“I feel neutrally satisfied because the time they took was a lot, especially as we were being charged the same prices too,” Galvez said. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
The newly renovated Campus Recreation and Wellness Center reopened after being under construction for more than a year.
After the disappointment and frustration students met with last semester, the much-awaited opening brought a sense of relief for regular UH gym-goers.
“I am very excited and happy they finally made new additions operational for students,” said computer information systems senior and student worker at CRWC Mark Abidde.
The improvements included a replacement of all wood floors and terrazzo flooring, renovation of the entry and welcome desk, additional offices and the repair of the second-floor fitness zone flooring.
The forced confinement of all students to the first floor during construction led to a lot of complaints. Because of the lack of space, students were unable to access some equipment but with the second floor re-opening, this issue seems to have been resolved.
“I really liked the extra space for stretching and it felt nice to have that extra space back,” said graphic design senior Madison Galvez. “It’s good for certain days where maybe I want to do something that’s a bit out of the crowd.”
An important addition to the Rec Center during this plan was the introduction of the Red Zone on the first floor.
The Functional Training Studio is equipped with all the latest functional training and sports performance equipment.
Students can find racks, some cardio and multi-functional equipment including battle ropes, heavy bags, kettlebells and a MARs screen that demonstrates how to do different exercises using the equipment.
“I enjoyed the body weight workouts at the Red Zone because before, it was mainly just weights focused or with the cardio machines,” Galvez said. “I liked trying different workouts that I hadn’t been able to do before because of lack of equipment.”
The Red Zone also added extra spaces for students’ exercises and dispersed the crowd from the second floor, Galvez said.
The Red Zone also includes a slam wall for medicine ball workouts, a turf area with a wheelbarrow sled, plyo boxes and equipment to help with HIIT workouts or functional training movements.
Students like Abidde also seem to be enjoying the addition of Shake Smart, which opened four months ago and replaced Smoothie King.
“I know the Smoothie King had a bunch of snacks and high-calorie drinks,” Abidde said. “So this definitely feels much healthier, and so I like it.”
While the Rec Center seems to have replaced almost the entire flooring across the facility, students don’t feel satisfied with the amount of time and money it took.
According to regular gym-goers, apart from the Red Zone which seemed to be a fan favorite, there were no new additions to the equipment.
“I feel neutrally satisfied because the time they took was a lot, especially as we were being charged the same prices too,” Galvez said. “That bothered me, and I think a lot of other students were bothered by it as well.”
Galvez and other students complained that some equipment was still broken after the renovations. They feel that changing the floors didn’t make much of a difference and changing the equipment could have been a better approach.
Despite the approximate 15 months of closure and delayed opening, there are still some parts of the Rec Center that are blocked off like the ping-pong table and the Badminton court.
Apart from these issues, the CRWC seems to be having a positive response, especially from students who are working out at the Rec Center for the first time.
A common belief among all attendees was that the facility looks much cleaner now.
“I have been going to the gym for three months now, and I really liked my experience here,” said accounting junior Kristal Morales. “It was pretty relaxed and really cool. I got to do everything I needed and didn’t have to wait for other people to finish with their equipment, like in other gyms.”
While Morales’ experience was much better at the Rec Center, she emphasized adding more signage and maps around the facility to avoid confusion and improve user experience.
Overall, despite the delayed opening and closed down parts of the facility, the newly renovated Rec Center is now mostly functional and is being used by Coogs.
More information about the Rec Center including operating hours can be found here.
