New residence life gym opens

By Grace Park, Staff Writer

On Monday, March 13, the new fitness center in Riggs Hall became available to use. 

The fitness center is located in the lower level of Riggs Hall, accessible to all students with their LIU mobile ID.

The gym is open from  

Monday – Wednesday: 8 A.M. – 8 P.M.

Thursday: 8 A.M. – 11 P.M.

Friday: 8 A.M. – 8 P.M.

Saturday – Sunday: 10 A.M. – 6 P.M.

Following the closing of the residential gym in Brookville Hall, Vice President of the Student Government Association, Ailer Thomas, sought to reopen another gym with support from Associate Dean of Students Joseph Vernace, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Michael Berthel and University Dean of Students & Chief Diversity Officer Ashley John. 

Students felt that the BlueFit Cycling Studio in Hillwood Commons and the Pratt Recreation Center did not provide all students the opportunities to focus on their personal health and wellness. 

“Athletics kind of dominated Pratt and it is an athletics gym, but a lot of students just felt they didn’t have a place where they could go. The times were really awful for non athletes and a lot of students voiced they didn’t really feel super comfortable going to work out surrounded by the entire football team,” Thomas said. 

After the numerous requests for another gym, Thomas knew he wanted to bring back a residence gym.

“We had the idea, we wanted to bring back the residence life gym and we tried a little bit last year, but it was just everything got really chaotic with COVID regulations so at the beginning of this year, in the fall semester, I sat down with Michael Berthel, Joseph Vernace and Ashley John and I said ‘look, the students really need this.’ We worked together to build it. It was hopefully going to be open by this semester. We ran into a couple of complications with the space, but we were able to open it after the spring break,” Thomas said.  

While not all of the equipment has arrived, the basics are now available. Treadmills, dumbbells, ellipticals, Peloton bikes and a yoga space are among the equipment ready to use in the new facility.

“We didn’t want to wait anymore. We didn’t want to keep the space from students while it was usable. Over the next week, more equipment’s gonna arrive,” Thomas said. 

The goal of the residence life gym is to provide a workout center for students that do not want to use Pratt.

“It’s still for working out, but the focus is a little different. We have more cardio and we don’t have as much as the big heavy weights. It’s more of like a daily workout center,” Thomas said. 

While there are currently no plans for workout classes, students can use the BlueFit Fitness app to connect to the Apple TV and try new workouts, such as yoga.

There are no restrictions on the hours that are open. When the gym is open, any student that wants to work out can do so.

As the semester continues, more equipment and services will become available. 

“We want the space to be as great as it possibly can be. If any student has any requests about the space, any suggestions, please reach out. I would love to hear it. I want that space to be perfect,” Thomas said. “I’ve been taking full advantage of it. I love to have it around.”