University Times

Most New Year’s resolutions start Jan. 1, but Bellefield Fitness Center director Jeff Murphy hopes that the combination of a newly renovated fitness center, a new Bellefield Fit 4 Health program and the start of a new academic year will be a sufficient incentive to encourage faculty, staff and students to step up their personal fitness initiatives now.

“I’m excited about getting people set up on fitness programs, teaching them to use the equipment and how to maintain a proper fitness program,” he said.

Over the summer, office space on the second floor of Bellefield Hall has been transformed into a fitness center that features seven elliptical trainers, six treadmills, three stair climbers, three recumbent bikes, Cybex multi-station circuit training equipment and a stretching area.

Where Bellefield Hall’s former cardio room was capable of accommodating 10-15 people, the expanded space, newly carpeted and chilled to perfection with multiple air conditioning units, will easily double the number of people who can work out at any given time, Murphy said.

Citing common complaints about a lack of air conditioning in Trees Hall — the Pittsburgh campus’s other exercise facility open to faculty, staff and students, Murphy said, “It’s highly air conditioned in all these areas (in Bellefield Hall.) They’re going to like it.”

Free weights formerly located on the third floor have been moved to a new second-floor spot near the new fitness center. New benches, plates, a squat rack and leg press equipment are expected to arrive soon.

And, aerobics, fitness and yoga classes now have their own home in the former second floor weight room, now converted to a dance studio.

Moving classes from the gym means tighter quarters for the popular sessions, but frees gym space for pick-up basketball or for reserved group activities such as dodge ball. On the bright side, said Marilyn Ross, co-director of Intramurals and Recreation, classes will be able to run continually because they no longer will compete with gym use. “Now we have our own space,” she said.

Although enrollment will be limited to 12 for each of this fall’s two scheduled aerobics classes, additional sessions will be added for the spring term, said Ross. Because classes must be scheduled far in advance, the fall schedule intentionally was kept small to hedge against any unforeseen construction delays, she said. To kick off the new school year and introduce the University community to the new fitness center, orientations will be scheduled at 7:30 and 11:30 a.m. and 5 and 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Sept. 5-Oct. 6. Session size is limited and signups are available at the main desk at the fitness center. Additional sessions will be scheduled if needed.

Participants who complete the 90-minute session will receive a discount on personal training services offered through the School of Education’s health and physical activity department. The center’s staff of about 15 people are students in exercise science, exercise physiology or physical therapy, Murphy said. For a fee, staff members will provide a fitness evaluation, a prescription for an exercise plan and instructions on how to carry it out.

“I’m very confident in my staff,” Murphy said. “They’ve had the coursework; now they want to get experience.”

Center hours remain 7 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Friday and noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Up to 300 people use the facility daily, Ross said. About half are students, a third are staff and the remainder faculty, Murphy estimated, based on sign-in sheet records. The facility is particularly busy at lunchtime and in the after-work hours.

Murphy predicted the renovated facility will be busy from the start, noting that many people who exercise at Trees Hall had been asking about the project over the summer.

“A lot of people have been waiting for this,” he said.

Additional information on Bellefield Fitness Center services is available at www.education.pitt.edu/intramurals or by calling 412/624-2849.

—Kimberly K. Barlow