Improved Wooden caters to all users

With construction of Wooden West expected to be completed by
mid-October, students can now enjoy a much larger and better Wooden
Center.

A student referendum passed in 2000 prompted the major
renovation. The project was initially projected to be finished by
spring 2004, but has taken longer than expected.

“(Construction) was projected to end by May, then July,
but now they have more men working on the job, and it should be
done by the beginning of the fall quarter,” said Dennis
Koehne, operations manager of the Wooden Center.

The addition will increase the current workout space by three
times and will feature 25 treadmills, 20 ellipticals, 20 stationary
bikes and a larger area for strength and conditioning.

Along with added equipment and exercise rooms, the Wooden Center
will introduce a social area, called the Energy Zone, to cater to
students between workouts. These new facilities, set to open in
December, will offer students an area to buy food and drinks, relax
and socialize.

Assistant Director of Fitness Elisa Terry believes that with all
these additions and an increase in area, Wooden “will be one
of the best gyms in L.A.”

The full-scale renovations are estimated to be approximately $12
million.

Along with the new additions, Terry and others expect Wooden to
be one of the greatest gyms because of the quality of its
equipment. The staff has spent over two years researching the best
brands of equipment.

“We wanted the equipment to help the needs of all our
users, from the beginners to the experienced. With the new
equipment, we will be able to bridge the gap between the two
groups,” Terry said.

The Wooden Center hopes to satisfy the different activity levels
of the customers by classifying the equipment into beginner,
intermediate and advanced levels. The machines on the fitness level
will be classified in this manner, and strength and conditioning
consultants in this area will work with the three levels for the
various machines.

In addition to the strength and conditioning consultants,
personal fitness trainers, who can be found on the first floor,
will help make specialized workout plans for a fixed fee.

The free weights, general exercise area, cardiovascular fitness
center, group instruction and the Outdoor Adventure Program can all
be found on the first floor as well.

The Outdoor Adventure Program will have its own center as well
as its own equipment to rent out. Terry says that although the
program has always existed to schedule and lead various outdoors
trips, the renovation has allowed them to “kick it up a
notch.”

These changes are welcomed to a gym that has struggled to
accommodate a growing student body.

The opening of the new Wooden Center will be a relief to
students who will not have to wait in long lines to use the
machines. However, the additional machines may still not totally
eliminate waiting time for gym-goers.

“It still won’t be enough, but it will be better
suited to meet the users’ needs,” Terry said. “It
will look different and be different.”