After about a year of construction, IM Sports-West opened the doors to a brand new $5.5 million fitness and exercise area this summer.
The room is 12,000 square feet and features more than 180 new weight and cardiovascular machines for students, faculty, staff and alumni to use.
Weight machines are positioned on the large first floor, and cardiovascular machines are on the second balcony level - a far cry from the small fitness room with dated machines IM Sports-West used to have.
Most of the machines in the previous fitness room were from the 1970s, and there were few cardiovascular options, IM Sports-West intern and kinesiology senior Greg Haverlock said.
Among the new equipment are 24 elliptical running machines and 24 treadmills, and each machine features a personal TV screen. The TVs can access campus cable channels and can play CDs and DVDs.
Along with the personal screens, four large plasma TVs will be displayed in the fitness area, Haverlock said.
"Everything is brand new, top of the line," he said.
A refreshment area with tables and drinks will be added near the front desk, said Patty Oehmke, assistant director of Intramural Sports and Recreative Services.
Students can sign up for a semester membership for $75, or they can get a day pass for $3.
Hours also have been improved, Haverlock said. The fitness center is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Personal trainers will be available to the students, said Lawrence Sierra, director of Intramural Sports and Recreative Services.
The personal trainers are certified students who will show people how to use the machines correctly. Eventually, they will create personal routines for them, he said.
The entire fitness center meets the Americans with Disabilities Act standards, meaning that it is accessible for all people with disabilities.
This includes weight machines that are wheelchair accessible and cardiovascular machines that can exercise arms instead of legs, Haverlock said.
Also, elevators are available to reach the second floor of the room.
The fitness center is simply called the Exercise Fitness Area, but MSU students will rename it in the fall through a survey, Sierra said.
The students have been the first priority for the fitness center since the beginning, he said.
"ASMSU was very instrumental in getting this started," Oehmke said.
They were a large driving force behind the fitness room and donated $50,000 to help buy equipment, Sierra said.
The official grand open house will be in September, along with a health fair and more rebates to entice students, he said.
"(Students) will be really excited," Oehmke said. "This place has been so long coming."
