With the help from a St. Louis U. High alum, SLUH received seven new top-of-the-line pieces of equipment to add to the weight room. 

These multi-purpose racks fell into SLUH’s hands through Tom Johnston, ’89, who was able to get them from the University of Northern Colorado. Johnston does work with strength programs of high schools and colleges all across the country, and Northern Colorado renovated their weight room, they had used equipment in very good condition that they needed to get rid of. When he found the opportunity to receive this high-end equipment from a Division I athletics program, Johnston took the equipment and brought it back to SLUH. 

“SLUH has been a very special place to me. It brings me great joy to be able to give back to the school in this way,” said Johnston. 

When contacted by Johnston, Strength and Conditioning Coach Jon McCutchen agreed to the offer. These new racks haven’t been the only upgrade to the weight room since it was built, but it will be one of the largest. The last change was made six or seven years ago, when SLUH purchased new weights for the racks. This deal was a perfect opportunity for SLUH to keep the weight room up-to-date. 

“There really is no comparison between the old equipment and these power racks. Training methods change over time, and with these changes, you want the most efficient equipment,” said Johnston.

“We haven't really had an overhaul like this since the room was built, so it’s nice to see an update in our equipment,” said McCutchen. 

The power racks can accommodate a wide range of exercises, which allows lifters to stay in one place for the duration of their workouts. The racks allow athletes to do bench presses (both flat and inclined), military presses, squats, deadlifts, pull ups, and landmines. Because of the compactness and versatility of the new racks, much of the old equipment, which is dedicated to a single exercise, can be taken out, freeing up space in the weight room.

“It adds both efficiency and capacity. In the previous fashion, you’re looking at two people at a time per rack. But now you can rotate even more people around this one rack. They don’t have to go across the weight room for each exercise, either,” said Athletics Director Chris Muskopf.

The power racks allow for a much more efficient workout whether it’s individually or with teams. A large focus in the structure of each rack is to make it as compact as possible while also having a wide variety of exercises possible. 

“It significantly increases the practicality and versatility of the gym and also for the person lifting.  It has every range of weightlifting that you would need all in one rack. It’s not just specific to any one sport, but it can do everything,” said Johnston. 

There is little room to expand the footprint of the current weight room. However, eliminating some pieces of equipment creates flexibility. 

“There’s always a look for an opportunity to grow our program and the type and amount of equipment we have,” said Muskopf. “There’s a limited amount of space in the weight room, which makes these multi-purpose racks extremely useful.”

One other feature that will accompany the power racks is a set of hi/lo pulley systems. These cable columns are still at Northern Colorado; however, they will be brought into the weight room by the time it is complete towards the end of the first semester. This additional feature will be set at the back of the rack and add to the efficiency of a workout. 

Another smaller addition that SLUH received from the Northern Colorado was safety squat bars. These bars, although rare in high school weight rooms, add an additional level of safety for weightlifters. 

“I was also able to get us a bunch of safety squats which are unique to high schools because they are so expensive,” said Johnston. “It’s much more of a movement and something that not a lot of high schools have and are a good piece of equipment to use.” 

The multi-purpose racks will be a huge improvement to the SLUH weight room. Due to the scarcity of this equipment in a high school setting, SLUH will have a unique ability to elevate the level of workouts done in the gym. 

“There’s a pretty big difference between the stuff that you put in high schools and stuff they have at Power Five colleges,” said Johnston. “The power racks are built like tanks and have much more versatility than a simple high school rack.”