Meramec’s weight center provides alternative to expensive gym memberships
By: DENNIS W. PARKS
Staff Writer
By: DAVID KLOECKENER
Photo Editor
For any students or faculty interested in working out or toning their body, STLCC-Meramec’s campus facilities include a basketball court, a swimming pool, a weight training room and a fitness center. These facilities are all housed in the Physical Education building, located near the east parking lot. However, some of Meramec’s physical fitness facilities are not available for use at times when students are not already in class.
“The fitness center is open only to students enrolled in Fitness I, Fitness II or Total Fitness classes,” said Kim McCall, assistant Physical Education department chair.
The fitness center offers a variety of cardio and weight- lifting equipment, said Joe Swiderski, Meramec athletic facilities supervisor.
“In the class, students have different cards they need to fill out,” Swiderski said. “Some do a lot more cardio than weight training; some do more weight training than cardio. Some lift for size, some lift for strength and some lift for endurance – it’s all different.”
Student April Haney said she would use the fitness facilities if they were open to all students, not just those enrolled in fitness classes. “A lot of people cannot afford a gym membership,” Haney said.
Although the fitness center is reserved for students enrolled in PE classes, the weight room is available to students after they attend an orientation session. “They come in and sign a waiver,” Swiderski said. “They show us an ID card to make sure they are students.”
Hours for the weight room are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday hours are 7-9 a.m. and 5-8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.
“We had about 200 to 300 students who used the weight room throughout the year and we probably had another 100 or so this year who were new this year,” Swiderski said.“There are more people who use it than you think – they just don’t stick with it.”
If students are not enrolled in a fitness class, they do have the opportunity to use the campus gymnasium in addition to the weight room. The gymnasium is open Monday and Wednesday from 8-9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to noon, Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon. However, basketball is not allowed in the gymnasium during these times.
“We’ve shut it off [basketball] the last couple years because when our student population grew, we seemed to have a lot more students from the area come in,” Swiderski said. “It was hard to police the students and the non-students.”
The swimming pool is available for lap swims only Monday through Thursday mornings from 8-8:50 a.m. and Monday through Friday, 12-12:50 p.m. Pool supervisor and PE instructor Karen Koshak said, “[the pool is] used for college and continuing education classes at other times.”
For access to any of these facilities, Meramec students must have a current semester photo ID card, and may be accompanied by one guest.
