BYU football players will see an extension of the Student Athlete Building weight room completed in time for their fall training camp.
Construction is underway on the 2,500 square-foot addition, which will house 10 new racks for weightlifting.
“Right now we have 14 weight racks, and the team has to split up to work out,” said Assistant Athletic Director Matthew Nix. “So the plan is to have 24 total racks for lifting so we’ll be able to accommodate a lot more athletes at the same time.”
BYU offensive lineman Ului Lapuaho said he is looking forward to the completion of the addition so the players can finish their workouts faster.
“There’s a lot of waiting time, and it extends workouts by at least an hour,” Lapuaho said. “With these new racks, we’ll spend less time finishing workouts so we can do other things, like school.”
Lapuaho said as many as five players are currently assigned to a lifting rack for workouts when three people per rack would be ideal. The 10 additional racks will hit that sweet spot precisely.
Strength and conditioning intern Brock Markham said the additional space will make time in the weight room more comfortable.
“It’s hard with such a big group of football players coming in,” Markham said. “Even though we have them split up into the offensive and defensive team, there’s still not a lot of elbow room.”
Though training camp does not begin for the football team until August, the players use the weight room year-round — even through the current construction period.
“We were able to build a false wall that separates the construction from the current weight room,” Nix said. “That allows us to continue to use the weight room for team workouts while the construction is taking place on the outside.”
The extension is being built onto the north end of the weight room, taking the place of a portion of the football practice fields. Nix, however, felt confident the reallocation of space would not negatively affect the use of the fields.
The new addition will be “mainly in the runoff area of the current fields,” Nix said. “Yes, this will eliminate some of the runoff on the ends of the fields, but we still feel there is enough space that it is not going to be a safety issue or concern for the athletes.”
Although the Student Athlete Building weight room is used primarily by the football team, the baseball and track and field teams also use it for their strength workouts.
Construction should be completed by July 1, and the new weight racks will be installed in time for the football team’s fall camp in August.
