UNK Wellness Center installed new strength training equipment on Friday, Sept. 22.
The addition of the new equipment has been a long-awaited project for the last couple of years.
“It was a long process because we had to justify getting rid of some cardio, making sure everything would fit the way we wanted it to without taking away from other areas,” said Andrew Winscot, assistant director for Campus Recreation.
Some cardio machines that there were multiple of were removed to make room for the new equipment.
“I think the replacement of machines was a great idea and the arrangement of equipment is so much more accessible and user-friendly,” said Josie Miller, a junior exercise science major at UNK.
The total cost of the new equipment was $35,000. This money was provided from student fees, memberships from others in the Kearney community and a reserve fund for the Wellness Center.
“We wanted to make sure we had the funding and put it in the right places,” Winscot said. “We did a lot of research and crossed our T’s and dotted our I’s before we committed to a large-scale shift like that.”
Workers at the Wellness Center track the usage of equipment in various ways to see what equipment is being used and how often. This is to determine what pieces are kept and what to get rid of.
The Wellness Center has a long-term equipment replacement plant. Winscot said this replacement plan is based on the life expectancy of equipment and the needs and desires of the users.
The needs and desires of users are the reason for the new equipment in the Wellness Center.
“We had heard feedback that there just wasn’t enough strength equipment through some indirect conversations,” Winscot said. “We’re aware that students might go off campus to another gym, and we wanted to do all we could to reconfigure our space to allow for more users to have a better strength area.”
Myles Bach, a student worker at the Wellness Center, said the new equipment is more organized for users to navigate.
“I think it’s a lot more efficient and clears a lot of space for other workouts to get done,” Bach said. “I think most people do enjoy it because there’s more open space now and then it’s just a little bit more neat and organized.”
Some users also enjoyed the better quality of the new equipment.
“My favorite aspect of the new equipment is that it’s a little bit nicer and the upgrade in quality,” Miller said. “It’s very nice and I like that it’s so easy to use.
Winscot said it is the Wellness Center’s hope that the new strength equipment is more than just a shiny new item, but an area that is beneficial for students to use.
“I’m excited to see if it brings in new users,” Winscot said. “As soon as we had it installed on Friday, there was almost like a line of students, like ‘Hey, can we come in yet?’”
