Some students choose to pay extra for off-campus gym memberships, while access to the Student Recreation Center is included in tuition and fees.

Erik Calmeyer, senior operations management and informations systems major, said he holds a membership at Charter Fitness, 720 Foxpointe Drive in Sycamore, because the traffic is more consistent and less crowded.

“You can always get on the machine you want,” Calmeyer said.

Junior finance major Samuel Okunola disagrees. A regular at the NIU Rec Center, Okunola won Greek Physic in 2009, trained the 2011 Female Greek Physic winner and won the OCB Midwest States Natural Bodybuilding and Figure Competition in 2010. This victory earned Okunola his “Pro-Card,” making him a professional body builder. Okunola does not have a membership to any other gym in DeKalb. “[The Rec Center] is convenient, and I’ve already paid for it as a part of my tuition,” Okunola said.

The Rec recently received $100,000 from the Student Association to upgrade the facilities. Assistant director for the NIU rec center, Chrissy Tluczek, said this money has gone toward new treadmills and ellipticals, weight lifting equipment and a total remodel of the Deadlift Room.

“We’re constantly bringing in new equipment,” Tluczek said, “I think students go elsewhere because the cardio equipment can be crowded during peak hours after 4 p.m.”

Tluczek said the cardio room in the field house is a seldom used alternative which is open to all who can use the Rec Center.

Debbie Madeley, membership development and marketing director at the Kishwaukee YMCA, 2500 W. Bethany Road in Sycamore, said some students may prefer other gyms like the YMCA because it makes them feel at home. She said she believes the Rec to be a fabulous facility and resource for college students.

“Community health takes many organizations and partnerships working together on it,” Madeley said. “I think we compliment each other in that respect.”