If you’ve ever felt guilty about being a girly man, now’s your time to make some changes. Even if you’re not going to the gym for the health benefits, or aren’t self-conscious about your flabby thighs, at least show up to try out the schmancy new equipment.
At the beginning of this semester, the strength training equipment in Dodge Fitness Center was replaced with new machines. What’s more, student interest in personal fitness may be on the rise.
According to Bill Ebner, associate athletics director for facilities operations, strength equipment is leased from an outside company on a four-year basis (cardio equipment is leased on a two-year cycle, as it tends to wear out faster). Thus, every four years, a new lease is taken out on more up-to-date equipment. The new lease, combined with the cost of having the old equipment taken away and the new installed, cost about $200,000. “When the equipment wears out, it becomes a liability situation,” Ebner said. “Plus, new ideas and trends [in fitness machines] are always coming out, and we want to keep current.”
The advantage of having a gym that is entirely leased, according to Ebner, is that it provides a predictable schedule for equipment replacement. This way, funds for new equipment can be built into Dodge’s budget far in advance, and the gym never finds itself scrambling for cash when equipment is found to be decrepit. “We’re the only Ivy that has an entirely leased gym, which is good because we know that the money will always be there for new equipment,” he said.
But more than just having shiny new bench presses, Ebner’s concern is functionality. “Our major limitation is, of course, space,” he said. And with such limited room, managing the varsity athletics, club sports, and P.E. classes that all need gym time is difficult. “We try to maximize the space so that everyone has a good experience,” Ebner said.
Even if it is sometimes cramped, the gym has seen an increasing interest from Columbia users. According to Ebner, Dodge Fitness Center averaged 2,000 visitors a day when the gym area opened in 1998. Now it’s up to 3,000, and during the winter months traffic sometimes reaches 4,000.
Lizette Subach, supervisor of personal training at Dodge, said that her department has seen a surge in the number of students looking for fitness advice resulting in recent staff increases. Furthermore, Subach noted, the interest seems to come from a concern with health and well-being, not just body image. “There are always people trying to lose weight, but I think their interest is connected with more of a concern for overall health, not just the aesthetic,” she said. She added that it may be because “people are increasingly aware of the health risks from not being active.”
Student opinion seem to reflect that sentiment. “Most people just want to keep in good shape,” Sara Mangiapane, BC ’10 said. “America has that stereotype of being unhealthy.”
Many students also said that the college setting itself has a lot to do with one’s interest in exercise. Melissa Kandel, CC ’09, noted Columbia’s environment in particular as having an effect on exercise.
“I feel like people who get off campus and around the city are in decent shape, at least because they’re out walking more,” she said, “but there are also a lot of people who find themselves cooped up inside studying all the time—they’re probably not [as fit as they should be].”
Tony Coia, SEAS ’11, said that it’s because of Columbia’s academic rigor that he plans on exercising more. “After class, it’s a good stress reliever,” he said. “Good for the soul.”