The new Pepperdine Fitness Center contains an advanced weightlifting area with improved equipment. The addition of platforms and bumper plates will cause less noise when lifting, and the added space and equipment will lessen the wait times for students. Photos by Samantha Torre
Pepperdine Campus Recreation announced the opening of the new Pepperdine Fitness Center in an April 20 email, the fitness center will open a at 6 a.m. Friday, April 22.
Director of Campus Recreation Robb Bolton said this announcement marks the soft-launch of the new fitness center, which will have an official opening at the beginning of the fall 2022 semester.
“This new space, replacing the Firestone Fieldhouse weight room, will accommodate even more community members as they strive to achieve their fitness and wellness goals,” wrote Campus Recreation in its email.
Firestone Fieldhouse’s weight room will be permanently closed as of April 22. Bolton said he hopes to donate the old equipment at Firestone.
The center is split into two main wings — one with cardio and space for app workouts and stretching, and the other dedicated to more advanced weightlifting workouts.
The cardio side of the Pepperdine Fitness Center. Bolton said Campus Recreation matched the amount of equipment in Firestone Fieldhouse, and added new equipment to aid student workouts such as rowing machines and a focus on interval training.
The app workout space located on the cardio side of the Fitness Center is separated from more advanced areas to help students feel less intimidated. Bolton said Campus Recreation focused on a variety of equipment in this space, and hopes to host workout classes.
An area for stretching is located across from the app workout materials. Bolton said Campus Recreation heard student complaints about the lack of space in Firestone, and hopes this area will become a social space for students.
Pepperdine’s New Fitness Center has six treadmills, complete with two treadmills for interval training. Bolton said the additional equipment for interval training originated from watching students try interval training unsafely on the Firestone treadmills.
On the weightlifting side of the gym are machines for more intermediate weightlifters, or those without spotters. Bolton said this additional equipment should help alleviate the bottleneck students faced when lifting.
The leg press at the Pepperdine Fitness Center sits unused. The new fitness center will have almost entirely new equipment from Firestone Fieldhouse, with the exception of a leg press Campus Recreation purchased shortly before the pandemic, Bolton said.
