Fitness Center gets new upgrades

Troy University’s fitness center recently became home to new, top-of-the-line exercise equipment. All of the equipment, with the exception of the dumbbells, is new.

The equipment is part of Life Fitness’ new, 2014 line of exercise equipment that came directly from the production line. The next set of the new line to be produced will not be available for another six months.

Troy is currently the only school in the United States that has access to them.

The university’s lease on the previous equipment ran out this year, which resulted in the change of equipment. The previous equipment had been in the fitness center since 2006.

The new Life Fitness equipment is unique. The strength machines are no longer plate-loaded, which means that a person no longer has to change out the plates on a machine in order to change the weight. This process is now internal.

On the machines, there is a QRZ code. If this code is scanned with the Life Fitness app, it will link the scanner’s phone to a YouTube video that explains how to use the machine and will give all the information about the machine.

Sean Tatum, the director of health and wellness at Troy University, said that the company Life Fitness offers many new options on the new equipment, but it may take a while before students have access to all the features.

“Because our equipment is so new, Life Fitness is still in the process of downloading all the machines that we’ve gotten,” Tatum said. “(This is because) we got the

first production line off the rack. However, some of the machines do have that information on the code.”

will also let you save your favorite workouts so that when you plug it back into the machine, it will set the machine up the way you like it.”

The fitness center will soon have Internet capabilities, specifically to the treadmills and ellipticals, to enable students to have the most efficient workout possible.

For students who prefer to run outside, the Life Fitness app can help make a run on the treadmill feel like a run outside.

The Internet connection will help students save their favorite workouts on the Life Fitness app.

“With the Life Fitness app and the Internet, there’s a function that, if you like to run around campus or have a route, will save the route with the elevation incline and decline,” Tatum said. “When you plug your phone into the treadmill, you can set the route up on the treadmill with Google maps.”

“You can plug your phone in and, with the app, it will monitor your workouts on each machine,” Tatum said. “It    

will also let you save your favorite workouts so that when you plug it back into the machine, it will set the machine up the way you like it.

Goodwin Scott, a senior social science major from Montgomery and a student worker at the fitness center, said that the new equipment is a great change for the students.

“Here at the beginning of the year, students have been excited to get in here and use the new equipment,” Scott said. “The new equipment is a drastic change from last year.”

The fitness center opened on Aug. 13, and 1,300 students used the center with its new equipment in a three-day period. Tatum said that the numbers for next week should be even larger.