Cal Maritime cadets and athletes will soon have a new way to work out while staying safe. A compact and fully loaded gym—all inside a shipping crate was delivered to campus Thursday. 

The unit can accommodate up to 50 cadets at a time and features free weights, kettlebells, 12 different dip and pull-up stations, a 12-foot rope climb, three squat racks, and more. The contents of the crate can be rolled out and set up for workouts, with plenty of space for social distancing. 

The 10-foot outdoor workout unit was built by BeaverFitUSA.com and its acquisition was initiated by Engine Company Commandant, Anthony Konecni. 

"Commandant Taliaferro and I have been at a few different military bases that have had very similar setups from both this brand and some others," Konecni said. “About a year ago we started talking about how with California's fantastic weather and our great campus how this would really be an asset for the cadets and now it's here." 

It's expected to be available for use after it is set up with signage in place to guide cadets on its use, PPE and sanitation equipment are provided, and more staff is hired to function just like gym monitors inside the PEAC cardio and weight room. 

According to the company website, BeaverFit Performance Lockers are standard shipping containers that are custom fabricated to anchor training rigs and store the equipment necessary to create world-class, multi-modality training centers.  The lockers are customized to meet any training need and come in several sizes and with varying training packages. 

The ability to have an outdoor weight room and gym functionality are critical right now as Solano County, California remains unable to open indoor facilities due to COVID-19 protocols.  

"It's especially important to have something like this right now with COVID-19 restrictions," Konecni said. "The timing of its arrival couldn't have been better. This is the perfect set up where you can be outside in well-circulated air and we can wipe down the equipment." 

A large chunk of the funding for the workout unit was provided by the Cal Maritime Edwards Leadership Program, courtesy of Tom and Libby Edwards. Konecni noted the module provides another place for the cadets to safely socialize outdoors as well.  

"Personally, I'm a big runner," Konecni said. "I like being outdoors and taking advantage of the weather. We have a lot of great resources inside the PEAC, but this will help bring the cadets outside, which will inspire them a little bit more to come and use it. I've definitely seen these lockers turn into social gathering points where people will show up, bring their speakers, do their workouts, and then they'll just keep hanging out and interact with each other and definitely build kind of a sense of community around it."  

The campus is expected to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony soon to officially unveil it to the Cal Maritime community and make it available to cadets in the coming weeks.

Story from Keelhauler Athletics