Is the new STAR Complex worth all the hype?

Now that we are a few months into this new school year, it’s time we talk about the new, highly glorified STAR Complex.

As a freshman, this building was raved about by many at visiting tours, experience day, and orientation.

One Saturday morning, I wanted to get up and do my workout nice and early so I had the rest of the day to get other stuff done. Since TUF does not open until later in the day, I thought I would try out the new facility.

I made my way over to the STAR Complex and was greeted by an appealing exterior appearance, and was immensely excited. Due to the fact that it was so hyped up, I was expecting an immaculate gym waiting for me inside.

Before I go on, let’s back track some. My opinion is going to be based off of my typical daily workouts and personal goals. I tend to warm up with some cardio, an inclined walk or climbing stairs on the stairmaster usually suffices. From there, I tend to split days focusing on arms or legs, but always do some core workouts. I love to incorporate high intensity intervals, or "tabata," workouts into my everyday gym routine. For both arms and legs, I use weights to lift or squat with.

However, do not be fooled — I am no body builder. My arms, are not jacked by any means, nor are my legs. This isn't my goal. Everyone is different, and some are trying to gain muscle mass instead of shred body fat. It all depends on the person and what they are trying to achieve in the gym.

Let’s get back to it. As I walked into the facility and up the stairs, I saw a slightly tiny rectangular room filled with bench presses and squatting racks. I was immediately intimidated, as I rarely use them, and wanted to turn back.

It's similar to TUF where there is no locker room, just lockers for any personal belongings. After putting my things away, I started to awkwardly walk as my eyes darted from machine to machine. I was thinking to myself, “Okay, just find a machine you know how to use so you don’t look like 'that' person."

Trying to avoid looking like a newbie, I decided to go towards the back where there was open space. Once I got to my space, I saw the lightest dumbbell they had was 15lbs! I’m no weakling, but I know a lot of people who do not do their arm workouts with that heavy of a weight.

At this point, I was surrounded by a few guys who were squatting and lifting, some, their faces looking like red balloons about to pop, others, flexing in the mirror because they think they look good. I felt like the friend who shows up to the party not knowing there was theme. I decided to act totally cool, like I knew how this gym is. I did a quick tabata styled circuit and got out of there.

Before you go saying, “Well there’s a track, you could have done cardio," I solely do cardio as a warm up because that doesn’t tone up my muscles like body weight or resistance styled training does.

Overall, this gym is not a bad gym. It has the weight room, a track, and a rock climbing wall that can all be well utilized by someone who enjoys doing those styled workouts. For me, I felt lost and out of place because it is a gym heavily targeted towards weight lifting.

But that's not necessarily a bad thing! This facility was made because Temple University was lacking in the ratio of gym space to student body. They needed more space than TUF and IBC could offer. I am not saying this is the worst gym ever, I am simply saying it is definitely not for all people. Everyone is different, including their goals, but this gym feels like it's mainly for bros who want to bulk up and get shredded.

If you are someone who loves to lift heavy, then this is definitely the gym for you. If you are someone who loves a variety of machines and lots of space, I would look elsewhere. But hey, at least they have the Jamba Juice!