David Pottruck Health and Fitness Center

One star purely for the lack of attention given to the requests of the paying members! We have been begging for them to change it from the atrocious 70s alternative rock station for years now and they act like the «policy» won’t allow them too. The basketball court is basically shut down all summer long because the school won’t cough up some of their multi billion dollar endowment to invest in an AC unit. They also charge a premium fee for the students of Penn to go there when most schools let their students work out for free or at least a reasonable price. Stay away!

As a Penn Employee, I am so jealous of the undergrad students that get to access this gym for free. This gym has EVERYTHING. A pool, rock wall, yoga studio, classes, towel services, lockers, and an exceptionally rude front desk assistant (this I could do without). I get to come here for some free events, but I hope to one day join the gym at the discounted rate. It seems like a really amazing place, but another downfall might be the issue of being surrounded by students so frequently.

Penn allows zero non-​Penn affiliated community members to join their gym. Seems pretty unnecessarily exclusive given there are necessarily longer travels to other gyms for West Philadelphians as they must walk past the sprawling campus and its gym.
If you set up your university to integrate into a city, you ought to consider actually integrating. They could offer limited membership slots to the greater local West Philly community by lottery– that would be a bit less exclusive and foster improved relations with those surrounding and smack in the center of their city campus.
I did take a tour– nice place. Too bad I can’t join!

I always find it tough to write reviews of my regular haunts, because I feel like I’ve lost all sense of objectivity =)
I do and I don’t like Pottruck. For one, it’s kind of the only game in town (besides Fit Gym) in UC, so it’s not like you have a lot of options. I also don’t like that there’s just one gym there (I used to belong at Harvard and they had several gyms around which spread out the people a bit). I live in fear of the crowdedness that will come when the students return next week, new year’s resolutions in hand! when the gym was open limited hours over the holidays the strength training room was a true Brocalypse.
On the other hand, I LOVE POTTRUCK. It’s clean. The equipment is really nice and well maintained. They have the nicest pilates studio I have ever seen and the instructors are very knowledgeable. Some floors play music and others don’t which is nice because sometimes you just want to listen to your own music (or silence) with no drama. They have the most vast variety of equipment I’ve ever seen. typical cardio machines, rowers, kettlebells, TRX, tons of hammer strength equipment and cybex machines and lots of free weights, you name it.
You could do a lot worse for a college gym, that’s for sure. It’s also extremely reasonably priced for staff of Penn or the local hospitals.

This place is unbelievable for a college gym. Or just any gym, for that matter. I’ll skip discussion on the beautiful structure itself, and just focus on the group exercises classes.
If you’re looking to mix up your routine, I highly recommend trying these out. You need to be affiliated to penn, and pay an extra fee to participate, but it’s highly worth it. They have bootcamps, cycling, yoga, Pilates, weights-​based classes, step classes, Zumba, and more
As an undergrad, I enjoyed the yoga and spin classes, but the bodypump and bodycombat classes were absolutely the best. These were amazing workouts that were as challenging as they were fun. But what really made pottruck special was the community. The instructors who lead the classes were absolutely the best. It was obvious that they were happy to be leading the class, and drew encouragement from the participants. The same core group of people always showed up, and it was a very nurturing environment.
If you’re at Penn, you should try out these classes during demo days at the beginning is each semester. This way, you can see which classes you like and whether it’s worth signing up for a pass.

Pottruck is a pretty nice gym for a college. They have four floors of cardio machines, weight rooms, studios for group exercise classes, and more. They also have a pool and several basketball courts. It gets a little full sometimes, so avoid evening hours when everyone is there. Definitely take some of the group classes — they are great! The smoothie bar is awesome. Very fast service and I go all the time, even when I’m not working out. Definitely check it out.

I am reviewing the gym from a strictly non-​class point of view. Let me review the place floor by floor:
I used to swim, and the pool is a standard Olympic-​size one with ordinary showers, locker rooms, and towels. Nothing to see here.
The first floor has truly benefited from the renovation, the ellipticals and treadmills are all packed and for good reason. I personally prefer the erg machines, but they could always add a couple more.
The second floor multipurpose room with the large mat (for stretching and core exercises) used to be my stomping ground, but it’s always too packed for my liking. Also the punching bags disappeared at last visit, and the plyo boxes are a little uneven. In addition, the basketball courts are insufferable in warm weather… ventilation please!
I’ll skip a floor and talk about the fourth. It’s perhaps the best kept secret about the gym. Once up the stairs make your way past the Zumba class and you’ll find a pretty awesome iron gym with pull-​up bars, kettlebells, and even a heavy rope. There’s also a single erg machine, cardio machines, and a dumbbell rack. The secret’s out.
For all the Penn kids out there, make the most out of this campus gym. You’re already paying a recreation fee, might as well enjoy it and get the bod you want.
Only gripes: crappy hard-​to-​open lockers and a dearth of towels.

Everything you need in a gym…
… in a terrible layout that has you searching multiple rooms on different floors for free machines and benches.
Also, dance studios are not open for use unless reserved and paid for. I get that you can’t be in there when a class is in session, but come on — we can only use the one room on the 3^rd floor that always gets booked while the two on the fourth floor stay empty for hours at a time?
For that matter, who designs a couple of rooms located in the only space that requires vertical steel beams to run through it, and then makes those rooms the ONLY DANCE STUDIOS IN THE GYM?
It occurred to me that a single staircase that barely fits two people shoulder to shoulder as the main spine in the entire gym (save for the fire stairwells that no one uses but me) might be some type-​a architect thinking «No! Everyone in Pottruck will be fit and have no problem walking 2 city blocks to get to their next machine!» when someone told him or her that maybe he should put some more stairs.
And then, I figured that regardless of the reasoning, it was a poor choice.
Seriously, though, they do have everything, and so I have to give them at least 3 stars. Even some cool things like a rock climbing wall, a dry sauna, a virtual driving range (golf) and other kitschy stuff.
Anyway, like I said, it’s not so convenient to actually work out rapidly here because of said obstacles and layout, but you can get it all done and then some.
Plan your routes.

Ever since the renovations on the first floor, Pottruck has become a much better place to workout. All the machines have TVs on them which makes the mundane task of running in place more enjoyable. However, my favorite thing about Pottruck are the group exercise classes. Membership rates for the classes (if you’re a Penn undergrad) are extremely cheap compared to those of other gyms and they offer a variety of classes throughout the day (Pottruck in general is «free» aka included in your tuition if you’re an undergrad, but you have to pay a fee just to enter and use the machines if you’re a grad student or part-​time). Times are early in the morning 7:30 AM or earlier, midafternoon at 12 and 12:30 PM and afternoon/​night from 4 to 7:30 PM. These include classes such as spinning, body pump (weights class), body combat (similar to kickboxing), Zumba, and some pilates and yoga classes. There’s another rate you have to pay for more advanced pilates and yoga classes, but I’ve never looked into those so I don’t know much about it. You can also take dance classes and I’m sure there’s a lot more to explore!
The main problem I have with pottruck is that it gets extremely crowded at peak hours (late afternoon classes) to the point where you either have to get to a class really early and wait outside until it starts of wait a while for a machine. I wish that had a sign up sheet online like some other clubs have, but I’m not so sure that would work at a club like this. The also run out of towels frequently. It may not necessarily even be at just peak hours, because it seems pretty random when they do and don’t have towels available.
If you’re a Penn student, I suggest you check out this gym at least once during your time here, because it really is a great facility and you should exercise anyway (gotta stay healthy!). Also, you’ll regret missing out on a great deal when you see the price of other gyms.

UPenn’s main gym is definitely a good/​affordable option for students and staff. Pictures of donors lining the interior walls help remind users what could happen to them if they stopped visiting the gym.
EQUIPMENT — 4 stars
Ample number of cardio machines that all time out after 30 minutes ensure efficient, high intensity workouts. Haven’t used the weight room but it also looks well-​equipped and spacious.
POOL — 3.5 stars
Good-​sized and very useable although old and in the basement. Water temperature is appropriate for a solid workout. The pool schedule is a bit irregular, so need to monitor it closely if you’re set on swimming.
FACILITIES — 3 stars
Locker room is spacious and quite useable. Only complaint is the carpeting, which is often damp and smelling of chlorine. Whoever thought installing carpet instead of non-​slip flooring in a pool locker room would be a good idea…
CLASSES — 4 stars
Love the classes here. My experiences with group exercise (Zumba, BodyPump, BodyCombat) and instructional classes (yoga, dance) have all been fantastic. Instructors are friendly, motivating, and good at giving you a challenge during the classes. Prices range from very affordable to high depending on the size and style of class, but generally there is something here for everyone.

As far as gyms go, I’d say Pottruck, as a student, is a solid option. That being said, I’m not CERTAIN I’d have interest in it as a staff member of Penn, but that’s just my thought. The price isn’t terrible, though it certainly isn’t the deal of the century.
Where Pottruck is lacking:
–Cost of taking group exercise classes, in addition to the membership. I can understand wanting smaller sizes of classes, but $ 120 for the year is a little ridiculous when you consider the cost of attending the school and joining the gym in the first place.
–Division of the sections. The main weights room is a whole separate area and, as a lady, I’ve seen a number of other ladies shy away from a room that is entirely dedicated to getting swoll. I have actually never entered this main room and, instead, prefer the auxiliary room upstairs with a few cardio machines and some select free weights and machines.
–The LACK of pressure in some showers.
Where Pottruck stands out, IMHO:
–Pool (s) and a well-​organized system for running them.
–Semi-​regular classes (IF you have the pass to take the classes).
–A LOT of cardio equipment.
–The sauna, but mostly because I would like almost any sauna that existed. I’m easy to please when there’s dry heat involved.
–The excellent pressure in a number of select showers. Few and far between, but they’re top notch when they work.
–The employees at the front desk are always fairly friendly.
–SO MANY TOWELS! I love when towel service isn’t extra, thank goodness since I feel semi– nickel/​dimed otherwise.
So there’s the good and the bad, but, generally, feels mostly good. Don’t forget to bring your own lock for the lockers, as they do NOT allow you to bring your bags into the weights and cardio rooms.

The closer you are to your undergraduate years, the more you will like Pottruck.
If you are a current undergraduate at Penn, you get to take advantage of the gym for free so why would you go elsewhere? And here you will find a gym full of «your people.» You can preen in front of the glass-​plated windows on the first floor where the food truck patrons can watch you chisel your already-​fine physique and you can lock eyes with the sports-​bra-​bedecked freshman on the treadmill beside you. Penn is a competitive place, and if you have any sense at all you’ll put the requisite effort in to maintaining your appearance.
If you’re a grad student, your first year or two you’ll probably think Pottruck is OK. You’ll really like it during the summer and over winter break when the undergraduates depart and you’ll grumble disconcertedly when they flock back in January and September like a plague of locusts. But you’ll put up with it because the fees are reasonable and it’s just a few blocks from your office and it does have some quite nice facilities.
After that, though, you’ll be done. You’ll run into one of your students in the locker room, and that will just be awkward. Someone in a class that you’re TAing will ask about the homework while you are lifting free weights and you will struggle mightily to resist strangling him with the cord for his earbuds. And then you will find a gym closer to where you live where you can be safe from the undergraduate horde for a blessed hour each day.

this gym really has all that you can possibly want as a student… pool is nice and heated, equipment is pretty new. the times that i go (around noon or 3 pm), its never crowded and there is never a wait. the locker rooms are fine and there is towel service.
BUT, i really dont like the showers here. they just feel sort of dirty. i mean, they are sufficient, but i wouldnt mind a nicer shower area!
ive never taken the group ex classes, because they charge additional fees for that, which is a little annoying in my mind. however, overall, pottruck is definitely good for your fitness

Gonna give you it to you hard and dirty just how you like it: this gym is good if you’re a Penn student/​faculty/​staff because let’s face it, it’s the only way you’ll get to the gym consistently. If you go home first to change and then think you’re going to the gym you’re only kidding yourself. The couch beckons you once you get home. You may peek into the fridge and then it’s all over. You NEED this gym to foolproof your ways. Your ass will thank you later.
I’ve been attending this gym for the past five years. Every year has been different. This year, I’ve noticed that I haven’t stood in line once for a treadmill at 5:30. They changed more of the treads so you can run for more than the usual preallocated 30 mins, and there’s even a machine that lets you bang out 85mins straight if you’re masochistic like me. Also, I no longer have to arrive a half hour before the spin class to guarantee a seat. I can get there 10 mins before. However, there are still the old standbys: there are never ANY freakin’ small towels when I go in anytime between 5−6pm. There are the handful of exercise anorexic Penn girls straining on the bikes and step machines and I like to count their vertebrae as I run. And you have to get the scoop on who’s the best instructor for the group classes otherwise you’ll be wasting your money but most annoyingly, your time.
Quick Tips:
–Instructors: for spin class Nina is the best and then Chris. Body Combat is best with Angela S or Katie. Addicted to Sarah’s Body Pump class. Have not fallen in love with any of the Zumba instructors.
–The rock wall community is awesome. They change the holds pretty frequently so you can get different climbs in.
–Dress in layers– the gym is usually steaming hot in every room except the room that matters (the yoga studio). So it’ll be December and freezing and I’ll be wearing booty shorts and tank top so I don’t overheat.
–If you’re intimidated by the second floor weight room with all the college boys grunting and showing off their large biceps but puny calves, venture to the third or fourth floor– they have some machines and free weights and benches but because the space is limited you won’t get the mass of guys taking up the space.
–Go for steam: the steam room is great and well kept and I’m not afraid of getting crabs.
–Be hygienic for yourself: bring flip flops for the showers and always wipe down all machines and mats before you use them and after. You never know if the person before you did it and my friend once got a staph infection from the mats. On her FACE. Not sexy.

Sorry, guess you just aren’t good enough anymore.

I’ve been to and worked at many gyms across the US. This is a great gym and certainly one of the best in Philly. In addition to lots of weight lifting equipment (free weights and machines) and lots of cardio equipment, they have a rock-​climbing wall and a golfing room. They also have what is probably one of the larger and best equipped Pilates studio.
There is a good mix of Group Ex classes (Spinning, Body Pump, strength) and instructional classes (yoga, dancing). They also probably have the best Spinning instructor in Philly — Chris. He always leads a great class and has great music. Only problem is that unless you can make his 5:30 Tuesday class you have to wake up very early to get to his 6:30 am Spinning and then abs/​core class. The ladies also seem to think he’s pretty good looking.

The Pottruck gym is a decent deal if you’re a member of the Penn community; it’s not bad if you aren’t (it’s open to the public at a higher rate). There’s a pool, sauna, basketball courts, climbing wall, golf simulator, juice bar, dance and group exercise studios. The downsides are that the golf simulator, climbing wall, and group exercise classes aren’t included in the membership — however, while I’m not sure about the golf simulator, the group exercise classes are definitely better-​priced than other private (yoga/​pilates) studios around here. More on the climbing wall below (I’m definitely a fan.)
Since it’s January, it’ll be super crowded — like any other gym — with all the people and their new years resolutions. Otherwise, the worst time to go is usually 5pm — there will be a wait for many of the cardio machines, and it’s hard to get a bench in the weightlifting room. I don’t know about early early in the morning, but around 8am the place is usually almost completely empty, so that’s a sweet time to go.
I, frankly, can’t wait for the New Years Rush people to be gone next week, but if you plan to stick around, here’s the deal on the cardio machines, weightlifting room, and climbing wall, the three things I use the most:
CARDIO MACHINES
They have stairmasters, ellipticals, rowing machines, and treadmills. The equipment is pretty standard but you can plug your iPod into the treadmills (and possibly the other machines too — I don’t use them) and listen to music, and supposedly watch video. I haven’t figured out the video function yet. Other than during the 5pm crowded time there’s rarely a wait for any of these machines.
WEIGHTLIFTING ROOM
Two complaints here: 1. the pull-​up bar is way too high for me and my fellow shorties (I’m 5’2″) and there aren’t any dorky steps to help reach for it. Jumping up for it is out of the question. I usually end up having to drag a fairly heavy bench and step on it to reach. 2. People rarely re-​rack their barbells after using them on bars or on machines. This is pretty common at most gyms I think.
Otherwise, the equipment is fairly comprehensive in this room, and the users are generally decent about maintaining gym etiquette. It’s a big room and accommodates a fair number of people. Once again, it can get crowded around 5−6pm, though, so it’s sometimes hard to get a bench if you go at that time.
CLIMBING WALL
Alright, this is the best part of the gym. Some people might complain that it costs extra — $ 100 for the year, $ 60 for a single semester, or $ 5 for an individual visit — but seriously, it’s worth it. It’s a little less worth it if you have your own gear — gear rental is included with the membership — but still a good value. If you don’t have a belay partner, the staff is usually pretty happy to trade belays with you, which is always sweet when your usual belay buddy is too busy with schoolwork or whatever. And the «learning to climb» classes are reasonably priced — $ 30 or so.
The wall itself: I haven’t climbed on many university gym rock walls, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this may be the mother of all school gym rock walls on the east coast. There are only 5 rope stations, I think, but the wall actually spans a full 4 stories, so instead of being stuck in a tiny room, you can actually maintain/​work on your endurance. There’s also a lot of bouldering and a few lead climbing routes.
The wall is interesting and well-​featured; at first, I really didn’t like that the setters were minimally interested in toe holds and generally set the wall so that you had to use the features of the wall to support your legs, but now I think that the featuring makes it a more challenging and enjoyable experience that calls for more creativity and physicality in solving the rock climbing problems. This is a pretty muscular wall — the term that the attendant used was that they tend to set everything very «sandbaggy»; i.e. the routes would be on-​grade if you were wearing 15 pounds of sandbags. All the better for training, I say!

A gym renovated back in the early 2000’s, including a rock climbing wall, two full basketball courts, a full swimming pool and diving pool, three layers of cardio & exercise machines with views of campus, and the food carts just outside, its hard to beat this gym. Classes and more available.
The costs aren’t that bad, either, equivalent to a New York Sports Club or Bally’s, actually. Even cheaper as a student (built into your school fees) or a staff member /​alumni (varying discounts).
Gym gets crowded after 4p until close, also busy towards the early mornings. Students fill most of the structure, but there are also rooms you can sign up for classes, or run your own classes or practice dancing, etc. Many lockers (get a lock).
Free towel service, and basketball games (half court) running a lot (some full court, too).
They sell smoothies, here, too, on the ground floor.

Oh Pottruck. I like you so much better in the summer when all of the students are gone. Working out next to 18-​year-​olds has never been a big body-​image booster, but it’s manageable. Somehow, though, the usual January New Years Resolution crunch has inexplicably turned into months and months of crowded gym, lines for the machines, and classes that I can’t show up 40 minutes early for in order to get myself a spot. Crap! What is going on?
Of course, it’s a block from my work, I can go during the day, and someone willed me a full-​length locker years ago that is worth its weight in gold. If I lived or worked somewhere else, it might not be such a good deal, but for now I’ll hope that they stop charging for yoga, add some for damn classes, and that those undergrads decide to get fat and lazy and leave the gym for us adults, who really need it.

This gym located in the University of Pennsylvania’s campus is also open to the locals, a fact that many people are unaware of but should take advantage of.
The gym has 4 levels and a great atmosphere. Each level has a different type of music so take your pick and you may not even need to bring an IPod. Also inside are a juice and smoothie bar as well as a fitness hop, in case you forget a water bottle or need new kicks.
Along with the Olympic sized pool, sauna and basketball courts, there are also dance, yoga and spinning classes among others. If you haven’t visited yet, a visitors day pass is only $ 15. A great deal for a great place.