Does anybody know......

Flex

....if the sports complex is still not allowing students to use the 'elite gym', or whatever they call it, unless you play in the Eircom league, or AIB league, etc. or have they changed the rules yet? If you play for a college club will they let you use it? I remember I asked that last year and they said no, but it would be great if theyve changed their minds. So does anybody know?Thanks

28064212

They haven't changed it, it's still for 'elite athletes'

rugbug86

i THINK that if you're on a scholarship you have use of the elite gym, and also if you're on the starting team for a college club. but that might just be certain sports and stuff. you should contact ken robinson (manager dude) about it, he should be able to help ya.

Flex

rugbug86 wrote:

i THINK that if you're on a scholarship you have use of the elite gym, and also if you're on the starting team for a college club. but that might just be certain sports and stuff. you should contact ken robinson (manager dude) about it, he should be able to help ya.

yeah, i sent him an email about it last year after the guys at the desk refused me, asking what the standards were for using it and i put in some other things too that i was unhappy about;). anyway, he more or less just said its for elite athletes, hence the reason its called the 'elite gym'. ill send him another one and ask about it

ronbyrne2005

my brother was in the non elite gym last friday and said it was pscked and he couldnt get to do his workout as there were groups of lads on the bench press and other machines mean while the "empty gym " was empty as usual,i cycle past the sports complex on my way to sportslink gym cloghran a few times a week and its always empty,its a waste of the universities money , most of the college team players havent got a clue about weight training and they are allowed to use the "elite gym"

thewools

once again ron, ur wrong, all "elite" athletes using the gym have been trained to use these facilities before they actaully use them! And if certain individuals dont know how to operate or use the weights + equipment plenty of help is on board.

Also how can u possibly see eveybody / everything in this gym, just nobody is directly beside the window doesnt mean that people are still in the gym, i personally really never use the equipment near the window side except for the treadmill. perchaps this mite explain this occurance.

Flex

=wooly69]once again ron, ur wrong, all "elite" athletes using the gym have been trained to use these facilities before they actaully use them! And if certain individuals dont know how to operate or use the weights + equipment plenty of help is on board.

I would have thought if they were 'elite athletes' that they would already know how to use equipment in a gym rather than needing to be shown how to use it? Apparently im not an 'elite athlete' but i know how to use gym equipment; make a good routine; have a good diet; etc.

Also how can u possibly see eveybody / everything in this gym, just nobody is directly beside the window doesnt mean that people are still in the gym, i personally really never use the equipment near the window side except for the treadmill. perchaps this mite explain this occurance.

My mate uses it (lucky him he plays for Barnhall rugby team) and he says whenever hes been in it its been empty, which sucks when he needs a spotter.

I think its absolutely ridiculous that the DCU Sports complex has a policy of keeping the best part of its gym off limits to the vast majority of DCU students

ronbyrne2005

passed thru dcu at 7.30pm and all of two people were using the "empty gym", anyone looking for a gym theres two new ones opening near dcu soon, ben dunne is opening a gym beside santry stadium 20 min walk max from dcu 5mins on any northbound bus also crunch fitness is opening in the new ballymun mainstreet if its not already open.ben dunne is charging about 350euro for unlimited access for 13 months! great value

ronbyrne2005

when im standing up on my bike going up the side of the new bar i can see the far wall of the gym so i can generally see eveyone(usually no one) in the gym . dcu will lose even more members whe the new gyms open nearby, dcu have a lot of non current student members there you know and they'll get sick of paying 450 a year for a crap overpacked gym.

rugbug86

ronbyrne2005 wrote:

when im standing up on my bike going up the side of the new bar i can see the far wall of the gym so i can generally see eveyone(usually no one) in the gym . dcu will lose even more members whe the new gyms open nearby, dcu have a lot of non current student members there you know and they'll get sick of paying 450 a year for a crap overpacked gym.

well why don't you stop complaining and join the other gyms that are opening! if they suit your needs better, go for it.

the elite athletes gym is there for a reason.

Flex

rugbug86 wrote:

well why don't you stop complaining and join the other gyms that are opening! if they suit your needs better, go for it.

the elite athletes gym is there for a reason.

those gyms dont really suit me at all though. It takes me about 30 mins to walk to my gym at home, and when i finish my workout it takes about another 30 mins to walk back home. So, if i was able to use the 'empty gym' at DCU it would save me 60 minutes of walking to and from my gym in the evening after i get home!

And quite frankly, IMO, the non-'elite gym' is a great big pile of ****. No bench press, no squat wrack, and no free olympic bars which means you cant do ;1.Barbell bench press, 2.Squats, 3. Deadlifts, 4. Military press. Those are 4 brilliant and (IMO) essential exercises for bodybuilding, and ya cant do them in that gym. I hate using machines, with the exception of lat pull down and cable crossover (off the top of my head), i prefer free weights for my exercises. I dont use smith machines either for the same reason. Oh, and the dumbells in that place only go to 25kg, last i heard, which is too light for bench pressing exercises and shoulder press.

That gym is crap. Why cant i use the gym at the college i go to thats being under-used by guys who i can probably lift more than?? Oh yeah thats right, i dont play in the Eircom league (or whatever), so im not good enough. By the way, eircom league players and GAA county players and so on arnt exactly what id consider 'elite athletes'. If they are, then im a candidate for the next mr. olympia :rolleyes:

I can see the idea of having a gym only for people who train properly and seriously, but this policy of simply presuming that unless you play for a certain team or in a certain league then youre not good enough is complete bull****.

OFDM

rugbug86 wrote:

the elite athletes gym is there for a reason.

And what reason would that be? To be left unused most of the time? So that the majority of DCU students can be discriminated against in being denied use of college facilities?

Do you realise that weights in the "normal" gym suck?

rugbug86

yeah, i have to use that gym too but weights etc arent what i'm interested in.
i swim as much as i can and i use the bikes/treadmils. only do a bit of work on the weights so the weights there are fine for me.

CuLT

rugbug86 wrote:

yeah, i have to use that gym too but weights etc arent what i'm interested in.
i swim as much as i can and i use the bikes/treadmils. only do a bit of work on the weights so the weights there are fine for me.

Ignorance is hardly an excuse for dismissing other people's complaints.

rugbug86

im not dismissing them, i'm just saying

but there's nothing i can do, i went to the protest organised last year and the management just dont care what the general joe soaps think, once they get your money, thats all they care about.

CuLT

They don't care until it starts to become public knowledge that DCU is a stingey, penny-pinching college. Nothing more powerful than bad press.

rugbug86

but the press don't really care... i mean there was only a teeny article on the protest in the northside people last year. the independant showed up but never printed anything about it.

CuLT

Aye, it might take a while in fairness, or someone with decent contacts inside the Irish Times or Independent to do a piece on the relative expenses of different colleges. That'd bring it to the fore pretty quickly.

rugbug86

yeah, but the problem is that on paper the facilities in dcu are fantastic. no-one mentions the overcrowding when people are joining...

OFDM

rugbug86 wrote:

yeah, i have to use that gym too but weights etc arent what i'm interested in.
i swim as much as i can and i use the bikes/treadmils. only do a bit of work on the weights so the weights there are fine for me.

Your attitude of "I'm alright, f*ck you Jack" doesn't hold water. Just because you don't want to use the "elite" gym isn't reason enough for wanting it to be kept for the use of a privileged few.

rugbug86

i'd like the "elite" gym to be opened for general use, i'm just saying that i don't want to use it. apparantly i could use it if i wanted because i'm on a dcu team but i dont know if they've introduced that one in yet. a friend of mine works in the gym and she said they're thinking of letting anyone who's on the starting team for a sports club in dcu and who is also a member of the gym, will have access to the elite gym.

28064212

Flex wrote:

And quite frankly, IMO, the non-'elite gym' is a great big pile of ****. No bench press, no squat wrack, and no free olympic bars which means you cant do ;1.Barbell bench press, 2.Squats, 3. Deadlifts, 4. Military press.

Ummm... There is a bench press. And I believe it can also be used as a squat rack. No idea about olympic bars. Also, I could be wrong, but I think the dumbbells go up to 37.5kg. Have you actually gone into the non-elite gym and taken a look around to see if it suits you?

Flex wrote:

Why cant i use the gym at the college i go to thats being under-used by guys who i can probably lift more than?? Oh yeah thats right, i dont play in the Eircom league (or whatever), so im not good enough. By the way, eircom league players and GAA county players and so on arnt exactly what id consider 'elite athletes'

Because you can lift more you think you have more right to use it? Actually I think that gym has been mis-named. "Competitive gym" would probably be more accurate.

digiman

I think that it is fair enough that only "elite" athletes use the elite gym, or maybe have a comprimise where it is open for a few hours in the evening, but otherwise it would be to crowded and you would have a lot of people in there that have absouletly no need to be there.
What would be a better idea is to put some more free weights into the ordinary gym and the normal bench press. I have been in the "elite" gym a few times and there was only a few people there and on another time there was nobody there for over an hour at least.

Flex

28064212 wrote:

Ummm... There is a bench press. And I believe it can also be used as a squat rack. No idea about olympic bars. Also, I could be wrong, but I think the dumbbells go up to 37.5kg. Have you actually gone into the non-elite gym and taken a look around to see if it suits you?

yes i have been in it and looked around it twice. im not basing my opinion on what other people have told me or something. i didnt see a bench press, i saw a wrack with a few dumbells in another room with 2 benches. maybe theyve bought new dumbells but when i was there they only went up to 25kg. i used to use the gym before they upgraded it last year too.

Because you can lift more you think you have more right to use it? Actually I think that gym has been mis-named. "Competitive gym" would probably be more accurate.

AFAIK the reason for this policy of exclusion is that the gym be reserved for use by 'elite athletes' only, correct? if i can lift more than some of them would that not mean myself or anyone else who can lift more is 'elite' aswel? i never said i have more right to use it than anyone else, im not the one who wants people prevented from using the college gym.