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Top 8 Reasons Your School or University Needs a Gym
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In today's fast-paced world, the role of schools and universities extends beyond simply academic excellence. Educational facilities have the challenging task of providing students with all the tools they require to help them thrive in their lives. This includes taking care of their well-being and health.
Everyone knows the importance of fitness, but why is it so key for schools and universities to get it right with their students? Today we're going to look at eight reasons why incorporating a gym into your facilities will not only promote physical health but enhance academic performance.
Our experience working with various educational institutions means we know how important the gym can be for educational sites. Gyms are invaluable in the overall well-being and success of students and staff, so read on to find out how we can help you empower students through fitness to excel not only academically but also in other areas of their lives.
1. Health Benefits
The first simple answer is that a gym offers students and staff the opportunity to partake in a range of activities that contribute to their overall health. It provides convenient access to exercise equipment, which promotes physical activity and improves overall health within a school or university.
On-site facilities not only make it easier to work out for staff and students but it is a great way for institutions to help people thrive through building healthy lifestyle habits at an early age. What could be better than providing a first-class education academically and also enabling students to focus on their well-being at the same time?
Regular exercise results in physical and mental health benefits, including a lower risk of chronic diseases such as stress, depression, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. This is a massive benefit for students as we see regular exercise also transfer to improved academic endeavors.
There is a clear correlation between exercise and academic performance improvement for school-age children and a good amount of research now also indicates that regular exercise can help to improve mental health and behavioral problems in pre-teen students. We think this highlights just how important the gym can be for schools and universities.
2. Promote Healthy Lifestyle Habits
Regular exercise has been proven to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. The gym offers a place for students to not only receive physical benefits but also significant mental benefits. Mental health-related issues are prevalent among young people making it a constant challenge for schools and universities to work with.
Offering a gym allows educational institutions to help students engrain healthy lifestyle habits from an early age, supporting the physical and mental well-being of their students as they develop into adulthood. The earlier someone can begin their fitness journey the greater impact on their adult life it will have.
This can be significant for reducing the risk of major illnesses, improving self-esteem, helping with sleep, and reducing the likelihood of a whole host of mental health issues. We can even see the benefit of simple physical activity for young children in developing social skills, motor skills, and overall cognitive development.
To put it simply, the gym will help students form positive habits that not only inform the lifestyle they lead but also the habits they will choose to maintain into adulthood. Whether it's a school student attending their first gym session or someone re-discovering fitness at university, the gym enables students to start healthy lifestyle habits and begin their educational journey.
3. Attract Prospective Students
While the gym might be thought of as a haven for sporting-focused individuals, people now understand the benefits of consistent gym use for their daily lives. A well-equipped gym is a valuable asset that can attract prospective students and enhance the overall student experience, contributing to higher enrollment and improved retention rates for both schools and universities.
If cultivating a successful sports program is also important to your institution it won't just be prospective parents you'll want to impress. Student-athletes will be on the lookout for high-quality training facilities which are essential for helping them to achieve their sporting ambitions.
Whether you are looking to start that first school sports program or are competing in the top BUCS Leagues, if you don’t have a quality gym setup it will be hard to retain and attract talent to your institution.
Offering on-campus fitness facilities will help the students but it can also be a bonus for staff and faculty members as well. Not only will this keep your sporting teams and students fit and healthy but it can boost employee morale, reduce absenteeism, and increase productivity among staff.
4. Improve Academic Performance
As we touched on earlier, the gym is not just a place where sporting teams get the final 1% out of their performance. It should be a place where any student can come to ingrain habits that will ultimately improve their life and healthspan.
Not only will they receive the wide range of physical and mental health benefits that occur from regular gym attendance, but they will also benefit from very real improvement in their academic performance. Exercise has been linked with boosting memory and thinking ability, key skills for students as they develop.
Physical improvements such as stronger muscles and weight management will occur, but attending the gym regularly will also improve concentration and enhance learning skills. On-site facilities help students maintain a healthy lifestyle which can enhance their cognitive function and academic performance.
5. Create a Community
If you want to build community, having a gym is a great place to start. Students will benefit the most from on-site facilities, but the wider community could also benefit from the space if it was opened up to them. This can work well in more isolated communities where they otherwise may not have access to these types of facilities.
Opening a gym is a great way to play a key role in supporting the local community by not only providing accessible facilities but also potential jobs or volunteering opportunities. Whether through the school or local area, it could provide a great opportunity to build relationships with local sports clubs which could offer a source of revenue from renting the space.
Helping individuals from different backgrounds is a great thing, especially if that is in the pursuit of shared fitness goals. Not only will this help to build ties with the local community, but can also help people to feel a sense of belonging to the institution that can only be developed over time.
6. Increase Funding Likelihood
Depending on the stage your school or university is at in the financial year, spare funds may be available to spend on additional departments in the school. Alternatively, you might simply be starting to set the budgets for the next financial year. Having plans in place for a gym, ready to go when the time arises, may give you an edge when it comes to deciding where funds are allocated,
If funding support is something you need help with then we recommend getting in touch with our team today, we're always happy to chat through the different options that may be available to suit your sitution. If you are looking for additional funding routes, then it may be worth looking at organisations such as SCVO for Sports Scotland or something more local to you.
7. Simply Put, It's Time for a Change
Many schools and universities are already well-equipped with gym facilities, so what are you supposed to do if it seems like you already have everything in place? In these cases, it might be that you simply need to update the space or add new pieces of equipment to keep the gym modern and appealing.
It might be a case that the space itself isn't being fully maximised so looking at a gym redesign to the floor plan could help unlock the true potential of the space. We've seen it many times across our projects where our gym design experts have made a small change that made a big difference to the layout.
Subtle changes to the space can help to rejuvenate an outdated layout. These changes are the easiest way to meet the ever-evolving demands of modern students and can turn your gym into a place where they want to come to develop lifelong habits that will stay with them long after their academic school or university years.
8. Providing a Safe Exercise Environment
Schools and universities have a responsibility to provide a safe learning environment for their students. When looking at your current space you may realise that it needs to be more inclusive to suit diverse training needs so that the space is accessible to a wide range of individuals.
It might be a case that you need a helping hand to identify what the next stage is for your facility. Why not get in touch with us today, we offer a free gym design consultation and can support you with our knowledgeable team to guide you through the entire process from start to finish.
If you want to see some of our recent projects then check out our gym flooring project with Sheffield University below or our installation at West of Scotland University. We have also worked on several school gyms including Kenilworth Academy, Dollar Academy, and Balwearie High School. If you want to see what we can do for your space then get in touch today.
Conclusion
In conclusion, investing in a gym is not just about providing exercise equipment, it's about investing in the health, well-being, and success of all students and the local community. Across each of our projects, we have seen the benefits of incorporating a high-quality gym and the impact this has on the institution and its attendees. If you're ready to take your site to the next level then get in touch today to see what we can do for your school gym or university gym.
