Lindsey Huling's Blog

Student Recreation Center Reflection

Saturday, October 9th, 2010 | Assignments for TLEP 4830

While touring the student recreation center I definitely learned a lot and saw a different side of the center than I normally do. If I were to take two elements of our recreation center and compare with others around the nation, I would choose our weight room/machine area and the dance room. I know that we did not see the dance room on the recreation center tour but having used it, I feel it could be used for many more activities.

To begin I would like to critique the weight room/ machine area on the entry level of the recreation center. Since one of the things I learned while on tour was that the current weight room area was not originally intended for that use, I feel the SRC has many aspects that could be improved. I feel the area is very loud and on busy days if people are trying to read or study while working out it can be very distracting. I also think it is really out dated with all the wood paneling and I am happy that they are redecorating piece by piece. The book talked a lot about how both color schemes and noise are important in a layout and I think BGSU’s recreation center could really use a touch up.

I have compared the area to that of the University of Missouri’s machine area, also known as the ‘jungle gym’. I really liked the area they had not only because they had newer equipment, but because of the spacing that all the machines were in. They had your standard weight room with free weights and dumbbells but one aspect that I really liked was their quiet room. The quiet room is filled with cardio machines that allowed students to work out and study quietly. They also have the weight machine and quiet room areas carpeted, absorbing all the noise from the machines and people talking. By adding sound panels to the wall or carpeting part of the areas with the machines, I feel the noise could be decreased by quite a bit. Another aspect I liked about the University of Missouri’s recreation center is that they had a refreshment bar, selling smoothies, health supplements and beverages, and regular drinks such as water, Gatorade and PowerAde.

The second room I am critiquing it the dance room, which we did not tour by, is another area of the recreation center that I feel could be used more wisely. It currently is used for all the group ex. classes such as abs, yoga, Pilates, zumba, and step. I love going down to that area because it is very secluded and open, allowing for everyone in the classes to have enough space. Since there are already a few balls, free weights, and weight bars, I think it would be great if the dance room could be open throughout the day for women to use as a free weight area. Many girls are too intimidated to use the free weights on the entry level free weight area because that is where all of the men are. The only other area that is really designated for women to use is the area upstairs with all the cardio equipment. The area is tiny and there are very few weights to use. If the dance room was open during the hours surrounding the classes, I feel it would be a huge hit and tons of women would make use of the bigger area.

I compared our dance room to the University of Cincinnati’s multipurpose room. Here you can see that the room is used for group exercise classes, spinning and dance. I think that they have utilized the space similarly to the way BG has but I believe they use it more than our university currently does. To me the dance room right now is almost a wasted space. It is nice, open and clean but is not being used the way I feel it should. I think the university could follow the seven point formula and be able to see the potentials in revamping the dance room in order to make better use of the area.