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Campus rec center gets a lift, now among Big Ten heavyweights | University-illinois

CHAMPAIGN — Weightlifters at the University of Illinois just got some breathing room.

Instead of the squeaks of basketball scrimmages, entrants of the Activities and Recreation Center will now hear the clanks of weights as they walk into the facility.

In response to student demand, the UI’s campus recreation division has converted the ARC’s Gym 4, which held several basketball courts, into a strength and conditioning space, replete with more than $150,000 in new equipment.

Before Tuesday, “the basement was the only weightlifting area in our building, and it was packed,” said Alana Harris, associate director for assessment, student wellness and adventure recreation on campus.

“Folks weren’t able to move around freely; there was clearly a very keen interest from our students and stakeholders in having access to more of this type of equipment.”

Staff say the ARC’s 53,219 square feet of strength and conditioning areas is now one of the largest in the Big Ten. The ARC, at 340,000 square feet, is one of the largest university rec facilities in the country.

The proposal to convert the gym into a lifting area was put forward about three-and-a-half years ago, Harris said, and backed up by satisfaction surveys filled out by students, staff and other gym regulars.

Gym 4 was picked as the site, since the ARC has been “blessed with a lot of basketball facilities,” Harris said — up to nine full courts, to be exact.

The updated gym adds powerlifting racks and deadlifting pads, doubles the facility’s dumbbells and cable space and contains a strip of turf with tires, ropes and sleds to lift and push.

Some sections are spacious, in case students want to chat with fellow lifters between sets.

“We’re not only an exercise space; we’re also a social space and community-building space,” Harris said. “Students exercise, but they also come meet their friends and hang out.”

UI junior Nelchael Amang rarely goes to the ARC to lift weights, but the renovation has him reconsidering.

“All summer the basement was really packed and tight and cramped,” Amang said. “Moving weights up and adding even more stuff into a bigger area definitely benefits all the students. Now that it’s a lot more space, and it’s bigger, I’ll plan on using it.”

The gym is part of several recent renovations at the ARC. The facility added turnsstiles near the entrance that automatically open after a swipe of a university ID card and repurposed four of its racquetball courts — three into “performance pods” for high-intensity resistance training, and one into a “bouldering cave” with a 12 – foot climbing wall.

Harris has worked in recreation her entire career. She thinks a larger lifting area could help broaden, and diversify, the population her facility serves.

“We’re seeing underrepresented populations using the space more; we’re seeing a lot more women,” Harris said. “When you put folks into a space that’s crowded with low ceilings, if you’re not totally comfortable in that space, you’re less likely to use it.

“If you look in the gym now, we have probably six times as many people in that space — you want to make sure that you’re including all demographics of students, that everyone feels like they have a place here.”

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