Recreation center to renovate facilities

In February 2016, the Office of the President presented a $125,000 gift to the Ralph S. O’Connor Recreation Center to replace old equipment throughout the center. Most of the impending changes are aimed toward enhancing the 2,500 sq. ft. weight room, which will close after commencement for several days to allow for the renovations and equipment changes. When the Rec Center reopens, a third of the current equipment will have been replaced.

For weight room enthusiasts, there will be six weightlifting racks instead of two, and the racks will allow a second person to do exercises on a platform outside of the rack as the first person lifts. All of the worn dumbbells will be replaced, along with some of the fixed bars.

Assistant Director of Fitness Jackie Lebeau says that this is the largest renovations she has seen during her time at Hopkins. The last major renovation involved a gift from the PepsiCo Foundation, which converted one of the Rec Center’s classrooms into today’s 2,500 sq. ft. fitness center.

“We’ve had very big projects paired between athletics and recreation, but most of those have been when they redid the tennis fields, the baseball fields and the additions to the lacrosse building,” she said. “This is probably the biggest project we’ve had on the recreation side for many years.”

There will also be aesthetic changes to the weight room. The walls will be painted to give the place a fresh look, and a Hopkins shield will be added onto the wall and platforms next to the large mirror to promote school spirit. Builders will also install a new floor with beveled edges that will allow for wheelchair accessibility.

Lebeau believes that students will thoroughly enjoy the changes, especially the weightlifters who will see less waiting time to use the equipment.

“Right now, we don’t allow people to be doing exercises outside of the racks, and it’s a cause of frustration for our weightlifters. They have to figure out when the racks are less in use in order to get in there,” she said.

The fitness center will also feature Woodway treadmills, which have a surface made of rollers that resembles a caterpillar track. Lebeau thinks that runners will enjoy the more natural feel of the surface. University President Ronald J. Daniels was inspired to allocate the $125,000 when he used a Woodway treadmill while on vacation. In October, he made a specific request to install them in the fitness center.

New spinning bikes have recently arrived and will be installed in the third floor’s group exercise studio.

Director of Recreation Bill Harrington says that Daniels has played a major role in keeping the Rec Center up-to-date.

“[Daniels] initiated the renovations for the fitness center a couple of years ago,” Harrington said. “This is another wave of enhancement. We took out the classroom a couple of years ago and made it possible to change out our older equipment in the weight room. There’s a transformation of equipment from the past to the future.”

The changes were also in response to feedback asking for more space for racks. Harrington says that it is important to keep up with new exercise technology, since user can get tired of the same machines. As a result, equipment such as Olympic lift stations have risen in popularity, while others like hammer strength equipment and Smith machines have become less popular.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to upgrade equipment that while still useful, is still not as in demand as it used to be. We’ve had requests for these Olympic machines as well. Now that cost is being taking out of the equation, we’re fortunate to have that happen,” Harrington said.

The old equipment will be reused at other Hopkins facilities. Dumbbells and kettlebells will be sold on Thursday and Friday 12 to 2 p.m. at a sale with Outdoor Pursuits.

Junior Alex Bartzokis says that the weight room urgently needs more equipment. Because it currently only has two bench presses and two racks, Bartzokis has had to wait a long time to use them.

“The stuff in the varsity weight room is way better. The stuff in here is disorganized and old. It’s not up to par with other universities. The weights are definitely a bit dinged up — two bench presses, you always have to wait for one,” he said. “Everything is always taken, there’s a line for everything. More equipment will be nice.”

Many students agreed that the weight room is not sufficiently equipped compared to the fitness center for cardio workouts. Senior Tommy Renner, who has played on the water polo team for two years, said he’s not satisfied with the weight room either.

“There’s not enough weights to accommodate anyone, especially at peak times, and all of the equipment is pretty old compared to other universities I have seen,” Renner said. “We definitely need to get new equipment.”