Do You Even Lift? Introducing “The Rack”
In August this year, a set of new racks arrived at Yates Field House. The floor workout area was cleared as construction began for the Olympic lifting platforms that were soon to be called “The Rack”.
Director of Fitness Maegen Hellberg who initially proposed the purchase of the racks said, “I’ve been watching our participants and members for almost the past three years and doing lots of research and determining what might be best for our space and came up with The Rack. These 3 platforms provide the opportunity for students or members to do more power and Olympic lifting in our facilities safely.”
The platforms have multiple features but their main purpose is to allow safe Olympic lifting (over the head lifting). The black padding deadens the drop of the weights and the flooring provides a no-slip area. The platforms can also be used to do chin-ups and also include catch-bars which allow a different type of lifting.
Before the rack was built, however, the logo went up first. Michele Guthrie, head of Yates marketing and communications, designed The Rack logo and, together with Maegen, hired Adele Marchant (COL`18), a government and studio art double major, to paint it. Michele said about Adele, “She’s very talented… She knew exactly how she would tackle painting it onto the wall…” Using two lifts of different heights, Adele painted the mural over five or six days. She said, “It was kind of physically grueling at some parts to be standing the whole time or crouching.” However, she added, “It was so fun. Yates staff was really awesome.”
For the past semester, the racks have become a fixture in Yates so make sure to check them out before the end of the semester!
by Marketing Assistant Jessie Yu