Get your pump on at Dixon Recreation Center!
Your favorite music is vibrating your eardrums. Sweat is rolling down your back but you don’t mind. You feel confident, powerful and strong. You forget about the stress of college for a moment: 30 minutes, an hour, or however long it takes for you to get a good pump in. You’re getting hyped for your next set. You’re excited to get lost in your workout at your favorite Corvallis gym.
Dixon Recreation Center has won best gym of Corvallis again this year. Since its initial opening in 1974, it’s been a hotspot for OSU students and community members to exercise.
It’s located right on campus on 26th St., and is free to currently enrolled OSU students and has reduced prices for OSU employees, OSU spouses/partners/dependents, alumni, affiliates and E-campus students which range between $40 to $45 per month. Short- term visitors are also accommodated with reduced fees.
Buddy pass memberships, which cost $40 per month, are available to non-students who live with OSU students and can provide verification through a student ID. A $40 per month climbing pass membership is also open to the general public.
Part of what makes Dixon unique from other gyms in Corvallis is the vast list of activities offered.
Dixon has a strength training area, cardio area, lap pool, recreational pool with dive well, multipurpose rooms, beach volleyball court, indoor track, basketball courts, racquetball courts, squash courts, ping pong tables and an indoor climbing area.
“I think Dixon is different from (normal corporate gyms) because the facility is very broad in what you can do,” said Dixon Student-Employee Gabriel Giorgio. “There’s rock climbing, Olympic weightlifting and functional training on top of all the normal weightlifting and cardio equipment.”
Giorgio is a second-year philosophy and anthropology major and has worked at Dixon for almost a year. He also exercises at Dixon regularly and has been since he came to campus as a freshman.
“The equipment is really nice,” Giorgio said. “Being a college student, I don’t have the money or storage for a lot of weight lifting equipment like belts and wraps so it’s nice that a lot of those are provided for free.”
Giorgio said his personal favorite go-to Dixon equipment is the squat racks and dumbbells. He also enjoys the lateral pull-down machine.
I would probably say the squat racks are the most popular (equipment used at Dixon) or the cable machines,” he said.
Dixon has 10 regular squat racks and one smith machine, which is an assisted squat rack. There are multiple types of cable machines that are used to exercise numerous parts of the body.
Dixon also offers group or personal training, fitness classes and fitness and wellness education. Group fitness classes are another popular amenity of Dixon. The gym offers Zumba, strength training, yoga and cycling every week.
Specialty fitness classes are infrequent but can include hip-hop, line dancing and pilates. Students can buy a group fitness pass for $20 per term, allowing access to any classes.
Sierra Archibald, a third-year new media communications student, is also passionate about the gym.
She loves the fact that Dixon is free for students and spends her time using the smith machine and the two multiple-purpose rooms.
“I also love the sauna!” Archibald exclaimed.
She hasn’t tried any of the fitness classes yet but is looking into it.
“I’d love to do one of the cycling classes or Zumba. They look so fun and (it) would be good to try something new,” Archibald said.
Sophia Matthews, a third-year architectural engineering student also finds Dixon very rewarding and enjoys the fitness classes.
“I enjoy working out at Dixon because of the high-quality equipment and various other amenities available to me.” Matthews said. “Dixon is also very clean and organized compared to other gyms I’ve been to.”
She has taken a fitness class before and enjoyed the experience. She hopes to take more in the future.
“I enjoyed taking a cycling class at Dixon,” Matthews said. “I went with one of my friends and neither of us had done cycling before so it was a little intimidating walking in but the instructor made me feel so welcomed the whole time. She was so passionate and really pushed me which was a nice change from only working out by myself. I was definitely very tired and sore (afterwards) and would recommend the class to anyone.”
Whatever your passion is, whether it’s group cycling class or using the weight machines on your own time, Dixon Recreational Center has many options to accommodate your interests. You may even find new interests if you decide to give this favorite Corvallis gym a try.
