Lansing residents, neighbors and workout buddies Marie Gile and Roxanne Hannah check their pulses in between aerobic and strength training Friday morning at Curves.
Standing above the busy backdrop of men toning their muscles and building upper body strength at IM Sports-West, Katie Toskey said the weight room can be an uncomfortable environment.
“I would never go down there,” said Toskey, an international relations sophomore. “I try to work out every day, but it can be intimidating.”
To alleviate tension, a handful of college campuses across the country have set aside women-only gym hours, but MSU doesn’t appear to be headed in the same direction.
Female students can utilize the workout facility at Kalamazoo College on Sunday afternoons and Tuesday nights during 90-minute blocks, said Sarah Westfall, vice president for student development and dean of students at Kalamazoo College.
“The weight room here doesn’t use pin machines and men use bigger and heavier weights than women,” Westfall said. “Instead of having to navigate weights around, women tend to have more similar weight capabilities. It’s just more convenient (in women-only gyms).”
MSU’s policy of inclusion applies to most intramural facilities on campus, although IM Sports-West offers an open gym for women interested in playing basketball on Monday nights from 8-10 p.m., said Rebecca Kegler, assistant director for the Department of Intramural Sports and Recreative Services.
“We don’t think it’s a great idea to restrict space to one group, but we’re always open to discussion for certain groups and their needs,” Kegler said.
Bianca Glendinning, owner of Curves, 3498 E. Lake Lansing Road, a nationwide women’s-only gym, said the gym provides a supportive environment for the women who attend.
“Exercise is a job and it can get boring, but you have to continue to get involved,” Glendinning said.
At IM Sports-Circle the atmosphere is geared more toward families and kids, which means gender issues don’t seem to play a role, said Rick McNeil, assistant director for the Department of Intramural Sports and Recreative Services.
“We have not designed anything for gender,” McNeil said.
“Women don’t seem to feel threatened or intimidated, but we kind of leave it up to facility directors based on interest and demand and our facilities.”
Fitness USA, 656 Frandor Ave., and 5611 W. Saginaw Highway, in Lansing, provides alternate exercise days for men and women to help ease any gender discomfort, said Jodi Berry, executive director of Fitness USA.
“That’s basically been our standard operating hours since inception,” Berry said. “I just think people are more comfortable and don’t have to be concerned with how to dress or what position they’re in.”
Issues such as lack of equipment knowledge and sexual harassment can make women feel uncomfortable at the gym, but women still should be able to share the area, civil engineering senior Rachel Chojnacki said.
“It’s never bothered me at all,” said Chojnacki, who competed on a coed track team in high school and has worked out with men for most of her life.
“Sometimes I feel kind of funny on the machines, but I think guys are only paying attention to themselves anyway.”
Other students said weight room issues such as overcrowding don’t seem to be a problem because of flexible hours.
“If people go late at night or early in the day, there’s usually space,” kinesiology freshman Allison Pomerantz said.
“Sometimes guys do too many sets, but if you ask you can usually cut in.”
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Glendinning said many women choose to do cardiovascular exercises, and said a lack of fitness knowledge is putting young women at risk for health complications later in life.
“The missing link in women’s fitness is muscle building,” Glendinning said.
“The more muscle you have, the less at risk you are for problems in the long run.”
