On this episode of Gyms with Jun, Jun Kwon takes on Harvey Mudd College’s Linde Activities Center (LAC). The LAC meets some tough competition, facing off against the two flagship gyms — the CARW and Roberts Pavilion— and the surprisingly strong underdog, Pitzer College’s Gold Student Center.
Similar to Pitzer College’s gym, the LAC was not difficult to enter, even as a non-CMS student. While I did have to swipe my ID –– something not required at Pitzer –– they didn’t stop me, and there was no line of questioning from the front desk workers.
The gym itself was certainly not the shiniest, fanciest facility I’ve ever been inside. All the equipment was placed in one small room, and most of it was arranged very close together. The four treadmills were almost touching each other.
As for the weight machines, they were equally crammed into a small space, with little room for walking around in between. The benches on the free weights were quite close to each other, too. Though I did talk down on Pitzer’s GSC for its space constraints, I was saddened to find that the LAC was an even further step down.
The quality of the equipment was also a letdown compared to the three gyms previously reviewed. The machines were quite old, the seats and benches were worn down and the weights were slightly rusty.
Despite the visible wear and tear on the equipment, it was a pleasant surprise to see three barbell racks for the bench press and squats, especially because everything else in the gym seemed rather small-scale.
I visited during dinner time on a weekend, which I would consider the gym’s downtime. The gym was completely empty with one front desk employee, but I can see the space eventually getting quite crowded and busy simply because of its size.
The rest of the facility outside of the gym room itself, however, was a decent surprise. The lobby had a couple of couches, pool tables, ping-pong tables and an air hockey table.
Across from the gym, there was an aerobics room. I initially thought the main gym space had very few cardio machines, with one elliptical and four treadmills, but the aerobics room made it up with several other cardio machines around the wall. It hosts bikes, more ellipticals and some space for stretching and agility workouts.
With yoga mats, jump ropes and rollers available to borrow, students can use the aerobics room’s spacious setting to finish their workout with some stretching or light cardio. There’s also a punching bag in the middle of the room for any aspiring boxers.
My favorite part of the first floor of the LAC was its shiny gymnasium. It has a full-sized, brightly-lit basketball and volleyball court with CMS-branded floors. Compared to the rest of the gym’s rather old-looking facilities, the gymnasium was a pleasant surprise.
Unfortunately, the second floor did not contain much that was fitness-related. However, it was pretty cool to see lounges and meeting rooms upstairs, including a computer lab and a game room.
At the computer lab, students gathered to get some work done, while the game room seemed to be decorated with couches and fairy lights for students to relax comfortably. Students can definitely go there for a quick nap or even a study session with a group of friends.
The LAC also hosts tournament-style competitions and events. It notably hosted the annual Dean Chris Classic basketball tournament and has upcoming events for spikeball, volleyball and ping-pong.
Translated into numerical scores, my review is as follows:
Quality of the facility: 5/10. I wasn’t a fan of the space. The equipment is definitely older and more worn out than that of the other gyms, and it was all crammed together. There weren’t any particular stand-out qualities about the workout space itself, but I was a big fan of the basketball gymnasium.
Amenities: 6.5/10. On top of the gym, I was pretty impressed by the recreational space on the first and second floors. It had nice ping pong and pool tables, plus a computer lab and gaming room that students could utilize even without working out.
Size: 4/10. The gym itself was not very big, and the workout space was the smallest out of all four gyms reviewed so far. I do think it deserves some credit for having the full-sized gymnasium, but that is not saying much.
Non-exercise-related value: 8/10. I think the facilities are actually quite great for getting some work done or getting a power nap in. This might be the one gym where you can truly get some studying done before the midterm, and do it out of free will, because the computer lab is that nice.
The Linde Activities Center at Harvey Mudd College is fourth, with an average score of 5.87 out of 10. Next week, we’ll conclude the series with a review of the gym at Scripps College.
Jun Kwon PO ’28 is glad he started the ‘Gyms with Jun’ series as it keeps him accountable and forces him into a workout for the TSL articles. However, despite pretending to be a fitness and gym enthusiast, it’s really difficult to hide his dislike for the 23-minute walk from Pomona’s south campus to Harvey Mudd’s gym.