Flexing Our Wings: weight room gets exciting new upgrade
The weight room received an upgrade this fall! Several of the old machines in the room were sold and moved out to make way for new squat racks, a new set of dumbbells, and exercise bikes.
Joey Swidler, Strength and Conditioning Coach, has wanted to update the room for a while now. The old machines also took up a great deal of space which made it hard to move through the room and complete exercises where you might need space around you. Lots of stubbed toes and bumped knees did not allow for the best use of the space.
The goal of the room refresh is to create more space for students and adults to use the space but also to utilize the space in a more effective way for the variety of movements and exercises.
The new equipment allows space for more “close chain movements”, which are movements where your feet are planted on the ground and many muscles in your body are engaged rather than “open chain movements” where you may be sitting on a machine only allowing one muscle group to be exercised. Close chain movements promote stability, balance, and strength. “That’s what growing bodies need. The body works as one unit,” Swidler says. “We want to encourage students to be bodyweight strong with their feet on the ground.”
When thinking about the sports our students compete in, most are not doing a single isolated motion, they are moving in space utilizing their whole body and the new setup will help them train with those goals in mind. And for non-sport students, the equipment shift is important for their health as well. “We want their everyday lives to be safer, feel stronger, and more confident and balanced,” says Swidler.
Since the space has been redesigned, there are more and more students coming to Owl Strength, which is a time for students to come and work on their strength and flexibility. “We have a lot more flexibility in the variety of movements that we can do because there's a bigger layout,” he says. Students in Owl Strength as well as students coming to the workout room to do their own workouts have space. On a given day, Swidler may see as many as 50 students come in and out of the weight room throughout the day!
“A lot more students are coming in preparing for their sports season,” Swidler comments. “It helps them perform better and reduces the risk of injury.”
When the new equipment arrived, it showed up in countless heavy boxes and a group of Seniors took ownership of the space on Stewardship Day this fall and helped assemble all the new equipment. The pride in their work and ownership of the space has helped get the word out to other students about the newly improved space.
These improvements fall right in line with Overlake’s Strategic Plan, particularly under the Well-Being Pillar. “Any wellness plan has to have a component where you move your body. Exercise or movement or some kind of physical activity will be a part of it,” Swidler points out. Physical well-being is just one of the aspects of Overlake’s definition of well-being which you can read in full here. The benefits of the weight room upgrade are not limited to students either. Swidler offers group training sessions and individual coaching to campus adults as well and the increased floor space has given more capacity for those classes. Adults have reported feeling more energized and alert after taking classes with Swidler.
The Health and Wellness is excited to see how the space can grow in the future and continues to be more utilized by the whole Overlake Community.
