New equipment for Fanshawe's fitness centre

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: JESSICA THOMPSON AND EMILY STEWART
New cardio machine demos will be flooding in and out of Fanshawe fitness centre, giving students the ability to decide which machines they would like to see in the new fitness centre, which will be opened Jan. 2017.

Fanshawe students can now get a taste of what equipment will be in the new 2017 fitness centre with Fitness 101’s new initiative. From September until Dec. 1, Fitness 101 will be holding equipment demonstrations in the mezzanine, located on the second floor of J-building.

“It’s a little bit of a teaser,” said Jodi Anderson, Fanshawe’s fitness and wellness program director. “We know we are under construction, but we [now] have these nice, new pieces of equipment that you can come and try out in order to say ‘thanks for sticking with us’.”

During Sept., Fitness 101 had demos from Life Fitness, but as of the first week of Oct., they will have a whole new brand. Throughout the duration of the demos, Fitness 101 is going to provide one treadmill, one elliptical and some new spin bikes in order for the students to choose which pieces they like best.

After students use the new machines, they can go downstairs to the front desk in athletics and fill out a comment card, letting Fitness 101 know exactly what they thought about the new piece.

“The overall goal is to get students to come to the facility, to recognize that we have to transition into a new space and that it is going to be difficult for the next little bit until the facility is built,” Anderson said.

Using the demo pieces, Fitness 101 will be able to incorporate the students when it comes to making a decision about what to put in the new gym.

“We want to keep the students engaged,” Anderson said. “[We will] get their input and do the market research necessary to select the right pieces.”

And for students like the Fitness and Health Promotion student, Carissa Crysoer, the initiative is a good one.

“I think it’s a really good idea, because in the future [Fitness 101] can see what was rated the highest and keep that in the gym while keeping costs low.”

The only problem in Crysoer’s eyes would be if a student really enjoys a machine, it will be taken away in a few weeks and won’t return again until the opening of the new facility.

Even with this in mind, Crysoer believes Fitness 101 is doing everything in their power to make the construction period as seamless as possible for the students.

“I think they are doing a good job thinking of everyone,” Crysoer said. “Thinking of what [students] would want.”