Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important to many students, however, students seek alternate facilities to achieve this goal rather than the University Recreation (UREC) where during peak hours (4 p.m. – 8 p.m.) students tend to have to wait for equipment. 
” I have a membership elsewhere because it’s a lot more open, they have more and newer machines and they are not closed on game days,” junior, Nick Williams said. 
According to UREC, as of September 2009 the campus facility ranked second to last out of Louisiana universities in terms of square footage per student with the complex being able to accommodate one student per four square feet.  Tulane University’s recreational center ranked first with having 14 square feet per student. 
A master plan has been drafted to raise this statistic and is an ongoing process.  The plan includes dramatically enlarging and enhancing the current location. 
Despite student frustrations with the UREC, the complex has seen a dramatic increase in attendance since the renovations have been completed.  The student center entries for 2008-2009 were 662,932 which compared to the 2009-2010 entries were 723,458; there has been a favorable trend.  The reopening of the basketball courts has contributed to the rise in usage of the facility. 
Out of more than 25,000 students the campus gym averages about 2,500 visits from UREC members, which includes students, faculty and alumni, Monday through Friday.      
However, some students choose to go elsewhere to fulfill their fitness needs because of overcrowding, malfunctioning machines and hours of operation.    
Located off of Nicholson Drive is Definitions Fitness Center where other than the UREC is the most popular gym for students. There are approximately 2,000 students that are members making up 90 percent of their clientele.    
The owner of the center, Kirk Simmons, saw a need for another fitness facility and eagerly brought the closest gym outside of campus.  Simmons believes the popularity is due to the cleanliness of the space, reliability of machines and most importantly clients do not have to wait for equipment.
“Students come here because we are the closet fitness center to campus; it is a matter of convenience and closeness,” Simmons said.     
While traveling a few miles along the foliage lined Highland Road, Anytime Fitness can be spotted.  According to the general manager, Robyn Hamilton, 30 percent of their members are students. Depending on the package, student membership ranges from $40-$50.
According to Hamilton, the attractive factors that drive students to become physically fit here is the hours of operation and a membership that applies to 1,300 locations worldwide. 
“It’s simple because we are open all the time,” Simmons said. “We hear a lot of complaints that the UREC closes during holidays, and we never close.”
Finally, Perkins Rowe is a hot spot for the latest trends, great food, affordable movie tickets and achieving physical perfection. Bally Total Fitness is in this socialite area and also shares a percentage of student participants.   
“Here at Bally, we focus on individual’s goals instead of just giving them a place to work out,” said Chaed Lambert, general manager. 
Membership prices for Anytime Fitness and Bally Total Fitness varies due to the package sizes and additional amenities to choice from. 
Whether it is on campus or off, students find various outlets to achieve physical excellence.  Regardless of the fact that certain students choose other facilities, the UREC continues to attract students by hiring student workers and catering to their needs.     
“Students are always first here as we are a student centered facility,” said Laurie Braden, Director of UREC. 
 
 
 
Sources:
Laurie Braden – Director of University Recreation
Kirk Simmons – Owner of Definition Fitness Center
Robyn Hamilton – General Manager of Anytime Fitness
Chaed Lambert – General Manager of Bally Total Fitness
Christine Johnson – Sophomore UREC user
 
Links:
http://www.lsu.edu/recsports/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/LSU-University-Recreation-UREC/189518178941
http://www.shc.lsu.edu/
 
Contact Information:
Claire Caillier
337-280-9198
[email protected]