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Fitness center facelift

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Emily Chilson
  • 20 Fight Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  A physical fitness focus group made up of both enlisted and officer members gathered Nov. 6 to discuss the details and plans for the fitness center annex and the addition to the current fitness center. 

Airmen were able to voice their opinions on the current fitness center as well as make suggestions about future facilities and equipment at a physical fitness focus group conducted by Charlie Glover, 20th Force Support Squadron fitness and sports director. 

Glover has built four fitness centers since he began his career. By the time he leaves Shaw, he will have built six. 

"Every fitness center I've built has stayed new for at least four years," Glover said. "It's your fitness center. My staff and I do everything we can to give you the best equipped and cleanest facility." 

Something Airmen agree on is the need for pull-up bars at the running track and outdoor recreation area. Glover agrees and would also like to have a par course, or outdoor circuit training course, consisting of various physical fitness stations along a mile stretch of running trails. 

While ideas for physical fitness improvements on Shaw are infinite, the budget is finite. Plans for an indoor pool and indoor track, for example, had to be scratched due to a cut-back in the budget. 

"I wanted the indoor track," he said, "believe me. It's one of those things you have to prioritize - where the money goes right now. There will be brand new equipment in these facilities - 99.9 percent of it will be brand new. Most bases have had this equipment for 10 years." 

The fitness center annex will serve to accommodate the 1,500 Army Central members coming in as well as the 648 Airmen who work south of the flight line. The annex is first on the agenda, followed by a 25,000 square foot addition to the current fitness center, Glover said. 

Construction on the annex is scheduled to break ground here in January and be completed in about 20 months. The construction site is located near the 1.5 mile track where Airmen currently take the run portion of their physical fitness test. 

On a daily basis 1,500 people work out at the fitness center. The evolution of the fitness center will happen in three phases in order to ensure Airmen always have a place to exercise. 

"The current fitness center was built in 1968. It's been piece-meal and you've got racquet ball courts turned into other rooms," Glover said. 

The new free weight and strength resistance room will be 6,800 square feet. Ultimately, the current free weight and strength resistance room will be additional basketball courts.
Once the 4,000 square foot cardio room is complete in the fitness center addition, the primary cardio room in the current fitness center will transform into the new aerobics room complete with a floating wood floor. 

"This floating wood floor has a little give to it," he said, "and helps your legs, knees, and shins." 

The new aerobics room will be three times the size of the current aerobics room and the current aerobics room will become training and locker rooms for the fitness center staff.
 
The fitness center addition will also feature new locker and shower rooms for both men and women. The 2,500 square foot women's locker room will have 120 full-length lockers, 12 showers and a vanity area complete with hand-held hair dryers, Glover said.
 
The men's locker room, 3,000 square feet, will have 220 full-length lockers, and 12 separate showers. Both locker rooms will have combination sauna and steam rooms as well as floor drains throughout. 

Once the new locker rooms are completed, the old locker rooms will be transformed to house the Health and Wellness Center, Glover said. 

Families are a priority when it comes to making plans to accommodate children in the fitness center addition. According to Glover, there will be an L-shaped parent and child area occupying more than 1,200 square feet as well as both men and women family locker rooms. 

The racquet ball courts will be rebuilt and the additional rooms for cardio, stretching and spinning in the current fitness center used for storage. 

More than 35 spinning bikes will occupy the current staff offices once the new offices are finished in the addition. 

Glover said he would also like to have a pro-shop and something along the lines of a smoothie or snack bar in the completed fitness center. The maintenance and cleaning contracts will be extended. 

A major feature of both facilities is energy efficiency, a hot topic Air Force-wide as the military attempts to 'go green.' 

"Air conditioning will automatically pick up the heat from the bodies and kick in to compensate," Glover said. "We will have water fountains installed in the new facilities. We are doing everything in our power to make sure everything in this new facility is state of the art," Glover said. 

No stone is left unturned as details are finalized for the fitness center facelift Shaw is undergoing in the next two years.