By: Conner Williams Editor in Chief
Weight room: a room where weights are stored and lifted – usually in a vertical fashion – for the intent of building strength and muscle
HWC weight room: a huge building on campus which houses weights that aren’t allowed to be moved or touched for fear of making the slightest bit of noise
While I know this is a hyperbole, it is what it feels like every time I attempt to lift at the HWC.
I don’t claim to be the biggest or the strongest dude around, but I can move around some significantly heavy weights. And when heavy weights are moved around, they have to be set back down once the reps are completed, unless you’re a freak of nature and can just hold onto them forever.
The HWC has a policy that says, “Dropping weights is harmful to the facility, equipment, the lifter and bystanders.”
While the first part of the policy may be true in some circumstances, it isn’t the case when the weights and the floor are both made out of rubber. So, we can take this part of the policy with a grain of salt.
I’m also not sure how dropping weights can hurt the lifter, since the whole point of dropping them is to avoid injury that could result from attempting to awkwardly set the weights down silently.
In fact, it is quite difficult to set down the 100-pound dumbbells after completing a set without making any noise at all. But I suppose the HWC officials would prefer that I tear a pectoral muscle or a rotator cuff ensuring that no noise is generated. There goes the second part of the policy.
Next up: injury to bystanders. Sure, if I toss the weights across the floor right at someone, something bad could happen. But nobody is going to get hurt if nobody is around; I always make sure to create a lot of space for myself when lifting heavy.
It seems to me, then, that the whole point of this policy is to try and limit the amount of noise generated by people that are actually trying to work hard. I’ve been approached numerous times at the HWC and told to make less noise, which is strange, since the last time I checked, the second floor of the HWC is a weight room, not a library. And if the concern is disrupting classes going on in HWC 110, maybe they shouldn’t have built the weight room directly above a classroom, but I suppose that just makes too much sense.
The HWC is one step away from becoming Planet Fitness, in which literal alarms are set off in the gym if someone makes “too much” noise by dropping weights or grunting.
Seriously, alarms go off and then the person that made the noise is asked to leave. Planet Fitness users are also not allowed to lift heavier than a certain amount (another HWC policy) and they are not allowed to do certain power lifts (also a rule at the HWC).
The HWC has platforms specifically designed for these kinds of heavy, compound movements – complete with bumper plates that are made for dropping – but users aren’t permitted to use them for their actual intended purpose for fear of making too much noise.
By now, I’m sure many of you are under the impression that I’m some loud, obnoxious meathead whom purposely goes out of his way to make a scene in attention-seeking behavior.
I may make noise from time to time, but that’s because I genuinely work hard when I lift weights. The body tends to make involuntary noises when under duress, like lifting heavy weights. I don’t groan as loud as possible to try and draw attention to myself, nor do I throw weights around to get everyone to look at me.
Frankly, I couldn’t care less if people approve of how much I lift.
So when employees approach me multiple times during a workout session over the fact that I made any noise by setting the weights down on the ground or letting out a grunt, it frustrates me.
It also irritates me that it seems as if that is the sole responsibility of every employee at the HWC: constantly telling people to be quiet.
That, standing behind the desk, wandering around the gym, and … Well actually, that about covers it. It’s nice to know my student fees are going to good use: paying people to stand around.
I don’t mean to lay this blame at the feet of the student employees themselves; policies start at the top, and it is simply the responsibility of the employees to enforce those policies. They’re just doing their job, and I can’t blame them for the policies that the officials of the HWC chose to conceive.
I signed up at a local gym around April in response to the HWC’s unyielding attempts to keep me quiet at all costs. I have used the HWC several times since then when I didn’t feel like driving to Independence to work out. One thing that I wish I could do is defer my membership at HWC – which costs about $70 per term in IFC fees – and get a refund.
However, the business office told me that this is not possible, since fees are automatically charged and disbursed at the hands of the IFC. I believe this is unfair; students should be able to defer their membership at HWC if they do not wish to use the facilities.
The HWC is a great environment to exercise if one if interested in using some of the nice facilities and equipment that it offers: the rock wall, indoor track, pool, or excessive amount of elliptical trainers. However, it is not a good place to work out if the goal is to actually lift weights. If you want to lift heavy and have the ability to work hard without noise limitations and being harassed, do yourself a favor and go sign up somewhere else in town.
