Best places to work out on Harvard campus

Working out is more than just moving your body; it's also a way to take care of yourself, especially after that crazy midterm you took on the last day of class (like, why is it even called a midterm?). As we enter the reading period with stress levels rising and sleep hours dropping, many of us would really benefit from an extra adrenaline rush right now. Let your brain take a break from that writer's block or those 20-page finals review handouts and exercise your body instead. Here are some of the great places on campus to hide away from those academic commitments and break a good sweat (<3): 

Malkin Athletic Center

With its 65 machines, two cardio rooms, three strength training rooms, three half-sized basketball courts, an Olympic-size studio, and proximity to 9 Harvard River houses, the MAC is the best place to get your heart pumping. Pro-tip: hit the MAC any time except for peak hours after 3 p.m. classes and before dinner if you want to avoid all the gym machines being occupied by our student-athletes. 

Hemenway Gymnasium (Hem)

This is for the most dedicated gym rats who consider the 15-min walk to this gym a light cardio warm-up. Wonder what it's like to sweat in solidarity with the law students reading torts on treadmills or condition that beach body in free fitness classes offered in Hem's multipurpose studio? With a fancy weight room, squash courts, and basketball courts, Hem and its world-class facilities are the place to get those endorphins after (or before) that stressful class or HUA meeting.

Harvard Stadium

If you are looking for ways to digest that $30 Classroom to Table dinner from last night or simply feeling up to an especially brutal sweat sesh, the stadium's steps are waiting for you. What a perfect start to the day by running up and down 37 sections of 31 steps of the football arena? Besides burning hundreds of calories and building up those sexy glute muscles, you are among hundreds of thousands of other students and Cambridge residents who have stepped foot on this stadium since it was first built in 1930. Don't forget to give yourself a pat on the back (and butt)!

Quad Recreational Athletic Center 

Take those half-an-hour walks from your dorm or class to the QRAC as an opportunity to soak up the fresh air and spring foliage of the season and self-reflect on another busy semester already in the book. While getting your heart racing, the QRAC is also a perfect place to hang out and catch up with your long-time-no-see Quad friends (PSA: check in on your good old quad friends). Plus, for those into climbing, take advantage of the Harvard College Climbing Wall every evening of the week except Friday. 

The Charles River 

The Charles and the area around it is itself an open-air gym if you know how to use it to your advantage. What better way to spend those late afternoons after class than making multiple leaps around the river before sunset. Who says you can't strength train, do yoga, or do cardio there? With its green, vast, and perfectly ventilated space, you will feel less suffocated than in a gym with other sweaty (maybe smelly) people. Pack up your yoga mat, a water bottle, and a kick-ass music playlist to power your special gym sesh!

Your room or suite common room!

 Exercise does not have to be just in the gym! With just a yoga mat, a bottle of water, some resistance bands, and maybe weights, your gym can be everywhere. And this includes your own dorm room (remember those old Chloe Ting workout days in your home during social isolation?). Though your room might not be as big as you wanted, there will be no stress-study buddies to distract you from perfecting that glute bridge, or awkward eye contact with that future lawyer making weird noises while hitting their max reps in Hem. Use your room to flex and shred!

Regardless of how and where you choose to exercise, we hope that this list of workout places will widen your options to remain active during the last few weeks on campus. The sky's the limit. Be creative and diligent with moving your body as summer and beach trips are on the horizon! Instead of whining at how many final papers or exams you got, replace those minutes with some movements here and there that will benefit you and your mental health!