New Student Gym To Open Soon

At Albion College, the place to get a good workout in is at the Dow. There, from the time when classes get out until well into the evening, the building is packed full of students and faculty using the track, the swimming pool, the cardio room and the weight room. Sometimes the Dow can get crowded, especially in the weight room. With limited space and much of the equipment in use, it can be difficult to get in a complete workout.

However, soon a new gym will open in Washington Gardner High School, located on Michigan Ave., right down the road from Wesley Hall. While there won’t be any dumbbells or squat racks in the new gym, there will be a lot of strength machines. The lifting machines were donated by Albion alumni and are in good shape with minimal use. A bench press, a squat machine, a few barbells, some medicine balls and jump ropes were also part of the donation. They will also be implementing six to seven cardio machines.

Albion College Athletic Director Matthew Arend, who oversaw the construction of the new gym, explained,  “We moved some of the cardio equipment from the tennis court over there.” The cardio machines include bikes, ellipticals and treadmills.

Additionally, Wi-Fi has been set up, and the bathrooms and locker rooms have also been cleaned and prepared for student use.

“It should be enough to get a full workout in there,” said Arend.

Like the Dow, all students will be able to use the Washington Gardner Fitness Center. However, this gym is restricted only to the students – no faculty, staff or even guests are allowed.

Once the gym officially opens, the hours will differ a bit from the Dow.

“[It will] maintain a five o’clock open Monday through Friday. Then [it will] close when the Dow closes,” said Arend. “The heavy times in the Dow are typically when classes end from 4:30 p.m. through the evening.”

Soon Albion College will be equipped with two weight rooms and Kresge Gymnasium to choose from. While an exact date has not been set, the gym is expected to be open by second semester.

Photo by Taylor Anhalt