I go to the Kneller fairly regularly, I’d say about 3-4 times a week on average. While I am going to be complaining about it a lot in this article, I think it is one of the most underused resources on campus, and I am happy to have a free gym available. That being said, the Kneller could use some changes to improve the experience for everyone, and that is what I want to discuss in this article. 

 Anyone who goes to a gym regularly knows to wipe down the machines and benches after using them. At the Kneller, the spray bottles are often empty and some machines are visibly dirty. For example, the handles on the assisted pull-up feel sticky and have been that way for a while. It would take just a little effort to clean the machines. 

Another simple thing to fix is the lack of gym pins. There are not enough of them in the gym for all of the machines to be in use at the same time. For such a small gym, this is a stupid problem to have and shows a lack of care. Simply having a few more of them and attaching them to the machines, like many gyms do, would be an easy way to make the gym more convenient, especially at busy times of day.

Some of the machines squeak or have uneven resistance through the same movement. This problem here is likely just due to a lack of maintenance. Most gyms use lubrication on the machines to avoid these problems. It would be pretty cheap and easy for Clark to fix this problem, and it would help make the machines break less and last longer.

I understand that the problems in the following section are more expensive to fix, but they are disruptive enough to be worth mentioning. There is usually a line for the barbells, and some of the more popular machines will always be in use during peak hours. Additionally, many of the machines break regularly. Machines that you would expect of any gym, such as the leg extension, are unavailable for much of the year. This is probably caused by old equipment. The line of often-empty treadmills right in front of the entrance makes this lack of weights confusing. Replacing the strength training equipment might be expensive, but it also feels like resources were not used very efficiently. 

In my Psychogeography class with Mark Davidson, we discussed what places on campus we found most welcoming and unwelcoming. One group showed the Kneller as their least welcoming spot on campus. Many points that I wouldn’t have thought of came up during the conversation. The treadmills being visible from the sidewalk was not a problem I had thought about, but it makes sense that runners would probably prefer a tinted window to have a greater sense of privacy. Additionally, multiple people brought up the double doors at the entrance, which are confusing and unnecessary. The small aesthetic changes could make the gym feel more like an open place for more people.

The Kneller has many issues at the moment, many of which stem from old equipment and would be difficult to fix cheaply; however, some small changes could greatly improve the experience.