Episode 10--Fitness Center at Penn

Hi all! Hope you're well !

I know some of you guys might be interested in recreation services that Penn offers, and I am also quite aware that going to the gym has become a part of daily life for lots of the students. So for this week's topic, I want to talk about that so that you will have a general idea of what fitness center at Penn provides and how you get benefits from it.

Honestly, I haven't used those facilities offered there, but I have been taking Hip Hop Dance classes in there, and it's been great. I used to be member of dance crew back in Shanghai. When I moved to Philadelphia, I always wanted to find a place to keep on dancing so that my dance move would't get rusty. ( Well, it certainly did and I need to practice...!!) Then I learned that the fitness center offers Hip Hop class, and I was so excited. I will talk more about the various classes that the center offers later.

The picture below captures the contour of the fitness center. The official name is called " David Pottruck Health and Fitness Center" , which is located at 3701 Walnut Street, just a five-minute walk from graduate students on-campus building. It is just OPPOSITE to GSE building, so really close, right?

The David Pottruck Health and Fitness Center has 4 floors, with facilities, equipments, pool, spinning , yoga and dance classes spreading out. Therefore, it takes a little bit of time to figure out which floor has the things that you want to do. If you want to pay a short visit just to see the inside of the building, the day pass for each person is 15 dollars.

The fitness centers have a good number of equipment of cardio machines, such as treadmills, rowing machines, ellipticals. Also, the facilities in the weightlifting room are pretty comprehensive. It has every piece of equipment that you need to work out your body.

The inside is really neat, spacious and user-friendly. It has juice bar in case you forget to bring your own water bottle. And the locker rooms are very safe and standard. The center only has the annual membership for students and public. The cost will be somewhat fluctuated because of the rate. Last time I checked, it was 292 dollars for one year, which means that you can take the advantage of everything, come at anytime and stay for whenever you want to except for those dance classes. For example, the cost of my Hip Hop dance is 45 dollars for 6 week-course, and 30 dollars if you have membership card. That means even if you are a membership, you still have to pay 30 dollars if you want to take dance classes. But for other facilities, you are okay to use it.

In addition, there are some other activities that you might need to pay extra money to get in. Like climbing wall or golf stimulator. And the center also offers some adventurous sports outside for students to participate. Those activities will be on the poster at the main entrance or on the website ( I believe ).

If you are interested in the fitness center, please click the link to check out what the center has to offer. http://www.upenn.edu/recreation/facilities/pottruck.html
I am sure it has enough information for you to go through.
Also, please check out the Upenn Recreation website for more benefits. http://www.upenn.edu/recreation/

Have a good weekend!
See you next week!