Srdjan Rajkovic casually walked into one of the newly moved
weight rooms in the Wooden Recreation Center on Thursday, looked
around and made his decision ““ he was going to join another
gym.
“I came to see whether it was worth coming here or joining
another gym,” said Rajkovic, a third-year history graduate
student who works out three times a week.
Closed at the tail end of fall quarter, the old weight room has
been split up and moved to several different locations throughout
the recreation facility, so the center can be renovated and
expanded.
The new strength and conditioning facility, set to open this
spring, will be over 7,000 square feet larger than the original
weight room.
However, the transition period between the old weight room and
the new strength and conditioning facility has caused a change in
current weight room demographics.
The change has disillusioned some Wooden Center faithfuls, like
Rajkovic, into spending more money and joining another gym.
“Cost is an issue ““ that’s why I was working
out here,” Rajkovic said, who now plans to join 24 Hour
Fitness. “I can afford it for a couple of months.”
Some people are not willing to dish out the extra money for
another gym, however, and are going to wait until the renovations
are done.
Alberto Cruz-Martin, a fourth-year neuroscience graduate
student, said he doesn’t like the changes but admitted he is
getting used to the new setup.
“If you go to a gym, it’s very expensive,” he
said.
Cruz-Martin said he thought about joining another gym when he
came in and saw lots of disorganization at the recreation
center.
Tiffany Li, fitness instruction and training assistant manager
at the recreation center, said the transition period is necessary,
and steps are being taken to make sure recreation center members
don’t miss out.
“We have split up the strength and condition areas.
There’s a lot less people packed in like sardines,” Li
said.
Instead of having all of the weight machines in the same room,
there are now a few satellite rooms to hold the different machines
and free weights.
In addition, fliers listing the weight machines and open weight
rooms are available to help members become reacquainted.
“There’s going to be three times as much space as we
had before,” Li said, discussing the new strength and
conditioning facility set to open in spring.
While there probably will no longer be an outdoor lifting area,
the new facility is planning on having 25 additional treadmills, 20
additional elliptical conditioning machines, computer workout
stations and a high-tech zone. The recreation center has also
created unique UCLA Bruin skins for its barbells.
“I feel like I’m on a shopping spree,” Li
said.
She added that it is unfortunate people may choose to join other
gyms because they are already paying fees to support the recreation
center.
“They’re going to want to come back,” Li said.
The recreation center offers many services, such as educational
services, that aren’t available at other fitness clubs, she
said.
“I cannot wait for it to be finished,” Rajkovic
said.
“If they don’t repair it by next quarter, I’m
asking for a transfer,” he said, laughing.
While some people may be paying extra cash for the next few
months to try to fulfill their New Year’s resolutions, many
Wooden Center patrons are not going to jump ship.
“This is free, and the gyms are kind of far,” said
Laura Kurek, a first-year biology student. “I don’t mind the
transition as long as they’re making it better.”