A debate many people discuss is whether or not to go lift weights. Some avoid the Lund Center weight room becuase they are nervous working out near athletes. Others don’t know what to do once they’re there.

Whatever the case, Gustavus students often conclude that the weight room is too intimidating. In the weight room, it is not uncommon to run into packs of athletes who know each other well. It can be crowded. There’s loud music, grunting, and clanking metal plates.

For those reasons, the weight room seems like its own little club.

Many people may feel like they don’t belong in there, and that makes them uncomfortable. Generally speaking, women tend to be more averse to the weight room than men—but that’s also true on the Gustavus campus. That led to the creation of a female-only Weight Training course, which has been offered since 2012. The course is taught by Head Women’s Soccer Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie.

“The goal of the course is to provide a safe, comfortable environment for females who have limited or no weight lifting experience to gain comfort in the weight room and feel genuinely comfortable continue to work out after the class is over,” Burnett-Kurie said.

Gaining comfort in the weight room is also the goal of the “normal” Weight Training course offered by the Health and Exercise Science department. I took the course in the Fall of 2013.

Unlike most people in the course, however, I was already familiar with the weight room and had been training for several years, which gave me a bit of insight into how people are eased in to the weight room environment.

One of the primary benefits of the course is getting a workout plan. Many people don’t realize that weight training is best approached with guidance and the knowledge of some basic movements. The Weight Training course accomplishes that with the help of a coach and learning days, where a student demonstrates an exercise to the class.

The other draw of the course is that the weight room is allotted to course participants for an hour.

By the middle of the semester, most people seemed to be comfortable with grabbing their plan, heading in, and getting a workout done.

That process shouldn’t sound so bad because it’s not. But even Gusties who have taken the class don’t always continue using the weight room. The existence of a female-only class reveals the problem students face in becoming comfortable with using the weight room. Discomfort deters many Gusties—not only women—from attaining the benefits of weight lifting.

Weightlifting increases strength, boosts metabolism, and improves flexibility. According to an article from the Livestrong website: “Lifting weights helps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and increases or improves resistance to type 2 diabetes. It also helps in lowering blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, stress and anxiety; while also helping to boost the immune system, preventing certain types of cancers, along with hormonal benefits (testosterone, growth hormone) if performed at sufficient intensity,” Chris Chinn wrote.

“It can be crowded. There’s loud music, grunting and cranking metal plates. For those reasons, the weight room seems like its own little club” —Will Metcalf

But the benefits of weight lifting aren’t only physical.

“In both of my weight lifting courses, my students gain a much higher level of confidence and a more positive self-perception, which contributes to overall success in all areas of life,” Burnett-Kurie said.

Knowing what weight training can add to a fitness regimen, the weight room should be a place all Gustavus students can look forward to exercise in. But it clearly isn’t, even when students are given the tools to use the space effectively.

-Will Metcalf