If you’ve been to the Rec Center in the past week, you’ve surely noticed that the forklifts have rolled out and the caution tape has been lifted, signs that the newly renovated fitness room is open for business. With twelve new cardio pieces, two new benches with dumbbells and a whole new line of strength machines, this new fitness haven is about 400 square feet larger thanks to the elimination of the classroom that once stood at its center. It wasn’t an easy feat. The project took nearly three months to complete with a construction crew, and a full day of student workers cleaning the space from top to bottom. So why all the trouble? According to the Rec Center’s Assistant Director of Fitness Jackie Lebeau, the main goal of the project was to provide more options for members. We’ve all been there, especially around New Years’ resolution time. You get to the gym only to find that you can’t run becuase the tredmills are all full. Not only do the many new cardio machines make it far less likely that you’ll arrive at the gym only to find that every machine is occupied, but the new strength machines and benches serve an even more pivotal purpose.
Anyone who has visited the weight room at the Rec Center knows that it’s a testosterone-fueled environment. While women are free to use the weight room, and some do regularly, the space is often dominanted by males. Jackie agreed that many women seem to be intimidated by the gym, especially the weight room. “I’ve definitely heard female members here say they feel looked at or uncomfortable, but I’ve never seen it or experienced it myself. I don’t know what we could really do to change that outside of more options for people, like our “women in the weight room class.” We can always provide more options and spaces, but it’s harder to change the perception.”
Providing more options is exactly what the newly-renovated fitness room does. With its line of strength machines and two new benches with a rack of dumbbells, this space gives women, or any member who might be intimidated by the weight room, another space to explore lifting and strength training– but it doesn’t have to end there. There are plenty of ways for women to get more involved at the gym. For anyone nervous to join the gym scene, Jackie recommends starting within your comfort zone, in safe settings like group fitness classes, which are housed on their own private floor of the gym. One class in particular, “women in the weight room,” is specifically aimed at making female members more comfortable and confident in the weight room. Offered a non-peak hours to avoid a crowd, this class takes women into the weight room and teaches them how to use the equipment and what exercises to try, so that they might be more confident venturing in on their own.
That’s not to say that all women are nervous in a gym setting. When asked if she feels her field is a male-dominated one, Jackie responded, “I don’t think it is, but that could be because I feel so comfortable in it.” Jackie’s favorite part of her job is working with her staff of group class instructors and personal trainers, many of whom are women. “What I love about them is that they’ve all chosen to go into this field. I love watching them grow, learn more and share what they’ve learned with others.” While her job might keep her behind a desk some of the time, what Jackie really loves is getting out in the gym among the members and staff, as well as continually finding ways to improve the Rec Center. Though the fitness room renovation was a big undertaking, Jackie is already brainstorming future projects and improvements. “It’s important to say that we’ve come a really long way, but we have a lot further to go. People can look forward to more and more changes, specifically in the weight room. We’re just making things better, one project at a time.”