ALTON – In a state-of-the-art fitness renovation at Nautilus Fitness Center, members can train on the same machines used by members of professional and Olympic teams.

Additional upgrades at Nautilus include an updated Playland and personal flat-screen monitors at each exercise station.

“Some of the new equipment is unlike anything found in the St. Louis area,” sales manager Elizabeth Perica said.

Perica said the fitness center witnessed an increase in membership in May after the installation of the new equipment.

The new equipment includes a Woodway Curve treadmill, a VersaClimber and Free Motion elliptical machines and treadmills with personal flat-screen monitors. A Concept 2 rowing machine was delivered at the end of May.

The Woodway Curve treadmill has been featured on “The Biggest Loser” TV show.

“They are more similar to a track, where there’s a little more cushion than running on plastic,” Perica said. “They’re really popular because of that.”

The Free Motion treadmills at Nautilus offer customers an incline twice as high as traditional treadmills.

Another new addition is the VersaClimber, which provides a more efficient workout than other machines.

“It’s like climbing up a ladder; it gets your heart rate up pretty fast so you’re always in the fat-burning zone while you’re on it,” Perica said. “You move your upper body and your lower body, and you have your hands above your heart. It saves you time in your workout.”

One of the more noticeable improvements to the workout rooms is a personal flat-screen television on each new machine.

“If you’re into ‘Days of Our Lives’ you can watch that, if you’re into the stock market you can watch CNBC,” Perica said. “It’s a lot more user-friendly, so you can watch and listen to whatever you want.”

Perica said other area fitness centers keep their equipment longer than Nautilus, which refreshes its equipment annually and takes customer requests for special equipment such as the rowing machine.

A Concept 2 rowing machine, the same equipment used by the Olympic rowing team, arrived at the end of May and is the only such machine at a St. Louis area fitness center.

“We constantly get new equipment, and we try to stay in line with some of the biggest fitness trends,” Perica said. “In regards to our aerobics classes, once it hits California, we read about it and we have it here.”

The Alton Nautilus has much more space than most other fitness centers, with 45,000 square feet for classes, a pool, new equipment and a Playland for members’ children.

“Our classes are really popular,” said Perica. “It’s kind of the place to be now.”

With an improved Playland area, Nautilus hopes to attract more families.

“We have so much to attract the whole family because we have family swim hours, family swim lessons, basketball courts,” Perica said. “The whole family can come here and have something to do.”

In addition to new paint, an improved ball pit and a larger TV in the children’s area, Nautilus has added more areas for children to sit and do homework while their parents work out.