Students at LSU are exploring alternatives to the sometimes crowded Student Rec Center, because area gyms can provide more options. Most of these clubs offer students discounted membership prices of about $40 a month. This is much more than the $45 per semester the Rec charges on a student’s fee bill, but local managers say the perks of a private gym membership are worth the extra charge.
Buzz Blanchard, manager of Foxy’s Health Club on Airline and Coursey, said the $39 per month fee is worth it to avoid the hassle of other centers.
“At peak hours, we’re only using 50% of our equipment,” Blanchard said. “You never have to wait on any equipment.”
Matt Byers, sales director of Spectrum on Perkins, also claimed the convenience factor as a draw for students who might at first think the $41.75 fee is too much.
“We’re less crowded,” Byers said. He also said there are five different Spectrum locations that a member can use.
Byers said many customers find this fact alone is enough to make them switch gyms.
Goudeau’s, a fitness center on College Drive, has a special draw for its customers, said Kevin Buchert, the corporate manager.
“A lot of girls don’t like competing with guys for a piece of equipment,” Buchert said. At Goudeau’s, unlike other gyms or the Rec, females are the only customers.
Jackie Tabor, assistant director of instructional programs at the Rec, said the Rec is tailored to students’ needs at a huge bargain.
“I think that the Rec has so much more to offer, specifically to what students want because that’s our job,” she said. Tabor said intramural sports are unique to the Rec, as well as many special programs and classes for students.
“We specifically make sure that we have stuff that you may or may not get at other gyms,” she said.
Tabor said that the Rec does get crowded at peak hours, but there are plenty of opportunities to work out at other times.
“Come in between classes, take a stress break,” Tabor said. “You would be surprised as to how not crowded the Rec is.”
Each gym seems to stand out with its own special distinction.
At Goudeau’s, they emphasize the personal treatment. Buchert said 90% of new members of most gyms drop out after 90 days, but Goudeau’s is working to turn that around.
“We’re encouraging them all the way,” Buchert said. “We take the time to figure out what their goals are.”
Each new member at Goudeau’s gets three free sessions with a personal trainer, takes before pictures and measurements, and creates a personal workout plan.
Spectrum offers flexiblity and even possible networking opportunities to students.
“You have the opportunity to mingle with people who aren’t just students,” Byers said, adding that several jobs have been found and contacts made among members of Spectrum.
Foxy’s Health Club has been a staple in Baton Rouge for 41 years, Blanchard said.
“You name it, we’ve got it,” he said. Blanchard said they have anything and everything and lots of it.
The Rec, meanwhile, does boast five basketball courts and the opportunity to socialize with fellow students.
Sarah Campbell, an education junior, has a membership to a local gym. She said the membership is worth the cost.
“I don’t think [the gym] necessarily has more equipment; there’s just not as many people there,” Campbell said.
She said that one of the positive aspects of a gym membership is the options it gives members for classes.
“I like it that when you join, you can take whatever classes,” Campbell said.
Tabor said that though the Rec charges for the 38 group exercise classes it holds each week, it remains the best bargain.
“If you still add additional fees, it is still less than the fees you would pay at any gym,” Tabor said.
All of the clubs offer unlimited aerobics classes. Most of them run the gamut from yoga classes to boot camp classes.
Goudeau’s offers 30-40 aerobic classes per week, while Foxy’s offers about 60. Spectrum also offers classes, and they have three aerobics rooms.
“We don’t charge for any classes,” Byers said. The fee includes all the classes a member should care to take.
Campbell said that the Rec, however, is often more conveniently located than gyms.
“You just walk over there,” she said. “To get to my gym, I have to fight the traffic.”
The gyms in Baton Rouge boast large cardio rooms, many of them with the most up-to-date technology.
Spectrum has about 40 machines. and several of them have Internet and cable built into them for the pleasure of the user.
Goudeau’s also offers a large selection of machines, such as treadmills and elliptical machines.
Blanchard said Foxy’s has almost 100 machines in a “huge cardio theater” with televisions and DMX channels.
The Rec has about 30 cardio machines.
Managers all said students are taking advantage of these pros.
“We do have a lot of students,” Buchert said. Byers
and Blanchard also said their gyms attract University members.
Students do not have much to lose, because most of these gyms offer a two-week trial period for curious fitness fanatics.