While construction crews work to finish the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center, ACU students are paying to exercise at other Abilene establishments.

Abilene businesses Gold’s Gym, Anytime Fitness and Power Shack Gym & Fitness are taking full advantage of the student population in town, offering discounts and enrollment specials to students looking to use their off-campus facilities.

Ashely Wheeler, a receptionist at Gold’s Gym, said the student special is what attracts most student customers.

“It’s no contract and no enrollment fee, you just pay monthly,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler also said that Gold’s Gym distributes flyers in campus mailboxes to attract student membership.

Hours vary depending on the exercise club and the day of the week, and many students are finding it difficult to coordinate these times with their other daily activities.

K’Dionne Rabino, senior family studies major from Victoria, is currently working out at Anytime Fitness. She says her busy schedule doesn’t fit with most public gyms.

“The only way I would work out at the rec center was if it was open 24/7,” Rabino said. “The reason I got my membership at Anytime was because of that. I work, have school and club, and by the time I have time to go work out, Anytime is the only gym that fits in.”

Another 24-hour Abilene gym is Power Shack Gym & Fitness. D’Angelo Sands, general manager of Power Shack, said the number of ACU students joining Power Shack has increased over the past few months.

“We have student discounts, but we market on a more personal basis,” Sands said. “I myself am an ACU alum, and whether its students at church, putting up flyers or offers in bulletins, I try and talk to them and get them to join.”

Sands said Power Shack keeps the cost of enrollment low and is mostly proud of what it offers students as a gym.

“We try to make it affordable for the students to join, but we also make it accessible for the students to freeze their accounts so they don’t lose anything by leaving town,” Sands said.

“Based on what we offer, we are a 24-hour gym, we have childcare, tanning and a pool, a hot tub and sauna – pretty much all of these things come along and are included with the gym membership,” Sands said. “The fact that we have everything you need to be in shape gives students no excuse to not be in shape.”