The De Anza College Fitness Center will have new gym equipment beginning winter or spring quarter, replacing the old machinery after 10 years, Physical Education Department Dean Rich Schroeder said.

The new fitness equipment is funded by measure C, a $490.8 million bond. On June 6, 2006, voters in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District’s service area approved the bond that will remodel the baseball field, as well as build and improve facilities across the campus.

 Additional funding for the equipment came courtesy of the annual “A Night of Magic” fundraiser, which earned $110,000.

 “We are finally getting state-of-the-art equipment in our fitness center,” Schroeder said.

 The new gym equipment will be highlighted by three main brands. Cybex will be the brand used for the strength equipment, fitness coordinator CJ Jones said. Life Fitness and Precor will be the brands of the new cardio equipment, she said.

 “I picked Cybex because it’s the best of the best. Other equipment manufacturers copy Cybex, and it’s made in the U.S.”

 According to Jones, the new cardio equipment will be compatible with the iPod, since many fitness instructors now use podcasts, “which is part of the technology that is used in the growth of education.”

 The 10 year old equipment, currently in place inside the fitness center, purchased with De Anza Associated Student Body funds, has been undergoing a variety of problems over the years and should have been replaced years ago, Schroeder said. Frequently, cables break, treadmills break down, and gym equipment needs to be replaced every three to four years, he said. 

 The new equipment will feature more modern, electronic-based fitness machines. For example, instead of the old LED lights that flash over a picture of a track when runners go a certain distance, each new machine will display an actual animation of a runner jogging through the track on an LCD screen, Schroeder said. 

 In order for students to use the new or old gym equipment, they must enroll in and complete PE 70A and PE 71, or pay a $60 membership fee per quarter. Once enrolled, students will not only have access to the new state-of-the-art gym equipment, but also to free personal trainers in the class, Schroeder said. 

 To celebrate the new gym equipment, the Physical Education Department will hold a grand opening ceremony shortly after the machinery comes in.