<p>I have a few questions about the gym at UCB;</p>
<li>How is the gym? I have read that there is one available to students at $10 a semester.</li>
<li>How crowded is the gym in the morning; 6-8am?</li>
<li>How much of the student body actually exercise/workout?</li>
</ol>
<p>And on a slightly unrelated, but still relevant, note: if I opt to stay in the dorms next fall, is it possible to bring workout supplements (protein powder, creatine, etc) with me (I am guessing there is a communal kitchen to store food in)? Also, how are those who do take workout supplements seen (this question may sound a bit esoteric, but I cant really articulate it any better); I ask as it seems that, occasionally, the misinformed tend to equate supplements with steroids and the like.</p>
<p>Regarding supplements though, since Berkeley is such a liberal school, I doubt they will look down on them or anything.
The school is very open-minded.</p>
<p>Nah I don't think it'd be much of a problem.. seriously I don't think anyone would know/care if you had any supplements, considering people drink/smoke in the dorms anyway. But yeah I was wondering about the gym as well, and I remember coming across a site that listed all that it had to offer. I know they have classes you can pay for (weight lifting, advanced weights, "bootcamp") so I'm sure its full of every machine you can think of. If not, they would at least have free weights which is all you pretty much need anyway.</p>
<p>On the plus side, at the dining hall it will be nice to drink as much milk as you'd like. I'd probably take some with me cause I ideally drink half a gallon of the stuff a day. So yeah you won't be the only one hitting the gym early in the morning. Hope to see you/meet you there.</p>
<ol>
<li> The gym is big. Lots of equipments and lots of people.</li>
<li> The gym isn't that crowded in the morning.</li>
<li> No idea, but I'm guessing quite a few.</li>
</ol>
<p>Yes it is possible to bring protein supplement. There is no communal kitchen to store your supplements, so you have to keep them in your dorm room. Those who take supplements are seen as... buff. Consumption of protein supplements is so common that it doesn't rouse any reactions.</p>
<p>The gym CAN be that crowded in the morning -- it depends on what day and exactly how early you go. There are definitely "rush hours" and in my experience, 7-9 can be fairly busy. Of course, it depends on what you want to do.</p>
<p>The gym -- RSF, anyway -- is big and new and full of machines and people and so on. There are racquetball/handball courts, basketball courts, martial arts rooms, a swimming pool, lots of classes (free/come-and-go as well as those paid courses you alluded to), plenty of helpful student-staff, personal trainers, pretty decent locker rooms, and so on. It's a darn nice gym. There are other gyms around campus, as well, both that are affiliated with campus rec and the usual commercial kind (there's a 24-Hour Fitness near Shattuck just past west campus, for example).</p>
<p>You can definitely find what you need SOMEWHERE.</p>
<p>When are the free-weights/machines crowded? I am assuming that the bulk of the rush -- extrapolating from what I have seen at other gyms -- are students getting in their cardio?</p>
<p>Also, how is the city of Berkeley itself for running? Running HIIT is only so effective on treadmills.</p>
<p>i can help you with this, as i am a powerlifter and am living in dorms right now as a first year.</p>
<p>RSF sucks:</p>
<p>-always crowded whenever i go (dunno about 6-8am however), have to wait for stuff
-annex with four squat racks has classes at around 5:30pm
-olympic lifts not allowed
-too many people who don't know what they're doing, can't stand it</p>
<p>people don't really care about supps. in fact, there are a few people on my floor who take them as well.</p>
<p>personally, i'd go to 24 downtown. 40/month but totally worth it. you can actually get some decent training done there...</p>
<p>24 is located on the westside of campus. Clark Kerr and the Units are located on Southside. If you run I say you'll get there in ~10 minutes (you're going downhill, so maybe even faster depending on how quick you are).</p>
<p>Thanks, OP, for bringing up this topic. I'm a bioengineering major and I hear the courseload is pretty demanding. I currently do workouts every other day - will I have time to head to the gym frequently with this major?</p>
<p>The 24 Hour Fitness in Berkeley is located at 2072 Addison St., which is essentially on West Campus and down a couple blocks (Oxford runs adjacent to campus, then Shattuck, and it's like the second building down on Addison on the opposite side of Shattuck). It's not far from CAMPUS, but from Clark Kerr it'll take you ~20 minutes to walk. </p>
<p>I know nothing about the weigh room as I rarely use it; most of the information I have about the "crowdedness" is general use of the facilities, so that the stretching room and the cardio machines and the gym and so on are all pretty crowded. There ARE down-times, but you'll just have to see if they coincide with your availability or not.</p>
<p>At $10 per semester, versus ~$40/month for 24 Hour Fitness, it's worth checking it out and THEN deciding.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Thanks, OP, for bringing up this topic. I'm a bioengineering major and I hear the courseload is pretty demanding. I currently do workouts every other day - will I have time to head to the gym frequently with this major?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Um classes can be difficult but that doesn't mean you'll be studying all day and night. I'm sure some people DO..</p>