Nikolas Garza
434 Dairy Road Campbell 413A
Davis, CA 95616
Thomas Coulson
Activities and Recreation Center
232 ARC, One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
Dear Mr. Coulson:
Hello, my name is Nikolas Garza. I am a student here at UC Davis. I am writing on
behalf of a problem that has come to my attention: the quality and overall condition
of the weight room at the ARC. I exercise at the ARC quite frequently (4-5 days a
week) and most of the time the weight room seems to be overcrowded. I believe
that the weight room facility offered for students to use is too small.
Due to overcrowding, long wait periods for certain equipment arises. Waiting your
turn while exercising is a normal occurrence at a gym, however, at the ARC I have
had to wait up to thirty minutes to use certain types of machines. This happens the
majority of the times I exercise at the ARC and is a common problem among other
students as well. I have witnessed individuals in frustration simply walk away from
certain equipment because they have waited too long. There are too many people
trying to use the same equipment and it simply causes wait periods to be too long.
There are students, like myself, who cannot afford to endure these long wait periods
to get their workout in. Most students have class throughout the day and do not
have large enough windows to account for waiting so long at the gym. Two
outcomes occur because of this: students will stay at the ARC long enough to finish
their workout, which causes them to either go to class late or skip it entirely, or they
could leave the ARC and go to class and fail to complete their workout. Clearly it is
worse for students to skip class, but failure to complete a workout can also be
detrimental. Many workouts must be done consecutively and correctly in order to
ensure the safety and results of the workout. By exercising, students are trying to
improve their physique, overall self-image, and maintain stable health. It may not be
the end of the world if they miss a workout, but it is something that could help
enhance their self-esteem, confidence, and overall health, which in the long run, are
things that could lead to further self-improvement.
For those students who do have those large time windows to accommodate for long
waiting periods, think about what they could potentially do if they did not have to
wait. The time spent waiting at the gym could easily reach anywhere between thirty
minutes to an hour. An extra hour is a lot of time that could be spent on something
more productive rather than simply standing around waiting your turn. For
example, this extra hour could be used for studying or doing homework, which is a
much better way to spend one’s time. This extra time would eventually add up and
students could potentially put in 2-3 extra hours of studying every week, greatly
influencing the outcome of their grades. If students did not want to put in this extra
time towards their grades, they could use it to get more involved in the clubs or
organizations they are associated with. Even if that is not an option for students,
simply taking that extra time to relax with friends could be very beneficial in such a
fast paced college environment. It could help them to get rid of the stress that this
college lifestyle brings upon students when classes and midterms become
overwhelming. With that said, only positive results can come from adjusting the size
of the weight room.
You may already be thinking that expanding the weight room will cost a significant
amount of money, but that is not necessarily the case. Instead, there are a few other
solutions that could be implemented instead. First, if the cardio equipment such as
the treadmills, elliptical, and bikes were taken out and moved elsewhere, there
would be plenty of room. Of course buying new equipment would cost money, but it
would be a lot more cost friendly than creating a whole new weight room. Secondly,
there are some rooms upstairs that could potentially be transformed into a new
weight room. These rooms would have to be renovated into a suitable weight room,
but the cost of new equipment would be where the majority of the money is spent.
The most cost friendly solution would not stop overcrowding, but it would improve
the waiting periods. This would be to implement time limits for the equipment that
is used most frequently. This would speed up an individuals work out and allow
other people to get to the equipment in a timelier manner.
It is important that action is taken to resolve the issue of the weight room being too
small. Improvements and enhancements need to be made in order to amplify the
quality of the weight room and a student’s overall enjoyment of it. This action need
not necessarily be expanding the current weight room, but merely enhancing the
effective usefulness and time management that comes along with working out. If
there are any questions please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Nikolas Garza