A weightroom makeover inspires a winning attitude
This BFS 3-D rendering of the Elite Half Rack stations at Utah State shows this is a weightroom for serious athletes. at Utah State A weightroom makeover inspires a winning attitude.
Function dictates design is the best way to describe the recent makeover of the Utah State varsity weightroom. Located in scenic Logan, Utah, the Aggies weightroom accommodates the various needs of more than 300 student-athletes in numerous sports. And because the facility is limited to 5,500 square feet, every square foot must be utilized for maximum efficiency. This summer, the Aggies’s head strength coach, Jacob Scharnhorst, came up with a better way to increase the efficiency of his weightroom. The key was to replace the large power racks with platforms with Elite Half Racks. “The racks we had took up a lot of space,” says Scharnhorst.
“We could only fit nine of them in our weightroom, so we decided to replace them with half racks. This allowed us to put 10 racks into a smaller space, which opened a bigger area for dumbbells.” Coach Scharnhorst tries to schedule workouts so that he and his staff work with 30 athletes at a time, dividing them into 10 groups of three. He says that one of the major differences between his program and the one used by the previous strength coach is that he has his athletes perform more Olympic lifting types of movements – and they do them from the floor rather than the SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 FEATURE STORY hang.
In addition to making full use of the weightroom, Scharnhorst uses other facilities on campus, such as the athletic fields, to perform additional conditioning methods such as sprinting and agility drills. Scharnhorst says his athletes have a mentality that they can win now. “Our saying is ‘Why not us? Why not now?’ And with this great weightroom, the answer is ‘Why not!’” Ed. note: As this issue went to press, we learned that Coach Scharnhorst has returned to his alma mater, the University of Idaho, to assume duties as their head strength coach. Evan Simon has taken the position of head strength coach at Utah.
Jacob Scharnhorst, Maegan Snodgrass and Kim Goss Perform all core lifts in one station From Stock Now With Chrome Guides and Protective Stripping on all Bar Contact Points and Black Powder Coat Paint STOCK VERSION Built to last: Massive 7-gauge steel tubing. Item #320462
From BFS Magazine — September/October 2009. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
