The buzz of treadmills, the swoosh of rotating elliptical trainers and the beep of hand scanners allowing entry into Southwest Recreation Center are heard daily as close to 4,500 students arrive at the recently renovated gym.
The gym has seen traffic running almost too fast for the treadmills within its walls.
New Year’s resolutions, advanced technology, an indoor track and a greater machine count attract two students per minute at its peak time, according to Pam Hightower, coordinator for facility operations.
Hightower said that before the renovations, the gym could expect to see only about 2,000 people per day.
“During renovations, we only had one path of traffic,” she said, “so sometimes the line would be out the door.”
Now, with three lines of entry, those entering through the turnstiles are less likely to wait for lines and machines.
Hightower said the extra space allows for almost four times the amount of equipment.
For students like Nikki Garner, a philosophy senior and an employee of Southwest, this allows for a more varied workout.
“You don’t have to do the same machines,” she said. “Now we have three different kinds of treadmills, three different kinds of ellipticals – you can do something while you’re waiting for something else.”
Hightower said that when Southwest reintroduced itself, students had to adjust to the new entry system. Now that they are familiar, the technology has allowed for easier, quicker access and has helped boost numbers.
“This is the first application of this particular software and biometric hand scanners at this scale,” she said. “It’s very complicated how many portals and things it has to do. To get people coming through every 30 seconds is really impressive in my mind.”
She said that until spring break, numbers should stay relatively high.
“Our mission is to help students build healthy lifestyle habits,” Hightower said, and the technology is helping the Southwest staff to achieve that.
