New weight lifting rule at Pitt

The next time you’re holding 350 pounds…

The next time you’re holding 350 pounds over your head, don’t drop it. A new University rule banned “weight dropping.”

The rule came into effect earlier this month when one student fitness club found itself homeless after the group’s powerlifting workouts apparently caused structural damage to a University building.

Panther CrossFit, a student group known for its high-intensity weight lifting and plyometric workouts, was banned from using the Bellefield Hall heavy-lifting gym after repeated “weight dropping” caused a meter-long crack in the ceiling of the Aerobics Room, located beneath the gym.

The nearly 30-person club started working out in Bellefield in January 2010, after being banned from working out in Trees Hall, said former CrossFit vice president and trainer Zach Miller.

Ryan “Bonecrusher” Johnston, Panther CrossFit president, described the group’s frustration last week. He believes that CrossFit members’ intensity and dedication in the gym can be off-putting, especially for those used to more traditional workout etiquette.

“I would definitely say our workouts can be disturbing to others in the gym,” Johnston said. “When you’re struggling to get a few hundred pounds of weight overhead you’re going to start shouting, and of course the other club members aren’t going to stand by quietly either.”

Johnston said the club was kicked out of Trees Hall for their rowdy workouts, which is how CrossFit wound up in Bellefield in their own room.

“We knew we were being disturbing, and we were trying to keep it down as much as possible,” Johnston said. “We just want to be left alone and have a place to work out at Pitt.”

Panther CrossFit received two cease and desist letters from Pitt administrators on June 15 and 16 — one from Gabriel Lambright, Pitt’s campus fitness coordinator, and another from Marilyn Ross, the director of intramurals and recreation. Other complaints were reportedly filed by members of Pitt’s faculty and instructors who teach in the Aerobics Room, the group’s blog said.

Miller said the first letter reported that “much damage” had occurred in Bellefield Hall because of heavy weight usage and that no one is allowed to use the space in either room until the ceiling in the Aerobic Room is repaired.

The second letter effectivelly banned weight dropping anywhere on Pitt’s campus. Weight dropping involves lifting a barbell to chest height or above, then dropping the equipment onto specially designed floor pads.

Anyone participating in weight dropping at Pitt will be subject to punishment dictated by the University Judicial Board, Ross said in the letter. They can also expect to be escorted off the premises by campus police.

Terry Milani, assistant director of student activities, stressed that the club was not banned from campus because they were behaving irresponsibly.

“This isn’t an us-vs-them issue,” Milani said. “We were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They are a legitimate and successful club, but like many other campus club sports, we just don’t have anywhere suitable for the kind of lifting they do.”

It is unclear whether the weight dropping ban will be extended to other clubs or classes at Pitt, but Milani said such a move is likely.

Pitt offers an Olympic and powerlifting class, which will continue in the fall. Both lifting forms often involve weight dropping in excess of 300 pounds.

The technique of weight dropping is safe when lifting on a ground floor or in a basement, Miller said, but can damage upper, weaker floors, like the one in Bellefield gym. For that reason, Panther CrossFit members said they think an outright ban is hasty.

“Pitt’s power lifting class teaches many of the techniques we do every day,” Miller said. “Are they going to shut them down too?”

Ross said the decision to keep CrossFit out of Bellefield was made exclusively for safety reasons.

“We don’t have a problem with CrossFit,” Ross said. “We just don’t have a place on campus where we can put them.

Bellefield is a very old building, it just can’t take heavy weight dropping. We’re hoping they might be able to find a site near campus,”

CrossFit members are worried about finding a new location.

Options include renting space at Pittsburgh CrossFit headquarters Downtown, a move that could potentially qualify them for SGB allocated funds, the group’s blog said.

SGB President Charlie Shull did not immediately return requests for comment, but Miller said Shull has been in close communication with CrossFit about finding a new location.

Senior staff writer Estelle Tran contributed to this report.