As the days get colder and the possibility of snow or ice storms looms nearer, exercising outdoors isn’t as pleasant as it used to be. At this point, many students retire their running shoes for the winter and vow to take it up again next spring. For those students who want to keep up their routine, there are a few indoor facilities around campus that can be used regardless of the weather.The PE Center
Located on campus – About a 5 minute walk from any dorm.
The PE center contains the pool, two basketball courts, two weight rooms, and a cardiovascular room. It has undergone several renovations over the past year and is in the best shape many students have ever seen.
“Students today are active and interested in good health, and they need facilities to do it,” said Mike Merkel, PE Center Facilities Coordinator.
The renovations on the building include new coats of paint on the walls, new flooring in the gym, high-tech odor-fighting carpeting in many parts of the building, a fiberglass bottom for the pool, air conditioning units in rooms that previously didn’t have them, new stalls in the bathrooms, and new lockers in the athletes’ locker rooms.
“We did some of the more basic things like painting the walls and laying down new floors – things to really brighten the place up. It’s kind of nice to be part of something as its growing and evolving,” said Merkel.
The renovations were a while in coming. Alumni Gym, the oldest part of the PE center, was built in 1940. Ragan-Brown field house was built in 1980 and had undergone only minor repairs until just a few years ago.
Part of the reason for stagnation of renovations was money. Up until three years ago, Guilford’s gym was shared by the community YMCA. Though Guilford and the YMCA generated revenue by using the building, neither put any money back into it.
Once Kent Chabotar was hired as President, plans were made to spend some money on improving the gym.
“We’re fighting the real issue of trying to have enough money to provide the best facilities we can,” said Merkel.
“I just work-out to keep healthy,” said first-year Danny Jimenez. “The gym gets the job done.”
Fitness Today
Located in Quaker Village – Less than a minute away from campus.
Fitness Today is a health club that offers 16 treadmills, 11 stair masters, 9 cross trainers, and 30 stationary bikes in its main room. It also offers a 4800 square-foot free-weight room, 3 or 4 weight machines per muscle group, 6 personal trainers, tanning beds, and a juice bar.
Classes on aerobics, yoga, cardio fat burning and pilates are offered on a daily schedule, and membership discounts are available for Guilford students.
“It’s a great club from the standpoint of a lot of different age groups and nationalities – it’s not just one group of people,” said David Ashley, the Fitness Director at Fitness Today.
Fitness Today is open Monday through Sunday and offers childcare for $1 per hour. Memberships range from $25 to $28 per month.
Bryan Family YMCA
501 West Market Street – About 12 minutes away from campus.
The Bryan Family YMCA offers personal trainers, a free-play zone for children, a smoothie room, a prayer room, personal trainers, two basketball courts, a lap pool, an exercise pool, and indoor track, and a fitness facility with treadmills, elliptical machines, free weights, and machine weights
Classes on everything ranging from Tai Chi to Pilates, and from aerobics to aqua-arthritis are offered on a daily basis, and a masseuse is available by appointment.
The YMCA offers membership plans for $100 per semester to college students. This equates to roughly $25 per month.