Dillon Gym doesn't measure up

When I first arrived at Princeton a year and a half ago, the gymnasium wasn’t even on my list of things to look at. After heartily approving of the gorgeous architecture, the amazing classes, the professors and the wonderful new dorms of Butler, I meandered over to Dillon, expecting a state-of-the-art fitness center that actually encouraged physical fitness. I had heard about wonderful facilities from numerous friends at both private and public universities around the country. Their schools offered perks like racquetball courts, top of the line fitness machines, free fitness classes and multiple pools.

So when I stepped into Dillon and explored it for the first time, understandably, my first reaction was extreme, crushing disappointment. The only places to workout and strength train are a classroom above the basketball court, a small cardio room downstairs, and the Stephens Fitness Center. I seriously thought someone was playing a joke on me when they told me nothing else existed. One of the best universities in the country had one of the smallest and most out-of-date gymnasiums I had ever seen and I couldn’t believe it.

The Stephens Fitness Center is a decent, large space, but it is poorly lit and crammed full of cardio and weight machines. When you walk in, you immediately notice the huge number of weight machines and the tiny number of cardio machines offered in comparison. There are only three rows of cardio machines, so if you go to Dillon during the peak hours of 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. you often have to wait for someone on the two rows of treadmills to finish before you can work out.

If you can’t run because of joint problems, bad knees or any other reason, you have to wait for someone on the one row of elliptical machines to finish. Of course, there’s another small cardio room on the premises with more elliptical machines and stationary bikes. However, it’s a tiny windowless space, so most people prefer to work out in the slightly nicer conditions of the Stephens Fitness Center. Once you get on a machine, you have to either be pretty secure about yourself and how in-shape you are or you will feel completely intimidated by the other exercisers. Because of the way the machines are laid out, you feel like everyone else is watching you in a way that recalls “1984.”

So let’s move on to the options Dillon offers for strength training. They do have many machines but, like all other equipment in Dillon, the machines are crammed into the measly space available on the main floor of the Stephens Fitness Center. This cramming often leaves you feeling like you’re strength training on top of the person next to you. There’s another strength training space downstairs jam-packed with bench presses, leg presses and other weight machines along with a small selection of free weights. If you can navigate the room without getting crushed by the 200 to 300 pounds most guys are weight lifting down there, the stark white walls and bright LED-white lights make it feel like an asylum compared to the dim, orange tinted space upstairs.

Oh, and if you’re into the newer forms strength training such as bands, medicine balls, fitness balls and Bosus, don’t even waste your time looking for them here. There is only one small corner of the gymnasium available for these types of exercises, and there are only a few lonely looking medicine and fitness balls to use. That is, if you can find a space, which is difficult because it’s usually completely crowded with students stretching and doing crunches.

For most students, college is a great time to get interested in physical fitness and working out. Here at Princeton, however, Dillon falls far short of that objective with its small and cramped workout spaces and lack of updated equipment and machines. Princeton prides itself in having many resources and options for us as students and scholars. It’s obvious that the University doesn’t think investing in the physical health and fitness of its students is a worthwhile cause.

Kelsey Zimmerman is a sophomore from Glen Allen, Va. She can be reached at kzimmerm@princeton.edu.