Winthrop’s on campus West Center has plenty of brand new gym equipment to satisfy different needs for students on campus. Associate Director of the West Center, Laura Johnson, has helped with this new tech savvy gym equipment installation.
According to Johnson, students will now be able to use brand new treadmills, ellipticals, upright and recumbent bikes with great tech features including a personal viewing screen with access to popular apps, like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and News Reader, and have the ability to browse the Internet. After students complete their first initial login using their own personal account before their workout, they can simply connect their phone with the machine by bluetooth to log-in each time thereafter.
The personal viewing screens also have their own programs which allow students to choose from various sceneries, like walking in the mountains or running in Barcelona, as well as the length or distance of their workout. On these screens, students can also view their heart rate, calories burned, and distance ran or walked.
There are headphone jacks and bluetooth capability for students to choose for their audio preference and a charging area to insert their cellphone’s USB cord.
In addition to the new machines, the West Center has a new area called the Queenax Functional Fitness Unit on the first floor. The Queenax has functional training equipment for strength training. This area holds versatile equipment for boxing, battle ropes, jump boxes, and slam balls, just to name a few. There will also be two more weekly group exercise classes held in the Queenax this year in addition to the 25 classes held in the West Center each week.
The amount of new equipment in the West Center equates to 14 treadmills, five total body ellipticals, five lower body ellipticals, four recumbent bikes, four upright bikes, and four stairmasters. The stairmasters do not have the tech gear but were added in response to popularity among students.
These additions to the West Center will definitely be helpful when students need to de-stress during the hectic times of the academic year.
“People handle stress totally differently, but it’s proven that when you exercise it releases endorphins and relieves some stress,” Johnson said. Johnson believes that the new equipment will invite more students to come out to the West Center and workout, rather than being stuck in their dorm rooms.