Campus Recreation

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.

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.

Upper Level

• 1 Core Super Stretch (MedX)
• 1 Stretch Trainer (PreCor)
• 1 12' x 15' stretching mat (Resilite)

• 20 treadmills (Life Fitness)
• 5 ellipticals (833 lower body; PreCor)
• 1 elliptical (556 total body; PreCor)
• 4 StairClimbers (SC5; StairMaster)
• 2 Arc Trainers (620A lower body; Cybex)
• 2 Arc Trainers (630A total body; Cybex)
• 2 835 Adaptive Motion Trainers (PreCor)
• 2 upright bikes (Life Fitness)
• 1 spin bike (AC Performance; Schwinn)
• 2 rowers (Concept2)
• 1 VersaClimber (Heart Rate, Inc.)
• 1 Viper (rope-climbing machine; Marpo Kinetics)
• 1 StepMill (SM5; StairMaster)

• 1 Leg Press (Life Fitness)
• 1 Glute & Hip (Life Fitness)
• 1 Hip Abduction (Life Fitness)
• 1 Hip Adduction (Life Fitness)
• 1 Calf Extension (Life Fitness)
• 1 Prone Leg Curl (Life Fitness)
• 1 Seated Leg Curl (Life Fitness)
• 2 Leg Extensions (Life Fitness)
• 1 Chest Press (Life Fitness)
• 1 Pec Fly (Life Fitness)
• 1 Pec Fly/Rear Delt (Life Fitness)
• 2 Cable Crossovers (Life Fitness)
• 3 Lat Pulldowns (Life Fitness)
• 3 Single Rows (Life Fitness)
• 2 Tricep Pushdowns (Life Fitness)
• 1 Pulldown (Life Fitness)
• 1 Assisted Dip/Chin (Life Fitness)
• 1 Row/Rear Delt (Life Fitness)
• 1 Lateral Raise (Life Fitness)
• 1 Shoulder Press (Life Fitness)
• 1 Bicep Curl (Life Fitness)
• 1 Tricep Extension (Life Fitness)
• 1 Tricep Press (Life Fitness)
• 2 Abdominals (Life Fitness)
• 1 Torso Rotation (Life Fitness)
• 1 Back Extension (Life Fitness)
• 1 4-Way Neck (MedX)

• 1 chin/dip/leg raise station (Life Fitness)
• 1 multi-angle bench (Life Fitness)

• 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 Arm Curl, seated (Hammer Strength)
• 1 Gripper (Hammer Strength)
• 1 Abdominal (Hammer Strength)
• 1 Ab Crunch (Life Fitness)

• 1 Olympic power rack (Hammer Strength)
• 1 Olympic squat rack (Hammer Strength)
• 5 double-tier dumbbell racks (Life Fitness)
• 2 barbell racks (Hammer Strength)

• 2 dip/chin/leg raise stations (Hammer Strength)
• 1 45-degree back extension bench (Hammer Strength)
• 1 glute/ham bench (Hammer Strength)

• 50 pairs of urethane-coated dumbbells, ranging from 5 to 100 pounds and totaling 3,960 pounds (Intek)
• 20 urethane-coated fixed barbells, ranging from 15 to 110 pounds and totaling 1,250 pounds (Intek)
• 240 urethane-coated plates, ranging from 2.5 to 45 pounds and totaling 5,640 pounds (Intek)
• 4 100-pound plates (Iron Grip)
• 16 1.25-pound plates (Ivanko)

• 8 Olympic benches (Hammer Strength): 4 supine, 2 incline, 1 decline and 1 military
• 9 utility benches (Hammer Strength): 4 supine, 3 multi-angle, 1 75-degree and 1 decline/ab
• 1 seated arm curl bench (Hammer Strength)

• 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)

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

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.

Room 1

• 8 upright bikes (Life Fitness)
• 4 recumbent bikes (Life Fitness)
• 2 StairClimbers (SC5; StairMaster)
• 2 rowers (Concept2)
• 2 AirDyne (Schwinn)
  

• 4 ellipticals (835 total body; PreCor)
• 2 ellipticals (556 total body; Precor)
• 5 ellipticals (833 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)