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Fitness Center Redesign a Huge Hit

Fitness Center Redesign a Huge Hit

New equipment on the weight room floor of the re-designed fitness center adds color and functionality.
New equipment on the weight room floor of the re-designed fitness center adds color and functionality.
Photo Credit: Marilee Gallagher '14

With the addition of two new athletic programs earlier this year, Chestnut Hill College saw the need to increase the offerings in the Jack and Rosemary Murphy Gulati Complex Fitness and Recreation Center to better suit the needs of its athletes and the entire campus population.

Returning from their summer vacation, students found the new and improved fitness center, complete with new strength training equipment including power racks and the addition of more rowing machines, as well as an entire redesign, moving all of the cardio equipment to the mezzanine.

According to Lynn Tubman, director of athletics, the redesign was prompted after the College evaluated how the campus community used the fitness center.

“We realized that we were growing and that the center needed to meet the expanding needs of the population,” she says.

Tubman adds that the redesign happened simultaneously with a renewal of the College’s contracts with the exercise equipment companies that have provided the machines for the fitness center since its opening in December 2010. This provided the College the opportunity to upgrade certain equipment that was outdated while also adding new and state-of-the-art equipment.

The new geography of the fitness center works to the benefit of all students, not just the athletes. Students who are more comfortable with cardio workouts can remain on the mezzanine where all of the treadmills, stationary bikes and ellipticals are now located and students more interested in strength training and calisthenics can work out on the ground level.

Dylan Hyland ’16, a member of the sprint football team, believes the new equipment such as the rowing machines and power racks, will help the athletes be able to better train and increase their odds of having successful seasons. Hyland also added that the new set-up better allows the teams to “work out at the same time.”

Julie Heaton ’16, a member of the women’s softball team, also appreciates the changes.

“The new design of the fitness center is unbelievably awesome,” says Heaton. “All of the new equipment not only caters to sprint football but it is a fantastic set-up for everyone.”

Tubman, who spearheaded the project, believes that being able to make the updates to the fitness center will serve everyone in the campus community, especially the athletic teams.

“Before the redesign, the fitness center was not able to accommodate large team workouts,” Tubman says, “but now, with the new setup, teams can practice together without affecting the general population’s use of the facility.”

“The remodel is great,” added senior Dan Welch, who is a certified personal trainer and member of the men’s basketball team. “The addition of the extra racks and monkey bar setup make exercise selection a lot more unique and diverse than previously.”

The redesign by Gym Source even earned a mention in the National Fitness Trade Journal. New equipment, including a state-of-the-art Torque X-Rack system with 12 Olympic platforms and Octane LateralX elliptical machines, were also installed, allowing students and student-athletes to train like never before.

“The customized 54’ X-rack was the perfect fit for a much more functional and efficient experience for all of our users- student-athletes, students, faculty and staff,” Sandy Dickson, director of fitness and recreation, said in an interview with NFTJ. “To say we are loving it would be a huge understatement.”

To read the full story, which appears on page 18 of the FALL 2015 issue of NFTJ, click here (http://www.nationalfitnesstradejournal.com/nftj-fall-2015/).

--Nick Kowalski ’16, Editor in Chief, The Griffin

Posted In: Athletics News