you as you swim; so because you are swimming against a current, you stay in the same place. This is why it is called endless (you never reach the end). The current can be adjusted from low to high depending on how hard a swimmer wants to swim. I just posted a video on the site so everyone can see what it is.
Interesting recommending about endless pools as a solution to our pool problem. I'll check into this possibility.
Regarding the cold being bad for your lungs, this seems to be a common misconception. I don't know that there is much research support for exercise in the cold being harmful for your cardiovascular system. It can trigger asthma for asthmatics. However, if there is some compelling evidence against exercise in the cold I would like to see it. I have specifically read about research with cyclists that does refutes the notion that exercise in the cold bad. One of the best cardiovascular exercises, cross country skiing, often takes place with very cold temperatures. That said, I agree that we need the indoor equipment because exercise in the cold is a deterrent to many people. Any opportunities we can provide to facilitate exercise is good.
I have heard as well that exercising in the cold is no problem as long as it isn't really really cold. If that is the case your lungs could get frost bite.
Great news on progress with our fitness center equipment! We are moving very fast with this and could have some new equipment in place for Winter term. I have been working closely with Rob Cashell (EOU Athletic Director), who has taken the ball and done most of the leg work on this after I broached the issue with him a few weeks ago. Dan Mielke, our Physical Activity & Health division chair, has also been helpful. We're looking at a plan right now that could have the following equipment here soon: 3 new treadmills, new indoor cycling bikes, a replacement of the cable crossover, new squat racks, new preacher curl bench, and new incline benches. Then, in 4 years, we would be able to replace the fixed weight equipment if everything goes as planned. It appears that all you had to do to get what you want is tell me about it and, in turn, I go talk to the right person and we get it. Simple. Thanks for your input. Sorry Deneil, no endless pool on the list yet.
On a somewhat related note, I am pushing to make the fitness center and lobby a WiFi hotspot, so hopefully that will be in place soon. Then, those of you in La Grande can get your workout and log your exercises online all in the same place. Plus you can enjoy doing homework for my classes before and after your workout. After all, fitness does stimulate better thinking. That has been proven repeatedly by recent research.
I would think that more han one endless pool would be beneficial as isn't it true that only one person at a time can use it or do they make larger ones to accomodate more than one swimmer at a time? Just curious.
I have only seen them for one swimmer, but then I haven't looked at them for any other reason then personal, so maybe they do???
Have a great week!!
Susie
I know there are grants availabe and perhaps the school would qualify for one. We just have a small exercise room at my work and it is used all the time. We have limited equipment, but each year we do a little fund raiser and try and purchase a new piece of equipment annually. The employees all love it and I would imagine that people who normally don't exercise use this room because of it's convenience.
Here is the list of items scheduled to be installed in the EOU fitness center Winter 2010:
8 pro elite power cage barbell lifting station with platform
8 pro elite multi angle bench
3 Precor commercial treadmill
2 sets of 5-55 @ 5 pound increments GP industries unilock dumbbells
2 dumbbell Racks
2 pro 300 pt cycle ops spinner bikes with meter
2 Comp 200E spinners bikes
1 Model D Concept rower
2 408 precor olympic bench
2 410 precor olympic incline
1 412 precor olympic decline
1 202 precor preacher curl
1 320256 Prem series plyometric boxes
1 FS53 Paramount Lat/Row 250 lb stack
1 PF200 Paramount functional trainer
3 weight trees