Not only did Wednesday, August 3, 2016, mark the opening day of fall preseason camp for LSU Football, but it was also the day that the newly renovated weight room in the football operations building was unveiled to LSU student-athletes.
“This is the finest training facility in the whole world,” LSU strength and conditioning coordinator Tommy Moffitt said. “No one on this planet has a weight room like the one we have here at LSU.”
Despite the tedious years required to draw up plans for this top-of-the line facility, through the efficient and determined work of LSU and its partnering companies, this long- awaited renovation was able to be completed in a speedy several months.
Those several months brought along dramatic improvements and new additions to the previous weight room design, including a two-story, 5,000-square foot increase in size.
Moffitt said the original weight room configuration in the operations building provided enough space for the football squad, but his staff quickly recognized the need for additional space to accommodate more of the Tigers’ athletic teams.
“The concept and the design was originally a football-only facility, but once we moved over here, we realized the older weight room in Tiger Stadium was still overcrowded and unable to house all of our teams,” Moffitt explained. “So we brought some teams over here, and now the expanded facility gives us more room for those teams to train.”
Along with the expansion, everything inside of the renovated facility is new – the equipment, walls, ceiling, lighting and flooring.
“The overall scheme is much nicer and more motivating than what we had before,” said Moffitt, who has played an integral part in the renovation process.
Two of Moffitt’s favorite aspects of the renovated facility are the improved lighting and flooring.
In the previous weight room, the lights were dimmer, but with the newly installed LED lights, brightness is not a problem. The room seems more lively and energetic with the increase in lighting.
In terms of flooring, the weight room features rubber flooring that is nearly twice as thick as the previous rubber floor. This new flooring is more forgiving on the body after standing on it all day, while also being softer.
“The new floor is much softer and much easier on the joints when our student-athletes are working out,” Moffitt explained.
Aside from lighting and flooring, there are numerous other improvements that fall closely behind in Moffitt’s list of favorites. Those improvements include the multi-purpose equipment, stronger walls, and new audio and visual system.
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“Not only have we been able to add more floor space,” Moffitt said, “we’ve been able to add pieces of equipment that have more than just one purpose.”
The new equipment is more adaptable and can be used for more than one exercise. There are also medicine-ball walls that can withstand greater weights.
“We have two stainless-steel med-ball walls,” Moffitt explained. “When we throw the balls, we’re not going to tear anything up, and that’s really special. That’s going to help us out a lot.”
There is also now a five-zone directional speaker system, along with about 30 new televisions spread throughout the first and second floor.
The LSU coaches allow the student-athletes to work out any time they would like as long as it does not interfere with their academic schedules or the predetermined times for mandatory workout sessions.
Mandatory workout schedules are based on a student-athlete’s academic schedule first, then whether or not it is an in-season or off-season time period. Student-athletes usually have mandatory workouts two times a week in-season and up to four times a week during the off season.
Recruiting was also a consideration in the design of the new facility. There are LED screens that can sync to an iPad for recruiting and instructing purposes, allowing for future recruits to hold video calls with coaches while previewing the scenery of their potential new home in the background.