Gym
Nightmare
Prior to suffering a knee injury, I never saw the
importance of joining a gym in that I had all the exercise I needed from constantly
playing soccer and dancing. But, once I was required to join after physical
therapy, it became part of my lifestyle. Not only did it further my progress in
getting my knee stronger, but the friends and people I have met throughout the
years at many different gyms will be some I will never forget. It has become
habitual for me and my dad to go together and we have developed such a closer
relationship because of it. We constantly push each other and motivate the
other to put in our best, every time. Gyms outpour with supportive members and
people who would love to see you reach your goals and I will never catch myself
without a membership again. It is of utmost importance that this same
experience is happening at our gym here at SCSU. Whether it be continuing a
habit from home, or wanting to start a healthy lifestyle when you start
college, the gym is one of the best places to relieve the stresses of college.
If
you take a walk to the Adanti Student Center and up a few flights of stairs,
the friendly, and sweat filled atmosphere will greet you on your right. Filled
with cardio and weight machines and a well-kept, clean locker room, separating
the genders, the Fitness Center at Southern Connecticut State University seems
to be fulfill their member’s needs and hold themselves to a standard where only
positivity is accepted. Being a member of this school gym requires you to pay a
fee of sixty dollars per semester and is offered to students, faculty, and even
alumni. If our semesters are about three and a half months long, this translates
to about eighteen dollars a month. After completing your daily workout routine
many times here, it becomes evident that the glorious gym you thought you would
be entering is not all it is cracked up to be. By using the membership money
wisely, it is necessary for the Fitness Center to install adequate water supply
and air conditioning along with promoting more social events to ensure students
and faculty will have a healthy and worthwhile workout.
Stepping foot into this facility, the most obvious things
you would notice would be sweat and beat red faces, but the less obvious are
hard work ethic and determination. Along with these characteristics, comes
dedication to a healthy lifestyle and the most important ingredient to this is
water. When you exercise, your body loses water through sweat as it tries to
cool itself down. This is water that needs to be sufficiently replaced for you
to maintain optimal health. Even though hydrating yourself involves
drinking a lot of water before physical activity, keeping this hydration
present is important while you actually participate in the activity. (Livestrong.com)
Most underestimate the importance of water and do not realize the risks of not
being completely hydrated, which is probably why it is not acted upon in the
fitness center. If you dance your feet along the white tiled and speckled floor
covered with sporadic spaces of sand and into the locker rooms, you will notice
a traditional silver water fountain peeking out of the wall. As you bend at the
waist and fill your water bottle, the cold sensation of the bottle on your hand
makes your mouth water and ready for rejuvenation. When actually taking a sip
of this, you will find more of a metal taste in your mouth rather than that
cold water you were expecting. This is because these water fountains are not
purified water, and just the regular tap water from the city of New Haven. New Haven's tap water comes from the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, and although regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), they have created reports that the water includes "lead levels that still often exceed medically recognized health standards." (United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2012) The lead is so potent
in the water that squirts out of the fountain, which many members shy away from
refilling their water bottles because they detest the taste. A danger is now
produces as many members go without drinking water during their workout because
this is their only option. Keeping
this in mind, it is crucial for the school gym to install at least one purified
water fountain because even as little as a two percent drop in body water can
cause small but critical shrinkage in the brain that can slow thinking, and
decrease concentration. Being at a college, these characteristics must be at a
peak to maximize learning and thinking abilities. When putting it into
perspective, installing a purified water fountain sounds expensive, but with
just one of these fundraising events, and splitting the proceeds in half, the
goal is attainable. If buying from Primo Water & Dispensers, it will be one
hundred and eighty dollars for hot and cold Pro Series Dispenser. This
dispenser will additionally self-clean so that it is efficient and a solid
investment for the members in that they will receive better quality water and
also lessen their risk of dehydration while working out.
As
it starts to get warmer, the air inside of the buildings gets more humid and
muggy and is deprived of oxygen. Now imagine over fifty bodies in a single
room, all generating extra body heat from exercising and sweating. Just this
past weekend, the SCSU Fitness Center was closed because of “high
temperatures”. This is unfair to the members as they pay a membership fee and
expect to have access to the gym every day of the week. When asked about the
gym conditions, Victoria, a freshman at SCSU stresses the simple fact that air
conditioning is needed in this workout facility: “It is so hard to concentrate
on your work out when you are gasping for sweaty air. We do pay sixty dollars a
semester for our membership to this gym so I think the least they can do is put
in air conditioning for us.” Granted, this is only one member’s opinion, but it
is a commonality for many who work out here to feel this way. It would be
difficult to close the gym and put in air conditioning in a pre-existing building,
but decreasing the risk of overheating and the growth of molds and mildews by
putting a cooling unit would outweigh the price immensely. Being exposed to
these allergens such as mold, mildew, and pollen can cause a person to have allergic
reactions, develop asthma, and respiratory problems. (hellomagazine.com) Reducing
the risk of the presence of external allergens would ensure that members will
have a healthy workout with no excuses.
Every so often, you will see a neon colored sign
exclaiming that an event tied to the fitness center is being held soon. These
events can range from Zumba to Insanity and are a great way for students who
attend SCSU to get out and have a good time with their friends, while working
on their fitness and getting healthy. However, it is only but every two months
will these signs pop up and it is time to increase the amount of events held
that are sponsored by the fitness center. By holding these for members of the
gym and non-members, will promote fitness campus wide and excite students to
incorporate daily exercise into their routine. Some people are just so
intimidated by actually going into a gym because of “gym rats” and
intimidation, but these fun events will show them that there is nothing to be
afraid of and that being healthy is the way to be. It is important to remember
that this gym is not like others just placed in the middle of plazas. The SCSU
Fitness Center is dead center on a college campus, so coordinating events such
as school wide running events or 5K marathons is a way for the students to come
together. As a side note, more than half of the residents that live on campus
make their way home on the weekends because of how “dead” the campus is on the
weekends. Hosting these events for students will draw students to stay here and
interact with the school on the weekends, and can also be a popular fundraising
event.
Fundraising is a broad topic and there are many options
for the Fitness Center to act upon to raise money for these causes. Generally
speaking, college students, especially here at Southern, love tee shirts. With
this being said, the Fitness Center can promote an event, whether it be a flag
football tournament or exercise class such as Boot Camp, where everyone can pay
a small amount to take the class and afterwards can tye dye a tee shirt. To
make this more attractive, half of the proceeds can be donated to an
association such as the American Cancer Association or American Heart
Association. Obviously, not every student who attends school here will have a
gym membership or even care about the gym itself, but including these causes
into the mix will help get members and non-members involved. These can also
provide exposure to the gym atmosphere for those who aren’t familiar and get
them to consider joining. The exposure is important because it is so common for
people who have never attended a gym to be overwhelmed and feel as though
everyone is watching only them but this is not the case. Sure, fundraising can
cost a few bucks and students may not be interested, but if held during the
week at a low cost such as five dollars, these fundraising events can make a
real impact.
In
comparison to schools that are similar to Southern, such as Eastern Connecticut
State University, the Fitness Center falls below. At Eastern, students have
access to not one, but two gyms that have air conditioning and purified water
fountains. Mirrors line the walls of these gyms and a membership is included in
the tuition. Furthermore, gyms that occupy the surrounding areas such as Planet
Fitness or Cardio Express, charge ten dollars per month and also include
classes and free tanning from time to time. What makes Southern different that a sixty
dollar membership fee is required per semester and why is this money not being
used resourcefully? Imagine a gym on campus that takes care of your health
needs and social needs. A more efficient environment to help you constantly
reach fitness goals, and keep you coming back for more. This perfect gym can be
established here at Southern if the money collected from events and memberships
was used in a smarter fashion, keeping the hydration and body temperature in
mind. How can Southern and the Fitness Center work together to alter the budget
and improve the facility?
Works Cited
"Air Conditioning: Cool." Hellomagazine.com. N.p., n.d. Web. Apr. 2014.
<http://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/201007053811/air-conditioning/health/risks/>.
"Importance of Drinking Water during
Exercise." LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 02 Jan. 2014. Web. 26 Apr.
2014.
<http://www.livestrong.com/article/339075-importance-of-drinking-water-during-exercise/>.
"Local Drinking Water Information." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. Apr. 2014.
<http://water.epa.gov/drink/local/index.cfm>.
Victoria Marino. Personal Interview. 4/9/2014
