Schools with the best gyms?

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I like to workout with weights and cardio most days of the week, it's part of my routine. So having a nice on-campus gym is pretty important to me - I was wondering which schools have particularly nice & accessible gyms?
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I hear the Loyola one is pretty glorious. One of my close friends goes there and he's done some Ironmans (Ironmen? Weird either way) and he goes on and on about how great their gym is.
 
I like to work out too, but never thought I'd be considering gyms when selecting schools! I'm sure all medical schools have some sort of recreational facility. If not, you can always become a member at a private one. It'd be interesting, though, to know which schools have the best gyms. Keep this thread going!
 
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I went to UC Irvine, the ARC gym is pretty awesome and accessible.
 
Duke has 2 gyms - the one on East Campus is passable. The one on West Campus, closer to the medical campus, is really nice with a very large weight room.
 
Georgia Institue of Technology HAS the number One rated gym facility in the Nation: US News Week or some other magazine.. Its called the "CRC" Campus Rec. Center.
 
EXCELLENT POST! Let's get more feedback, please!

I'll cover UC Davis, UCLA and Georgetown:

UC Davis has a decent gym if you like running and/or basketball. They have 5 indoor courts for pickup basketball and a track directly above the courts. Somehow they very unfortunately became roughly and inadvertently racially segregated during the time I was there: with three courts going to Asians, one to whites and one to black dudes and the few white ballers. Needless to say which court I was posted on.

UCLA has great facilities, but they are so freaking crowded that they may as well be terrible. If you hope to get into a basketball game at any waking hour of the day or night, plan to wait up to an hour.

Georgetown has pretty nice facilities and it is generally possible to get on any machine you want fairly quickly. Plus, they have a sauna, which to me is a necessity.
 
Michigan State has 3 gyms on campus. One of them doesn't really have much of a weight-room though. I do believe that all the dorms have little private gyms as well.

With that said, Michigan State has two medical schools and the school that is on the East Lansing campus is the Osteopathic school so I guess many of you don't care about this post at all! 🙂
 
We have a really great, muli-level, newly renovated gym on main campus at Wayne State, although it lacks a pool.

Michigan also has a pretty good gym on central campus.
 
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ONYX4000GT said:
Georgia Institue of Technology HAS the number One rated gym facility in the Nation: US News Week or some other magazine.. Its called the "CRC" Campus Rec. Center.
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Seriously a great topic. Not that this will affect my choices (if I have choices!) all that much, but its definitely good to know what kind of athletic environment I'm getting myself into. Need to keep the brain sharp by keeping the muscles big. lol.
 
The University of Miami has a really nice Wellness Center on the Coral Gables campus. It seems big, clean and inviting. I'm pretty sure the medical students all live at or near the medical campus a couple of miles away, but I think they get access to the facilities nonetheless.

I don't think that I, personally, would factor the gym into the selection process, but it really does seem like a nice facility.
 
this is seriously an awesome thread

working out and keeping in shape is part of my lifetime routine, so i'm assuming that it is more than possible to continue this routine even in med school?
 
You have to make time for it, but it's very possible. UAMS's gym is in a building attached to where we have class, so I treat working out as my post-class relaxation. I come back to my room and study like a mofo afterward.
 
Vihsadas said:
Seriously a great topic. Not that this will affect my choices (if I have choices!) all that much, but its definitely good to know what kind of athletic environment I'm getting myself into. Need to keep the brain sharp by keeping the muscles big. lol.
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Bro your exactly right! I am a gym fanatic myself.. Ive noticed that when Im in school and on a rigorous workout schedule; I seem a bit smarter and more motivated as compared to being off the schedule for a few weeks. Hell, my last Biology Professor told that he used to workout to get through school. It def. helps both intellectually and physically!👍
 
majahops said:
EXCELLENT POST! Let's get more feedback, please!

I'll cover UC Davis, UCLA and Georgetown:

UC Davis has a decent gym if you like running and/or basketball. They have 5 indoor courts for pickup basketball and a track directly above the courts. Somehow they very unfortunately became roughly and inadvertently racially segregated during the time I was there: with three courts going to Asians, one to whites and one to black dudes and the few white ballers. Needless to say which court I was posted on.

UCLA has great facilities, but they are so freaking crowded that they may as well be terrible. If you hope to get into a basketball game at any waking hour of the day or night, plan to wait up to an hour.

Georgetown has pretty nice facilities and it is generally possible to get on any machine you want fairly quickly. Plus, they have a sauna, which to me is a necessity.
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U of Washington's gym is pretty similar, first level are weights and lockers and pool, second and third have the basketball gyms, and the fourth is a track and more weights/cardio machines. Yes, there is an Asian court and black/white/raregiftedasianswhocanjumpreallyhigh court.
 
definitely not UCLA! its packed to the brim all the time! and there's always idiots doing curls in the racks.
 
it's quite easy really. any school that has an undergrad has a great gym. schools like albany college and nymc do not because the gym would only serve the small # of med students. you can compare schools based on how many indoor rowers they have. even a dorky school like NYU has 15rowers. Some fancy schools like UVM have a gymnastics room and a climbing wall.
 
ONYX4000GT said:
Bro your exactly right! I am a gym fanatic myself.. Ive noticed that when Im in school and on a rigorous workout schedule; I seem a bit smarter and more motivated as compared to being off the schedule for a few weeks. Hell, my last Biology Professor told that he used to workout to get through school. It def. helps both intellectually and physically!👍
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Thats funny you say that...Im into bodybuilding myself, and it really catches people off guard when they hear your pre-med...For some reason the people who are only into academics seem to discriminate or stereotype when they talk to me and think im some kind of "dumb meathead.." I love proving them wrong...I've even had some kids give me some really ****ty attitudes when having debates in class because of this kind of attitude they had towards me...I guess I reminded them of the guys who shoved them into lockers in HS... Anyone else experience **** like this?

Anyway...Temple has a really nice gym for the sports players, and then a decent gym for everyone else...plus my building has a small gym..
 
Mt. Sinai: No gym, but discounts for membership at local private gyms

Rochester: There's a small gym, it's inside the hospital which is connected to the medical school (about a 5 minute walk from the med school, indoors). It seems really small but very convenient.

Michigan: There are two gyms on central campus. The one near the med school is pretty terrible, the weight room is tiny and cramped though the cardio rooms are decent. The gym further from the med school on the other side of campus (<15 min walk from the med school) is definitely better.

Einstein: There is a nice, albeit small-ish gym right across the square from the student dorms. Seemed sufficient and not overly crowded, very convenient location-wise.
 
The University of Virginia has quite a few gyms.
The one I frequented was the AFC (Aquatic Fitness Center)
3 Floors: First- Pool
Second- Machines and Weight Room
Third- More Machines + Indoor Track (which I love)
 
University of Florida
University of Central Florida

Both schools have 45k+ students so they have A LOT of stuff.
 
I would have to say Ohio state has the best gym, its new and the largest in the country and has a billion swimming pools, basketball courts, indoor golfing range and pretty much anything you can think of.
 
Might be a useless comment but...
Any school that is located in a city will be near a gym if it doesn't have its own gym. In those cases, you can probably negotiate some sort of student discount at the local gym of your choice.
 
Duke and Yale are both pretty mediocre. I suppose Duke would rate slightly higher, but they're both rather unimpressive. And Yale's gym is on an upper floor of some building, which might be an annoyance after a while.

UPenn was a bit nicer. I recall it being much more focused on machines than free-weights, though, so it's probably geared toward the more casual lifter.

University of Florida's was very nice, but I imagine that crowds would be a common problem. My experiences suggest that public university's typically have better gyms than private ones.
 
WVU and University of Maryland have the nicest gyms I've seen. Don't know how busy they get though.
 
the University of Miami has a very new state of the art gym on the top floor with a panoramic view of the ocean
 
WVU's Student Rec Center has it all:

http://www.studentreccenter.wvu.edu/

It's about a mile from the med school....you can walk or take the PRT:

http://admissions.wvu.edu/undergraduate/discover/prt.asp

PRT

vfiles29235.jpg


SRC

1187112180.jpg
 
Leejwwc said:
Duke has 2 gyms - the one on East Campus is passable. The one on West Campus, closer to the medical campus, is really nice with a very large weight room.
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Duke also has a third gym that is accessible only to medical students and residents. It's not huge, but has all the equipment you'd need and is located in the basement of the medical center parking garage, so it's very convenient.
 
UNC has a couple of pretty incredible gyms. one includes bball courts and a rock climbing facility with a number of walls and the other has a couple of pools, two floors of raquetball courts and i think its 18 bball courts. one is historic and one is brand spanking new.
 
I misread the thread title at first. I thought it said "School with the best gyns?" Imagine my surprise...


The University of Kentucky has a good gym too. It's very easy walking distance from the hospital and med center (though that'll be moving further away in the next 5-10 years), and I think it was completed only a handful of years ago.
 
Lukkie said:
definitely not UCLA! its packed to the brim all the time! and there's always idiots doing curls in the racks.
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Hmmm...there is a 24hr fitness right off campus in the village. I have never been inside that one. How crowded does it get?
 
I actually have been factoring in gym/proximity to gym into my selection also.

Here is what Penn has to offer:

Pottruck:
pottruck_200px.jpg


It is actually a really nice gym....(ha runs circles around my Rice's...boooo). Multi-level facility with 1 primary weight room, 1 primary cardio studio, along with several other rooms with mixed equipment usage all over the gym...several basketball courts, rock climbing wall, golf simulation center, group exercise studios, pilates studio, acquatics center

03T_Pottruck_Stair2.jpg


Hutchinson:
hutchinson_gym.jpg

not much to say about it....has courts...older
 
riceman04 said:
Hmmm...there is a 24hr fitness right off campus in the village. I have never been inside that one. How crowded does it get?
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no there isn't
 
Definitely not USC... there is no gym on the health sciences campus, which is separate from the main undergraduate campus. 😛
 
Lukkie said:
no there isn't
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there used to be right off Wilshire and Westwood Blvd...Did they close it??????...or maybe it was the street before Westwood blvd!!!!! All i know is there was one on that corner for the longest!

But seeing as how I am not in Los Angeles right now things could have definitely changed
 
Well for any of you Americans applying to McGill...I love ya alma mater, but your gym sucks. It's okay though, if Montreal itself were a gym-ite it would bench press ten full plates of "awesome" to make up the difference.
 
Creighton has two gyms at different parts of campus. One is new this year and opens in a few days (heard great things!) and the other got all new equipment this year (flat screens, bikes, treadmills, benches, machines, weights) including my favorite: the expresso bike (http://www.expresso.com/).

However, there are NO TENNIS COURTS at creighton. But volleyball, racquet/handball, swimming, basketball, plus much more are all availible.

Some info on Creighton's new facility: http://www2.creighton.edu/studentservices/campusrecreationintramurals/fitnest/index.php

EDIT: The new gym is part of this building which was added this summer: http://www2.creighton.edu/harpercenter/

Also, the new gym is farther from the med school buildings than the old (but updated) gym, but they are both fairly close. The old is maybe a 3 minute walk, the new is a 10 minute walk.
 
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decicco said:
creighton Has Two Gyms At Different Parts Of Campus. One Is New This Year And Opens In A Few Days (heard Great Things!) And The Other Got All New Equipment This Year Including My Favorite: The Expresso Bike (http://www.expresso.com/).

However, There Are No Tennis Courts At Creighton. But Volley Ball, Racquet/handball, Swimming, Basketball, Plus Much More Are All Availible.

Creighton's New Fitness Facilities Sneak-peak: http://www2.creighton.edu/studentservices/campusrecreationintramurals/fitnest/index.php
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Swwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttt!!!!!
 
riceman04 said:
or was that an LA fitness
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yeah i think thats the LA fitness you're talking about, on the corner of Wilshire and something, with all the big windows you can see the people working out through. i never really checked it out. the ucla gym is pretty cheap (less than $150 / year for staff/alumni) so i just stick with it
 
I was sort of figuring that any med school affiliated with an undergrad would have an awesome gym, and the rest would have a passable gym. It matters to me, but I guess it didn't cross my mind that a school might not have any health facilities at all (because that's just f'ing ironic).
 
riceman04 said:
I actually have been factoring in gym/proximity to gym into my selection also.

Here is what Penn has to offer:

It is actually a really nice gym....(ha runs circles around my Rice's...boooo). Multi-level facility with 1 primary weight room, 1 primary cardio studio, along with several other rooms with mixed equipment usage all over the gym...several basketball courts, rock climbing wall, golf simulation center, group exercise studios, pilates studio, acquatics center
Click to expand...

Not to hate on Pottruck to much, but in my experience it is usually way too crowded, the smell is incredibly nauseating, and at least this summer half the equipment is usually broken or in bad shape. The rock wall and golf simulator are pretty sweet though.
 
Am I the only one whose initial reading of this thread was "Schools with the best gyn"? I admit my lewd and lascivious mind may bear some of the blame but I was also thinking gynecology. Gee I'm bored.

Edit: Quite ironic that the schools with the best gyms often have the best gyn concentrated at said gym. And it looks like I'm not the only one!
 
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any major university will have a nice gym.
 
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