Poor conditions and Safety Concerns: Problems with the Weight Room

The weight room is a common place for anyone to get into shape for free. Unfortunately the condition of some of the free-weights is extremely poor.

“Half the stuff here is broken…” Said Junior John Viola.  

The bars for free lifting are a good example of what the conditions are in general. Only 1 out of the 3 bars work; so if someone wants to squat and another wants to bench somebody has to wait or just not do an exercise that requires the use of that bar. It’s not just the bars that are in poor condition, the dumbbells are broken as well. You are able to actually use them but they are quite unsightly or just look old and worn out. Some dumbbells have holes in the the ends, probably from being dropped or from rust. Students have asked to get the equipment replaced but we are still waiting.

[CORRECTION] Another prevalent Problem is how messy the weight room is. Whenever you go in there is always plates all over the floor. There are dumbbells all over the floor and there is miscellaneous other equipment that is misplaced. This isn’t something that supervisors can do anything about. Many of the weight room advisors have said that cleaning up is something that the students using the weight room should do, it’s not something that the supervisors are responsible for.  

It’s a problem caused by the users of the weight room that just don’t put things back where they found them. This does not only look bad, it’s a safety hazard that can cause injuries. In a place that is so filled with dangerous equipment, safety should be the number one priority.

The school weight room may not be a top priority for administration but it really could use some fixes. Just to improve safety and make it a better environment for working out. The weight room is a great option for people that don’t want to pay for a gym membership but until the most prominent problems need to be addressed before there can be more serious free weight use.           

*[Correction] an earlier version of this article misquoted a source