Exercise bikes spun and medicine balls slammed against the concrete floor in Jim Cummings Hall on Sept. 25 as students were welcomed into MTSU’s newest fitness space.
The process began in June 2025. Theresa Swastek, coordinator of the fitness programs at MTSU, and Michael Judd, the area coordinator for Jim Cummings Hall, worked together to create the fitness room.
“It was a lot of Campus [Recreation] and Campus Housing working together,” Swatek said. “I thought it would be a great space for equipment, and Michael offered it to me.”
The fitness room, previously a computer lab, was no longer in use. Swastek and Judd began by removing the desks that had previously been in the room. Then they took extra equipment from the Campus Recreation Center and moved it to Cummings Hall.
Several factors influenced this idea. Many universities across Tennessee already offer workout spaces inside their residence halls, and Cummings Hall proved to be the perfect fit. Not only did it have the available space, but it also houses the Raider Rec Village, the Campus Recreation living and learning community for freshmen.
“It has become a little difficult to get people to join the Raider Rec Village, and this was an incentive,” Swastek said.
Cummings Hall residents welcomed the new fitness room and have become quite fond of it. Many like the convenience of having a place to work out right beneath them. One resident, CJ Johnson, enjoys having a gym space right in the lobby of their residence hall.
“I prefer to work out at night, and I like that I can do that without having to walk all the way to the Rec Center,” Johnson said. “I think it’s cool, but it could be more colorful and inviting overall.”
Currently, the space appears somewhat barren. The walls are still the basic beige, and the only branding is “MTSU” written on the windows; however, there are plans to spruce it up. Swastek wants to paint the walls the iconic MTSU blue and add weight-resistant flooring.
Swastek hopes to add a personal trainer for the area and get more group activities for students. She also hopes to implement a card swipe system for students to use their MTSU IDs to gain entry, eliminating the need for them to sign in at the Cummings front desk. She wants to know who is using the fitness room, so she can figure out where the next dormitory fitness room might be installed.
“Having more fitness rooms in other dorm halls allows for the Recreational Center to branch out across campus, keep up with national trends, and the smaller space allows for more privacy,” Swastek said.
She also wants to collect student feedback to see what they like and what could be added.
“We want people to use it; the more numbers and data, the better,” she said.
To contact the features editor, email [email protected].
For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, and follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on X and Instagram at @mtsusidelines. Also, sign up for our weekly newsletter here.
