At the beginning of each semester, Oswego State offers a free week for students and faculty at Cooper and Glimmerglass fitness centers. The fitness centers are non-profit facilities that run primarily on the membership fees from students and faculty. Free week gives people who are curious about working out the opportunity to try the facilities before signing up. Although this is a great opportunity for students and faculty to begin a healthy trend, it can be a problem for some people.
During “Free Week,” the major problem that both fitness facilities encounter is an overcrowded workout space. The gyms are too small to accommodate the approximately 8,000 undergraduate students who attend Oswego State. With such a large number of people trying to workout at once, the availability of equipment can be limited. It can be extremely frustrating having to wait to use a bench or machine when you’re in the middle of an intense workout.
The small size of the gyms forces people to work out in close proximity to one another, which can make some people feel uncomfortable or nervous, especially in the free weight area.
The area is usually filled with people who are more experienced weight lifters, which can be intimidating for those who are just beginning free weight training.
When the gyms get overcrowded, some students are forced to find their own areas to train. The hallway in Cooper is an unfavorable spot for performing lunges, ladder training or jumping rope. With the dining hall right next to the fitness center, students have to stop every couple minutes while people walk in the hallway. This can be extremely annoying when you’re short on time or in a good training rhythm.
Some solutions to the problems could be adding on to the Cooper Fitness Center or renovating an area on east campus to be a gym. During the summer when students aren’t here the school could add on a bigger free weight area and wood floor to Cooper.
A bigger free weight area would decrease the congestion of people, making it easier and quicker for people to train. Due to the large number of people who participate in group exercise classes, some of the classes like yoga had to move outside. If Cooper expanded they could fit everyone inside. It isn’t a problem now, but in the spring semester, free week can be a serious problem.
With fitness centers located on the west and central campuses, a gym on east campus would decrease the number of students in the other gyms. It would also be easier for students who live on east campus to go to the gym, especially in the winter months.
