No Pain, No Gain

Figure 1

            If getting in shape or becoming jacked was easy then everyone would be. Since it is not,  places like the Danville Area Community Center and personal trainers like Billie Ingraham exist. The gym in the DACC possesses plenty of lifting and fitness equipment for anyone willing to pay for a membership. Also, the community center has many other activities from basketball, to swimming and racquetball (Figure 1) for patrons. Although the community center's most popular attraction would probably be the fitness and lifting area.

            Immediately after walking through the two glass windowed doors a slight scent of sweat hits you, along with the sound of inaudible music from some random radio station that plays in the background. Overhead hangs a wavy steel roof with metal bars hanging down from it. Across the room, a large mirror that nearly covers the entire wall can be seen. The mirror makes the front room seem more spacious and less cramped. A water fountain and a rarely used magazine rack are mounted on the wall. Grass, rocks, and dirt cover the floor in the cardio and weight rooms, tracked in by unaware gym rats and the occasional lifter alike.

            The weight lifting area, located inside of an old racquetball court appears very much like the functioning racquetball court right next to it.  Both have wooden floors resembling that of a basketball court, along with lines painted on the wood to use for racquetball. Both have overwhelmingly high ceilings and walls, all covered in white paint. The only difference between the courts themselves is that the one housing all of the weight lifting equipment has many cracks and missing pieces in the wood on the floor. The current set up of the weight lifting equipment is for, "aesthetics, putting the bigger machines in the back to make the room look more open," according to Mrs. Ingraham.

            Several treadmills, bikes, and a stair stepper, all parallel to one another and perpendicular to the mirror, compose the majority of the cardio equipment. "The treadmills are set up for more space," Mr. Ingraham said as the rhythmic sound of feet pounding against the treadmills can be heard. All of the treadmills are made by the same company because buying in bulk can cause the average cost to be less. The bikes sit near an old, unplugged, tiny, and probably broken grey fan. Even if it did work the fan would provide no relief to the heat produced by the person.  Along with these, the DACC has a rowing machine, three medicine balls, all with the same design but of different weights and colors, several mats randomly scattered around, and four yoga balls of varying sizes and colors. The yoga balls and mats are used mainly on Wednesday evenings for the yoga class. The rowing machine is almost never touched except when it needs cleaned or maintenance, and the medicine balls can be used for several different exercises, from sit-ups to ball flies.

Figure 2

                        Dark blue firm cushioning covers all of the machines lifts. The cushioning should be whipped down every time someone "sits, touches, or drips on it."Also, according to Mr. Ingraham the machines, "alternate upper and lower body for ease of use." For example, if the first machine works quads then the second machine would work a muscle or set of muscles in the upper body, like chest and back. The machines also should be wiped down every night by the staff and every month the cables should be checked for tension. The bars, which the weights slide up and down, get oiled every month for smoothness . Although if you go to lift, you should probably do it right as Mr. Ingraham reminisced about the people who, "use the lat pull down machine backward. Ask if you don't know something." A smith machine and a multipurpose weight lifting machine (Figure 2) are the two largest non-free weight pieces of exercise equipment in the gym. A sign on the wall that reads, "Please put ALL weights back on proper racks in their correct place! Thank you - DACC Staff" is clearly not followed as weights lay all over the floor and put in incorrect spots on the racks. The community center also owns several sets of free weights in addition to the machine weights.

Figure 3

            The free weights are also all covered in the same blue padding as the machines. The free weights consist of a bench press with two different bars, one a standard, weighing ten pounds less than the other, an Olympic bar. The standard barbell, all brown in color, with rust on the weight holding portion of the bar, currently lays racked on the bench press. The Olympic bar, slightly larger in diameter and all a silver color lays in the corner of the room behind the Smith machine. Heavy breathing and encouraging words from a spotter can be heard near the bench press as the athlete, who is wearing a cutoff that seems a little too small for him, struggles to push out his last rep. As soon as he finishes he racks the bar making the sharp sound of metal clashing with hard plastic pierce the air , The weights on the bar seem to rattle softly shortly after being rack. At the same time the lifter lets out a deep breath that exhibits his satisfaction. The preacher curl (Figure 3) station used for seated bicep curls that holds the E-Z curl bar (also in Figure 3) and two sets of clips for holding the weight on. Out of the two sets only one clip works well. The gym also has two sets of dumbbells, one set covered in black rubber with the weight in pounds making an out dent inside of an indented box and another set completely made of metal with the weight in pounds making an out dent. The gym also has almost a dozen resistance band of different strengths hanging on the multipurpose lifting machine and, "TRXes for suspension training."

            Besides working out the DACC carries many other recreation activities available for members. First, if you feel overheated, go to the pool to cool down. The pool contains generic black lines painted on the bottom of it used to help swimmers swim in a straight line. The natatorium has a very high, partially on a slant and mostly all glass ceiling and a panel near the diving board with all the swimming records achieved at the DACC mounted on the wall. Although be careful because the floor made of cement becomes dangerously slippery when wet. So seriously, when the lifeguards say, "Hey, stop running!" listen to them. The pool can also be used for swimming laps since the DACC staff always sections off two lanes from the rest of the pool. Aside from the pool the DACC recently refurbished the basketball court. The court, now floored with a grey, rubbery substance with dark blue lines comparable to the color of the cushion is equipped with a new scoreboard that displays the time in large numbers when not being used for a game. Although, one should bring his/her own ball to shoot with since the balls at the rec center are extremely used and mostly under inflated. The DACC also provides lesson in many things. These lessons range from belly dancing to CrossFit.

            If you choose to visit the DACC make sure to use the proper facilities to get changed in. Mr. Ingraham recounted which a chuckle, "I remember the one time the guy who got sweaty and stripped down in front of everyone." The DACC has locker rooms for both, males and females. Their purposes range from showering to the bathroom usage.

            Recreational centers across the country exist for one purpose, to help people stay or get in shape. The DACC is no different. It has swimming, basketball, racquetball, and cardio and lifting equipment. If any of these activities or their benefits interest you, head down to the DACC to become a full time member.