Hamline students, are you ready for something new and improved in the weight room? Well, say goodbye to the old weights and hello to the new and improved ones.
The Clarence Nelson weight room, located in Walker Field House, is home to the training side of Hamline University and allows both athletes and non-athletes on campus to work out during their free time.
For those who frequent the weight room, it is known that people are in there at all times, from working out on the racks, the machines and into the dumbbell territory.
Overall, the weight room as a whole is quite convenient and attractive for Hamline students, but there were many complaints surrounding the dumbbell section of the gym.
“They are just so old,” said sophomore Ryan Brauer, an athlete on the Hamline Men’s Baseball Team. “Every time I lift them up to do any kind of workout, they feel like they are about to fall apart.”
The problem with the dumbbell section is that the metal on them move around rather than remaining stationary like they are supposed to, which would prevent injury or improper form for anyone who uses them.
“I have to do something about this,” said junior Nolan Schoonveld, an athlete on the Hamline Men’s Baseball team and Vice President for the Hamline University Student Athlete Advisory Committee(SAAC). “If we get enough people to get something going, we can get a new dumbbell area in the weight room. How great does that sound?”
Along with being the Vice President of SACC, Schoonveld handles the finance department within the student organization.
“I mean, I already oversee how much money goes into our funding, so I know we can definitely fit this within our budget,” Schoonveld said.
He first introduced the idea in a SAAC meeting, where he was met with only positive responses and people willing to help the cause.
When he finally got enough people to join in on the change, Schoonveld did not realize how many levels this request had to go through in order to be finalized.
“This is way harder than I thought it would be,” Schoonveld said. “I thought we just had to get it passed the administration, but it goes way beyond that.”
Once Hamline approved of it, the request had to go through the SAAC board around the country, due to it being a SAAC funded request.
However, Schoonveld was not reluctant to give up. He stuck with it and saw to it that the weight room would get the dumbbell area it deserved.
“We did it! The weight room is going to be getting new weights and will only make the gym more exciting to come to and workout in,” Schoonveld said.
When unloading the weights the night of Wednesday, Dec. 6, even the head strength and conditioning coach, Chris Hartmann, had some excited words to say about the weights.
“I think they look great,” Hartmann said. “This is only going to help people lift better without the worry of a weight falling apart on them.”
With the new weights completely ready to go, people are flocking into Walker Fieldhouse to both get a look at and use them as much as they can. So, if you would like to be a part of the new trend in the gym, go visit the weight room and give them a go!