Southwest Recreation Center — Attraction in Gainesville

It's passable as a gym but there are a number of issues:

The weight room is completely segregated from the cardio area and tends to be full of groups of steroid happy frat boys that make inappropriate comments to the women using the facilities. I should be able to do a leg press or squats without leers, grunting and comments. More effort needs to be made to give women access to racks, etc. without being harassed.

The online registration system for courses is extremely limiting and doesn't allow you to cancel without calling in. Two out of the three times that I have called in, the staff did not in actuality cancel the class for me. This resulted in a block for 5 days. Why not redo the website so that people can register and cancel classes themselves? That way I'd get an automatic ticket to prove I've canceled and you'd have less people to employ that don't do their jobs.

Phone etiquette is a thing- teach it to your staff. "Hello, this is_________,. How may I help you?" Not, "Hey. ....uhuh....ok." I know they are predominantly undergrads, but you're being paid for this so act like it.

The hours change frequently due to football games and school breaks or holidays, however if you're a graduate student this means you've paid an activity fee for a service that you don't have full access to as we still work on campus through semester holidays. I don't care if people are playing football that day- I should have access to a service I've paid for. If you deny me access, I should be refunded.

Cleaning staff is scheduled to clean the main areas while they are in use. This is distracting and can be dangerous as the floor next to a treadmill is mopped while I'm on the treadmill. It's a slipping hazard, not to mention having someone with a large stick come within a foot of you without warning and from behind you while running can be dangerous. The gym is closed for 4 hours minimum per 24 hours period- can they not...

I was a member for a year, and pretty unimpressed with the gym as an option for UF staff for reasons of price, exercise options, and layout. Price: when calculating the monthly cost, make sure to factor in that the gym is closed for about a week at the beginning of each semester, so you're paying for 3 weeks you can't use. This pushes the price closer to the high-end gyms in town rather than the mid-level. It also throws me personally off my routine. Guest passes are $10 apiece and you have to buy them ahead of time, which is quite expensive and inconvenient, so if you plan to ever bring someone with you, you're much better off at a different facility. Exercise options: the exercise classes require that you sign up ahead of time, and only open 24 hours in advance. Most of the better classes are totally booked in less than an hour, which makes it hard to get into a consistent class routine. They should have an option to sign up for a month at a time, so you can develop a routine. Or, just have more classes if they're that popular. Layout/facility: The equipment is really nice and new, but I found the layout inconvenient. The free weights are arranged in a line from lightest to heaviest, so people at the heavy end of the weight benches end up spending a lot of time walking halfway across the gym to get and return the correct weights, which really slows down weight bench turnover. Additionally, they should institute some sort of whiteboard signup for the benches and popular machines. If you're there at peak time, you can end up standing around waiting for upwards for 15 minutes for a bench or machine. Undergraduates are also prone to sitting on benches/machines just texting, or working out in groups of 5+, so it can take them forever to vacate a machine. Overall, if you're paying out of pocket for the UF gym, I think you've got a lot of better options in town. Leave this one for...

I have been coming to this gym for several years and it is still in like new condition! I may workout maybe once or twice a semester or maybe it's a couple times per week. I can't remember because I am super stoked by the shape I am getting in. All I know is that I go in the morning and when I'm done, I feel great. Normally when I finish, I have a big smile on my face and the sun shines down saying "Today is a good day ". I then say something like " Thank you sun. I appreciate all that energy you beam to the Earth and stuff." This gym has made me a happier person. It makes me happier to know my student fees pay for such a fine establishment and since I am paying for it, I might as well use it. It also has a large assortment of equipment to use and it has an indoor basketball court! It is far superior to the gym in my hometown. We only had buckets filled with sand and tires and car parts. I think they were going for primitive chic. Now that I think about it. I think they were just a junk yard that had a crudely painted a sign out front saying "JYM". Junk Yard Mechanics. But yeah, the Rec Center is great! Give it a try and get an upgrade...