ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The fitness center at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma recently underwent several renovations targeted at improving the fitness experiences of base personnel.
The renovations include new floors to the front basketball court, an improved parent and child workout playroom, and hand-painted murals along the walls to make patrons feel welcome when working out.
“This is about being fit to fight,” said Jeremy Stevens, 97th Force Support Squadron fitness director. “The military members here, they're maintaining their fitness for deployment time and then the spouses are maintaining their fitness goals in general.”
For more than a year, only one court was available at the fitness center, which has limited options for Airmen to play sports. The second court will allow more space for service members and families to use the fitness center.
“We have one game going on sometimes and the other team wants to be practicing, they need another space, so it’ll be nice to utilize both of them here at same time,” said Shelly Neely, 97th Force Support Squadron fitness specialist.
The fitness center also received improvements to the playroom to make it easier for parents to bring their children to the gym.
“The parents’ concern was they didn't have weight equipment, so they couldn’t do strength training,” said Stevens. “One parent would have to stay in the playroom while another went to the weight room. So, our team brought in more strength training equipment, like dumbbells and a cable machine.”
New murals can also be found throughout the fitness center, with more scheduled to be painted within the next two months.
“The murals are painted to bring more happiness to the gym and guide Airmen throughout the center,” said Stevens.
For more information about what the fitness center offers, call (580) 481-7440.