Campus Connection

After much anticipation, the new University Fitness Center celebrated its grand opening with an open house on August 27. The center, located at 801 W. Baltimore St. on the first floor of Biopark II building, will serve as an interim facility until the fitness center opens at the new Campus Center. Construction on the building, located on Lombard St. adjacent to the HS/HSL, is slated for completion in July of 2009. Members of the university community previously utilized the Athletic Center located on the top floor of the Pratt St. garage which closed its doors permanently on July 11. 

Robert Reynolds, a fitness assistant, commented on how much the UMB community seemed to appreciate the new facility. “I’m finding that the students and staff over at the university are very excited about taking part in the new facility. It’s been anticipated for pretty much the whole summer.”

One of the changes that many students have appreciated is the increase in cardiovascular equipment. In the past, students had to sign up for time on many of the machines, particularly the treadmills and ellipticals. With the increase in the number of machines available, that particular issue has been resolved.

Though a few pieces were brought over from the old Athletic Center, nearly all of the equipment in the facility is new. Much of it has gotten a high-tech face lift as well, with the ability to connect iPods to TV screens on the treadmills.

Another super-modern piece of technology that has been introduced at the facility is the Koko fitness machine, what Reynolds calls a virtual trainer. The machine directs users through a number of reps and keeps a memory of the exercises performed and training progress of each client. Individual information is stored on a key that users simply insert prior to using the machine. Dana Scheerbaum, the new Assistant Director of Fitness and manager of the Biopark gym, said that the Koko is, “the latest piece of technology as far as fitness is concerned. We’re really excited to have it here; I think that’s a huge positive for the campus.” 

Due to its smaller size, the new facility cannot accommodate the same number of people that the previous facility held. Reynolds noted, “At peak hours, it will probably be a little congested because we have limited area spacing.”

The smaller space has also limited the variety of machines that are available. Some types of equipment, like rowing machines that were previously available, are absent from the new facility. Additionally, many instructional courses like aerobics and yoga won’t be held in the BioPark II building, but rather in HS/HSL classrooms.

According the Scheerbaum, the usage of the new gym has exceeded expectations. “We’ve definitely surpassed our numbers, especially in the evenings. 4:30 to about 8:30 is definitely prime-time here.”

Scheerbaum said that so far the reaction from users has been positive. “We’ve got great feedback from students, professionals, faculty, [and] staff. And I think they are just grateful that there is a facility during the interim of building the new student center.” 

Clarence Lam contributed reporting for this article.

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