If you have been to the fitness room recently, you have probably noticed its popularity among students, staff and after school sports coaches. But you also may have noticed, as Athletic Director Chris Horpel said, “It needs a facelift.”

“[The fitness room is] very small for the number of people who use it,” Horpel said. “Some of the equipment is broken. Bikes and treadmills are crowded.”

Some students, however, disagree with Horpel. “I like that it’s only made up of weights, and that it’s not that high tech,” freshman Andrew Wohl said. “These [pieces of equipment] are just as efficient as high tech weights and they’re less expensive.”

Fitness Center Supervisor and Campus Supervisor Sara Jackson agrees. “I really like it,” she said. “There is something for everyone. Kids can learn about muscles and weights and what position to work different muscles and the size of the weights. I think it’s efficient. We could use more [equipment], but there’s not enough room.”

Horpel said only some parts of the fitness room are short on space. “The aerobics area is crowded,” Horpel said. “But [the] strength portion of the fitness center is okay. For instance, a 25-pound dumbbell is a 25-pound dumbbell. It does not have to be chrome-plated to do the exercises.”

Some people said the fitness room is overflowing with people, especially around the weights. “The fitness room is pretty much crowded all the time,” sophomore Danny Luskin said. He goes to work out four times a week for football and baseball conditioning.

Jackson said that crowding depends on the weather, and that more people go into the fitness room when it rains.

The fitness room is not a balanced weight room. According to Horpel, the fitness center is too focused on major muscle groups, and lacks the equipment for minor and support muscle groups.

However, the nonexistence of certain equipment makes it hard for people using the weight room to get a balanced workout. “For instance, there is not a machine for the military press,” Horpel said. “Although the exercises can be done using free weights, free weights require more skill and timing and therefore can cause injuries.”

Sophomore Steven Sagat said he doesn’t mind that the equipment is not great. “[The fitness room] might not have the best equipment, but it works out the muscle that you need to work out,” he said.

Various local residents and 24-Hour Fitness, a nearby gym, donated some of the room’s equipment. The Physical Education (P.E.) department used its own budget and grant money to purchase other machines.

P.E. students, athletic teams coaches, athletes and teachers all use the fitness center. “Because there is a four-week unit in the fitness room in P.E., all freshmen and sophomores should have used the fitness room at some point,” Horpel said.

The fitness room may be expanded if a bond measure passes in early June. “The bond would pay for a new pool, a second gym and possibly a new fitness center in the second gym,” Horpel said. “It would also upgrade our current gym.

One option would be to build an additional floor over the existing wrestling room and dance studio, Horpel said. The current wrestling room would become the dance studio, while the upper floor would become a larger wrestling room, with a separate area designated for aerobics.

Some students agree the fitness room should be expanded. “I think that it’s a good fitness room, but for the number of people, it could be expanded,” Luskin said.