Whether you’re new to the gym or a long-time gym rat, you may have noticed Carmichael Gymnasium has become a hot spot ever since the first week of spring semester.
For some students, the beginning of a new year means setting new goals, such as exercising more, adopting a healthier lifestyle or losing weight. Therefore, going to the gym often becomes a New Year’s resolution, leading to a crowded gym throughout January and February.
“Every January we experience this,” said Eric Hawkes, executive director of Wellness and Recreation. “The new year always has a tendency to have an influx of folks.”
This influx of students visiting the gym the past month is no surprise for those who have been using the facilities for a while. However, this January in particular has been busier than usual. When compared to January of last year, gym visits have increased by 65% in the first 14 days of the semester.
“For the first 14 days from this year, we have had 93,927 visits through the turnstiles,” Hawkes said. “If you look at the same time last year, it was 56,836.”
Hawkes said the increase in students using the facilities may be because there was more widespread COVID-19 concern last January than there is today.
Hawkes said more students using the facilities is a good problem to have. However, this has resulted in overcrowding, which has affected everyday gymgoers negatively — waiting for machines to become available slows their workout plans.
“It makes me definitely less motivated because I don’t feel like there’s enough things for me to do,” said Sebastian Hodgins, a second-year studying business administration and international studies. “It is always busy, so I don’t think I’m going to get the gains I need.”
Hodgins said there is limited availability for certain equipment. From the students waiting for a machine to be available, it is clear students use the strength equipment, like the bench press, lat pulldown and leg extension machines, the most.
As students have previously stated, the shortage of strength equipment at Carmichael is due to the fact that these machines are often the most utilized. Nevertheless, Wellness and Recreation staff is aware of this and have several strategies to address it.
“Our team, over the last two years, has been sort of repurposing and re-laying out fitness equipment to take advantage of strength equipment more so than cardio,” Hawkes said.
Hawkes said student needs are being considered, and the Wellness and Recreation team is always working to provide those on campus with what they need.
Even though there are plans and initiatives in motion to address the overcrowding issue at Carmichael, it is important to consider short-term solutions, such as finding out the optimal times to visit the gym. According to many students, the best time to go to the gym is in the mornings between 8-10 a.m., and the worst time is between 3-5 p.m.
“If you go between 3 [and] 5, it’s like there are ants all over the gym because there’s people everywhere you go,” said Gustavo Armas, a second-year studying business management entrepreneurship. “So you gotta be a physical weapon and go in the morning when people are in class.”
The Wellness and Recreation team has created a tracking system that allows everyone on campus to check in real time how crowded Carmichael is. This page, under “Facilities” on the Wellness and Recreation website, shows how full each section of the gym is currently, projections for the next hour and gym traffic in comparison to the past week.
Though an overcrowded gym is not ideal, there are plenty of resources available to help the student body utilize Carmichael to achieve any of their fitness-related resolutions.
