Image Credit: Sarah Cassuto for The Campus Trainer
In the College Park area there are many local gyms and places to workout besides Eppley Recreation Center and Ritchie Coliseum. There are pros and cons to working out both on and off campus. Students at the University of Maryland share their personal reasons for where they chose to workout everyday. Some benefits to working out off campus include access to more equipment and amenities and less crowded gyms.
Gold’s Gym is located in Riverdale, MD, which is just under a 10 minute drive from campus. A student membership costs $25 every other week. Some amenities include a sauna and steam room, group training and cycling classes. They are open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Allie Bell, a sophomore undecided major at the University of Maryland, enjoys getting in her car and driving to the gym. “I like feeling like I’m getting away from campus and spending time with myself,” said Bell.
As a freshman Bell worked out on campus at Eppley, but felt stressed out there because it was often crowded. Bell also said at Gold’s Gym “it’s well air conditioned, you never have to wait for machines or racks, and the staff is very friendly and helpful.”
Junior marketing major, Brooke Orenstein, has worked out on campus at UMD and at Gold’s Gym. She prefers working out off campus because the gym is bigger, has a sauna and has less students. Her favorite amenity at the gym is the sauna.
“I would say about half of the people at the gym are college students,” said Orenstein.
Another UMD-adjacent gym is Planet Fitness;here is one located in Greenbelt, MD and another in Hyattsville, MD. Both locations are about 10 minutes away from College Park. One benefit of Planet Fitness is that it is open 24 hours a day.
They have two membership options. The first is a Black Card which is $24.99 a month and gives the member access to all Planet Fitness locations, the ability to bring one guest every visit, access to a spa at the gym. The second is the classic membership which is $10 a month.
One amenity at Planet Fitness is a cardio section with treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, rowers and a StairMaster.
Abdul Godje has worked at Planet Fitness in Greenbelt, MD for nine months. He said a majority of their members are not college students, but some are.
On campus at UMD there are two gyms, Eppley and Ritchie. Both gyms are free for students. They are both open from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to midnight on Sundays. These hours are more limiting than off campus options.
Other off-campus fitness options are group classes. There is an Orangetheory Fitness located in College Park, which makes it easy for students to get to. A single class is $28 but there are also packages and membership plans based on the specific goal of the customer. A membership with unlimited classes a month is $189 and a package of 20 classes is $245.
Off campus gyms seem to be in demand, with a Crunch Fitness set to open this winter. Some of their amenities will include cardio, weights, fitness classes, an online nutrition program and online workouts. They have three packages which range from $24.99 a month to $39.99 a month.
Overall, students prefer to workout off campus because of the extra amenities and larger gym space. Even though these off campus gyms are further away and require a membership, they are a great way to take a break from College Park.