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Stephens Fitness Center

History

The Stephens Fitness Center -- named in honor of the generous gift of Paul and Elle Stephens and their son, Bart '97 -- opened on January 31, 2000.  It was the end result of a four-month renovation of the Beale E. Poste Health Fitness Center.  (Mr. Poste graduated from the university in 1929.)  An interesting note is that during the renovation, the current Group Fitness Room was outfitted as a temporary fitness center.

Highlights

The 8,000 square foot facility has air conditioning, handicap accessibility and a sound system (satellite radio).  It consists of two levels: an upper and lower.

The 5,000 square foot upper level has wall-to-wall carpeting and houses an extensive inventory of selectorized machines and aerobic (or "cardio") equipment. The upper level also has a reception desk, lounge (with 72 "cubbies"), 6 flat-screen LCD televisions and designated stretching area.

The 3,000 square foot lower level has wall-to-wall high-density flooring and boasts an abundance of free-weight equipment.

By the Numbers

Upper Level

 1 stretching area:
  • 2 stretching machines (MedX and PreCor)
  • 1 12' x 15' stretching mat (Resilite)
43 pieces of aerobic equipment:
  • 20 treadmills (Life Fitness and PreCor)
  • 5 ellipticals (546 lower body; PreCor)
  • 1 elliptical (556 upper body; PreCor)
  • 4 StairMasters
  • 4 Arc Trainers (Cybex)
  • 2 Adaptive Motion Trainers (PreCor)
  • 2 upright bikes (Life Fitness)
  • 2 rowers (Concept2)
  • 1 VersaClimber (Heart Rate, Inc.)
  • 1 Viper (rope-climbing machine; Marpo Kinetics)
  • 1 StepMill (StairMaster)
29 pieces of strength equipment, selectorized:
  • 1 Leg Press (Nautilus)
  • 1 Rotary Hip (Cybex)
  • 1 Hip Abduction (Nautilus)
  • 1 Hip Adduction (Nautilus)
  • 1 Prone Leg Curl (Nautilus)
  • 1 Seated Leg Curl (Nautilus)
  • 2 Leg Extension (Nautilus)
  • 1 10-Degree Chest (Nautilus)
  • 1 Vertical Chest (Nautilus)
  • 1 Pec Fly (Nautilus)
  • 1 Cable Crossover with 4 stations (Body Masters)
  • 1 Super Pullover (Nautilus)
  • 1 Pullover (Nautilus)
  • 1 Weight-Assisted Dip/Chin (Nautilus)
  • 2 Lat Pulldown (Body Masters)
  • 2 Low Row (Body Masters)
  • 1 Row/Rear Delt (Cybex)
  • 1 Lateral Raise (Nautilus)
  • 1 Overhead Press (Nautilus)
  • 1 Preacher Curl (Nautilus)
  • 1 Tricep Extension (Nautilus)
  • 1 Abdominal (Nautilus)
  • 1 Rotary Torso (Nautilus)
  • 1 Low Back (Nautilus)
  • 1 Multi-Exercise (Nautilus)
  • 1 4-Way Neck (Nautilus)
Other:
  • 1 Dip/Chin station (Cybex)
Lower Level
 
12 pieces of strength equipment, plate-loaded:
  • 1 Leg Press (Cybex)
  • 1 Leg Press (Hammer Strength)
  • 1 Linear Hack Press (Hammer Strength)
  • 1 45-Degree Donkey Calf Raise (Cybex)
  • 1 Seated Calf Raise (Hammer Strength)
  • 1 Smith Machine (Hammer Strength)
  • 1 Iso-Lateral Chest/Back (Hammer Strength)
  • 1 Iso-Lateral Low Row (Hammer Strength)
  • 1 Iso-Lateral Rowing (Hammer Strength)
  • 1 Gripper (Hammer Strength)
  • 2 Abdominal (Life Fitness)
Racks:
  • 1 Olympic Power Rack (Hammer Strength)
  • 1 Olympic Squat Rack (Hammer Strength)
Other:
  • 2 Dip/Chin/Leg Raise stations (Hammer Strength)
  • 2 Back Extensions (Hammer Strength)
Miscellaneous Weights:
  • 65 pairs of urethane dumbbells, ranging from 5 to 100 pounds and totaling 4,340 pounds (Iron Grip)
  • 20 urethane fixed barbells, ranging from 20 to 115 pounds and totaling 1,350 pounds (Iron Grip)
  • 240 plates, ranging from 2.5 to 100 pounds and totaling 6,040 pounds (IronGrip)
  • 16 1.25-pound plates (Ivanko)
Benches:
  • 8 Olympic Benches (Hammer Strength): 4 supine, 2 incline, 1 decline and 1 military
  • 8 Utility Benches  (Hammer Strength): 4 supine, 3 multi-angle and 1 decline/ab
  • 2 Preacher Curl Benches (Hammer Strength)
Bars:
  • 10 International Power Bars (Iron Grip)
  • 1 6-Foot Aluminum Bar (York Barbell)
  • 2 5-Foot Bars (Iron Grip)
  • 2 EZ Curl Bars (Iron Grip)
  • 2 “Thick” Bars (Hammer Strength): 2 inch and 3 inch
  • 1 Trap Bar (Piedmont Design Associates)


 

Cardio Annex

History

The Cardio Annex opened on August 29, 2008.  The space was made possible by renovating areas that had been used for equipment storage.

Highlights

The 800 square foot facility has two rooms with air conditioning, ceiling fans, high-density flooring, sound system (satellite radio) and 4 flat-screen LCD televisions.

By the Numbers

Room 1

 18 pieces of aerobic equipment:
  • 8 upright bikes (Life Fitness)
  • 4 recumbent bikes (Life Fitness)
  • 2 AirDynes (Schwinn)
  • 2 StairMasters
  • 2 rowers (Concept2)
Room 2
 
11 pieces of aerobic equipment:
  • 6 ellipticals (556 lower body; PreCor)
  • 5 ellipticals (546 lower body; PreCor)

With 5,000 square feet of space, the Beale E. Poste Health Fitness Center served the university community for more than 25 years until it closed on August 17, 1999.


Bart Stephens '97 and Paul Stephens at the dedication of the Stephens Fitness Center on January 30, 2000


Beyond the support from the Stephens family, The Quigley Family Foundation made a generous gift toward the establishment and resources of the fitness center.


The Stephens Fitness Center regularly exceeds 240,000 usages per year.  On a busy day, it gets well more than 1,000 usages.


The record for usage in one day is 1,732.  On that day, one person entered the doors every 35.85 seconds . . . for 17.25 straight hours.


Upper level of the Stephens Fitness Center


Upper level of the Stephens Fitness Center


Upper level of the Stephens Fitness Center


Lower level of the Stephens Fitness Center


Lower level of the Stephens Fitness Center


Lower level of the Stephens Fitness Center


Cardio Annex (Room 1)


Cardio Annex (Room 2)