Strength & Conditioning Center open for learning

New Strength & Conditioning Center at SAC.

Strength & Conditioning Center upper level.

Strength & Conditioning Center lower level.

"People are pretty excited about this place."

University of Wisconsin-Parkside senor Fitness Management major Guy Alicea-Reed has the perfect vantage point to gauge reaction to the Sports & Activity Center's hottest new venue. As the counterperson at the SAC's recently opened Strength and Conditioning Center, Alicea-Reed has heard plenty of positive chat about the center.             

"People who know what the gym used to be like say the school really needed this and that this was a great upgrade," he said.

Gone are the stark cinderblock walls, replaced on the north facing side by floor to ceiling windows. The shoebox shape of the old room has given way to a two level facility?cardio above, body building below. And there's no lack of free weights, ellipticals, high tech weight machines, treadmills, and the like to please both the casual and the hardcore.

"I like the variety, it's very up-to-date and has good technology and there's enough space in here for a lot of people," said student Justin Kitson.

"I looked around and thought 'this looks pretty legit.' It's got some nice equipment and lots of stations so even if there's lots of people in here it's not going to be too crowded," added freshman John Scalia.      

University officials call the Strength and Conditioning Center remodeling a "student driven project." They said students recognized the need for a better fitness facility and agreed to increased segregated fees to pay for the project.

And UW-Parkside Athletic Director Tamie Falk-Day admits to wanting--and getting--a design that inspires. 

"When we knew we were going to start this project, I knew that if the students didn't walk in there and go 'wow,' I was going to be extremely disappointed. They are walking in and going 'wow.' I've heard nothing but positives," Falk-Day said.

She went on to say the remodeling gives students, faculty, staff, and the public two distinctly different venues: the first floor Strength and Conditioning Center which Falk-Day called a "ground-based" fitness area with a greater emphasis on free weights, and the second floor Wellness Center, which is more weight machine-based.

Falk-Day also sees teaching and learning possibilities with the facilities.

"The goal would be to tie in our HESM {Health, Exercise Science, and Sport Management] students and create personal training in-house," she stated. "It would give [fitness majors] the opportunity to create wellness programs, obviously under supervision, with two different types of venues."

The Strength and Conditioning Center is free to full-time UW-Parkside students and is available through a paid membership to part-time students, faculty, staff, and the public. For membership information, call 262-595-2245.

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ABOUT THIS STORY:

Story Status: Archived
Publish date: 1/25/2013

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