Rec Centers...or Fitness Clubs?

[DFW HOYA]

"Baines oversees a new student recreation facility jam-packed with gravity trainers, spinners, an aerobic workout room with seven large flat-screen TVs, elliptical trainers outfitted with personal TV monitors, six racquetball courts, a lap pool, a 40-foot tall rock climbing wall, a 60-foot-long bouldering wall, an indoor soccer field, a 15,000-square-foot weight room, two sand volleyball courts, an elevated indoor track, treadmills with views of the skyline, a coffee shop, and a place to rent tents and canoes. Oh – and a 7-foot outdoor waterfall and wading pool, where students sunbathe and socialize. "That area's been so popular we had to buy more chaise longues," Ms. Baines said.

This isn't your father's Yates Field House, I guess.

www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/0728dnmetclimbing.e8b960.html

[Coast2CoastHoya]

I think it's a really good thing. Gyms back in the day were state of the art, for the most part right? Why not for college students paying through the nose (well, their parents/loans/schollies paying through the nose) in this era? I think top notch physical education and health go hand and hand with top notch academic and intellectual education and health. Plus, better athletic/rec facilities could encourage empowerment and healthier behaviors in general, and open up athleticism and activity, to tons of people who can't, won't, or don't want to participate in traditional gym activities.

When I was abroad at the University of Auckland, the gym was much like the one described in the article. It was as much a social meeting place as a place to work out, and that seemed to create a sense (at least psychologically) of activity, sociality, and healthiness on campus. Of course, there was also a killer pub that served "jugs" (i.e. 1-litre beers) for NZ$3 (US$1 at the time), so it goes both ways. Either way, it was sweet to go rock climbing before geology class.

[kchoya]

Anyone click on the link in the article to the UT "gym"?

www.utrecsports.org/facilities/locations/greaq.php - A poolside cafe, lounging ledge and a 20 person heated spa? I've stayed at resorts that aren't that nice, not to mention the oodles of young coeds.

[AustinHoya03]

kchoya said:

Anyone click on the link in the article to the UT "gym"?

www.utrecsports.org/facilities/locations/greaq.php - A poolside cafe, lounging ledge and a 20 person heated spa? I've stayed at resorts that aren't that nice, not to mention the oodles of young coeds.

What that link doesn't show is the terribly undersized weight room for a school with 50,000 students. Or the lines for the ellipticals and treadmills, complete with waiting list. I bought a weight set last Christmas and now I work out solely at home. Yates might be muggy and the weights might be old (anyone else ever get little metal specks in their eyes when doing a dummbell bench press?) but at least it is the right size to handle GU's student body. Give me a big, smelly gym over a nice, tiny one any day.