B-Fit: A year in review

It seems like ages ago when students wishing to get a quick workout took the dreaded hike to the John Wooden Center, the only gym on campus for undergraduates at the time. Now with the opening of the Bruin Fitness Center, students who live on the hill or even in the apartments have more options. But are Bruins really using B-Fit? Has B-Fit improved students’ overall health? Daily Bruin Radio reporter Sarika Bharil investigated the effects that B-Fit has had on student fitness.

BHARIL: No pain, no gain; It’s the golden rule when it comes to working out, but for students, the long trek to the John Wooden Center and the over-crowded rooms that came with it weren’t exactly what they had in mind. With so little gym space on campus, it was a miracle when the Bruin Fitness Center, or B-Fit for short, opened last year. But have more Bruins really been using B-Fit? Has B-Fit benefited students as much as we would like to believe?

According to Elisa Terry, UCLA Recreation’s FITWELL director, students have been more active.

TERRY: It was a slow start, but once the word got out we saw a dramatic increase this fall in the use of B-Fit. For the entire fall quarter of 2015 there were almost 49,000 swipes, and just for the three to four weeks we’ve been open for this fall we’ve already had 58,000 swipe-ins.

BHARIL: Terry explains that B-Fit was opened because of the increasing student population at UCLA. The University had recognized the need for more recreational space for students and decided to open another fitness center that is exclusively for undergraduates.

TERRY: More space means you could offer a greater diversity of activities as well, which would help to appeal to the larger audience because you know we have many people recreating, but there are some people who aren’t, and we would like to be able to reach those people. And maybe it’s different activities, or maybe different types of spaces that are needed.

BHARIL: Since it’s opening, an estimated 610 students have started using B-Fit who have never used another recreational facility on campus.

BHARIL: Other students say they like the social aspect of B-Fit, since more students around a similar age tend to workout there. Matthew Zon, a third-year psychology student, has been working with UCLA Recreation since his freshman year. He recently started working at B-Fit since it opened.

ZON: When I lived on the Hill last year everyone said, “Ah, it’s so much more convenient,” and for me at least it made going to the gym a lot easier. I prefer B-Fit. I do like that it’s newer and cleaner. Also it’s more comfortable when you’re around people that are your age – you get to meet more people that way. … Also it’s more intimate, since it’s a smaller place.

BHARIL: B-Fit doesn’t have the wide variety of recreational activities as Wooden does, but it still offers many programs for its students such as group exercise classes, basketball courts, a rock-wall treadmill climber and even a punching bag. In addition, the gym does co-programming with different residential halls by hosting classes, such as dance or yoga, in the dorms.

Nicole Carson, the manager of B-Fit says she’s noticed that B-Fit is almost always busy.

CARSON: Right now, between 4 p.m. to like 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., it gets really, really busy. Our capacity right now is 200 people, and during those busy hours you will hit that number. So it’s a lot.

BHARIL: Since B-Fit is exclusively undergraduate and is located near the dorms, more freshmen and sophomores tend to use the gym. But some upperclassman that live in the apartments also started going to B-Fit simply because it’s closer than Wooden and because of the new equipment.

However, the opening of B-Fit hasn’t solved all of our problems when it comes to having enough recreational space for students. UCLA faces many problems with expanding recreational facilities since it’s a small campus, but Elisa is hopeful.

TERRY: We have some challenges at UCLA since we are land-locked, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t possibilities. … It’s nice to see the University recognize the need and especially the role that physical activity plays in students’ well-being, not only their physical well-being but also their mental and emotional well-being.

BHARIL: The opening of B-Fit may not have provided the adequate space needed for a campus with such a high student population, but it most certainly is a step in the right direction. So until then: Bruins, keep pumping that iron. For the Daily Bruin, this is Sarika Bharil.

For an analysis of the best times to go to B-Fit, click on the image below.