I like the ARC! Been going for the past 4 years. They're always aiming to improve the machines and it's been getting better with the cleaning. I like the large space and the availability of machines. They also host some pretty cool events and have a lot of services for students. I am glad I have a cool gym in my vicinity! read more

This place is definitely better than CRCE. The biggest foible of this entire facility is that there are a separate set of stairs for each floor and the fact that there are waaaaay too many meeting rooms. For an activity center, I wish those activity rooms could be converted into actual workout areas. It does seem like an awful waste of time. However, they do have a lot of cardio equipment and an indoor track. They have a good amount of basketball courts and racquetball courts. There's also a place to play ping pong, soccer, and even the Wii. Oh, there's also a rock climbing area. read more

I'd actually like to add to my previously posted review. During the weekends there is no toilet paper in the girl's bathroom (has happened quite a few times) and the clorox wipes are out at some of the wipe stands. This gym is not willing to provide a clean environment for its users and and I have only seen a couple of machines being wiped down by a staff member on three occasions in 4 years. Some of the students slobs do not wipe down the cardio machines either and leave filth all over the place. You can see dead skin, salt stains and muggy stuff in all the creases/corners of the bars on the cardio machines. The gym also does not use the air conditioning to its capacity. The minimum temperature in the gym is 75 (80++ when sunny out) and it is always VERY humid, an environment very conducive to bacteria growing everywhere especially when the machines are not religiously wiped down, because spray bottles have stopped being provided every 2-3 machines... Well because the weather hasn't been necessarily great and i need to train for the Big sur marathon (which is very hilly in case you didn't know) I've been going to the gym quite a lot in the last 3 weeks to run 5-10% incline on the treadmills, or stairmaster. pretty soon after this period of my sligthly increased gym frequency i started getting red spots on my chest/back on areas that are open to the gym air. (think racerback top). I went to the doctor today and I was told I have a staph infection everywhere above the line of my bra, and that's what the red spots/ some of which were slightly yellow were...She added that if the machines are not wiped down and i touch a bar and then touch myself with bacteria that is not found on my body, the bacteria can get in the open / sweaty pores (from the heat) and will get carried wherever sweat can go... Then she added how they actually see this very often at the student health center in people who use the gym a lot. THAT IS DISGUSTING. i am now buying a membership at a commercial gym which has lots of spray bottles to sterilize their equipment properly. PS: the mats are also disgusting, smell, and I'm not sure if they've ever been cleaned. Maybe they are just periodically replaced.... The whole gym smells like feet and a** at crowded times. Parking is insufficient during peak times. I have also hurt my ankle in late january on a treadmill on which the band slightly skips when accelerating. That treadmill has still not been fixed, despite staff being informed about it. This gym is advertised as being great but reporting the actual amount of machines per user would make it clear how bad it is. "state of the art" facility read more

Just an amazing transformation. Both IMPE and CRCE have transformed themselves from good exercise buildings to state of the art facilities. While I've never actually worked out at either location, I've looked at both and am very impressed with what they have. They both fit in very well with the more trendy, upscale feeling that both the campus and city of Champaign seem to be trying to achieve. read more

I recently returned to the gym after deciding that I don't want to die due to being fat and realizing that I could afford to pay as a staff member now that I'm out of school. Anyway, I was a student when the ARC was being built so to see it now in all it's splendid glory is great. There is every sort of activity and machine you can think of in this place and, for the low low cost of a kidney, you can use it! I'm an elliptical kind of gal so I tend to start on the highest level and work my way down to the basement/weights/guy cave. There are more than enough machines for people and gyms are available for sports from badminton to volleyball. Lockers rooms are spacious and accommodating, and you can use most of the smaller ones without bringing your own lock. Most equipment can be rented or purchased at the front desk. My availability limits me to the most packed times (after 5 pm before 9pm) but I have never been too fed up to skip the gym completely. There is also a sauna and Olympic pool which I haven't used yet. The only reason this gym doesn't have 5 starts: ---not enough stair masters (there are 6 and in all and they are always in use) ---not enough bathrooms on the second level (can we turn a random closet in to another bathroom?) ---more room for free weights (I second level is packed with mats, basement level is packed with bros. Where can a girl go to do some lunges?) read more

It will always be IMPE to me, in its ARC form, it's gorgeous. The machines seem to be top of the line, all with iPod docks and TVs. I definitely plan my workouts around being able to watch the TV programs I want, because I have a short attention span when it comes to working out. I've only been going consistently this summer, but even in Summer II I've never had to wait to use anything, which is what drove me crazy about IMPE when it was IMPE. The outdoor pool is great, and almost always has pretty people around it. I haven't tried out the climbing wall, but barring further damage to my wrist I definitely want to try it out before I move. Over the summer it does host a lot of summer sport camps, and it was kind of awkward having some 14 year old call me "sweetheart," but if Penn State's facilities measure up to this place at all, I will be a happy camper at grad school. My minor tip-- in my experience, the second floor is always a bit cooler than the main floor, which I like while working out. read more

Nice and big gym, if you are here to lift weights, there are only 5 squat racks and 5 bench presses. Unless you want to wait in line, do not come at peak hours. No other complaints though read more

This place is amazing. If you are a U of I student, and you didn't come here to workout, that is a huge mistake. My parents introduced me to Lifetime Fitness when I was in high school, and I thought that was the best of the best. The ARC blows away any other gym chain by far. Every machine you can imagine, an indoor track, multitudes of various courts, an indoor and outdoor pool, a rock climbing wall, and the cave of testosterone (free weight basement). If you are a student who takes their health seriously, rent a locker for a year and store your stuff so you can be in, out and on with your life. You won't get another chance to workout in a place like this outside of college. read more

A great facility. I wish more of my friends took advantage of this place when they were here. Lets see, I spent at least two hours a practice, two to three tomes a week for three and a half years. I stayex every summer too. That comes out to about seven hundred hours spent in the arc. I'm in goshin jitsu the muay Thai club and this doesn't count any weight lifting I did outside of practice. The combat room is really nice. The dance rooms are nice. If you're a student take advantage and go here read more

This is not a place for people who are different. While this may be a perfectly suitable gym for the majority of the student body, for those of us that veer from the norm (particularly in gender and sexuality) we seek solace from judgement in our fitness centers, and yet I was met with judgement and disapproval from the front desk when the gay boy from Philly asked about the zumba class. There was no effort to meet me or to understand me, only to judge me. I haven't felt this humiliated since the judgments of my kindergarten peers (who, by now, have learned how to treat others that are different from them). Do not go here if you don't want to be judged, there are a number of really nice gyms in the area that are much more accommodating to people of all walks of life. I will not be returning. read more

The ARC was brand new for the 2008-2009 school year. It features two swimming pools (indoor and outdoor), two entire floors of weightlifting equipment, four gyms, and two floors of cardio equipment. I work out at the ARC 3-4 days a week, and I rarely, if ever, have to wait to use equipment. The building is beautiful and always well maintained. I highly recommend trying out the ARC! read more

As of now, IMPE's under renovation (scheduled to be complete mid-May) so it's almost always completely packed since there's even less room now than even a semester ago. They still have a fair amount of cardio and strength equipment, just not quite enough at times. Once renovation is complete though, IMPE's going to be rocking! Not only will they have added a ton of new equipment (both cardio and strength), a rock climbing wall, an indoor AND outdoor pool w/ sauna, a total of 13 basketball (or 18 volleyball courts), racquetball courts, squash courts, indoor track, pro shop, and lots more. It'll basically be like a Lifetime Fitness (for those of you who know what it's like there), but free for students. Expect to see this measly 3-star rating to shoot up to 5 the moment the red ribbon is cut and the fixed up IMPE opens (it's supposed to get a new name too). read more

The gym, no question, is big and satisfactory in what regards the number of available machines and such. On the other hand, the staff there really sucks, all the way up to the overpaid and waaay too many administrators. The staff section there is embarrassingly overpopulated with unnecessary offices. The director Robyn Deterding by herself is paid more than $100,000,00 per year, money squeezed out of poor students' fees... WHY exactly is all this university money thrown away? For the "expertise" necessary to buy chlorine for the pool and to plug in the treadmills? ARC is an example of "perfect waste" which the University of IL affords itself much too easily, on the back of the Illinois taxpayer and of exploited students and parents. read more

The ARC is one of the best things about the University of Illinois--so if you are a student here--take advantage because the fees are added to your tuition. This gym is incredible, with lots of fun things to do. Currently I am a grad student (female) at the University of Illinois, and I took advantage last semester (FALL 09) of getting a personal trainer. I have seen some good trainers, and some OK trainers there, but if you want to get your ass kicked into shape, I would recommend Josh Junge who was prior military. He is not one one these trainers that will just tell you how to use the machines or weights, but rather he is always by your side watching that you are executing the exercise properly, and cares about your feedback. Man or woman, no matter what your fitness level is, you will be sore the first week or two of training but if your are serious about changing your body to a higher fitness level, he can help you achieve your goal. I started out strength training twice a week to build muscle (but as an additional bonus I lost body fat). I later added additional workouts on my own after 6 weeks. (Warning: Once you see positive results, the gym could be addicting). Yes, personal training does cost money, but you are worth it. PS: If working with prior military is intimidating, Liz is a good trainer and so is Leah Okner. read more

I lowered my rating, because earlier I underestimated how desperately this rec center needs an upgrade and more weight room space. You really are not able to do much 90% of the time they're open. read more

The ARC doesn't really do it for me. This place is grimy, dirty, smelly, and dingy. The showers are a world of despair. They finally, finally switched to wipes. No more handling soggy rags to wipe down machines. Oh, wait, but half of the dispensers are always empty. The layout is very poor. There is no dedicated space for floorwork with or without free weights (short of checking out a multipurpose room which is obviously inconvenient unless you plan on doing floorwork only) so people find spots wherever they can with their mats on the carpet (The carpet! No tile or hardwood that can be easily cleaned). The weight floor is even worse because you only have room for stationary exercise. read more

I love this gym! While I don't know what it used to look like, right now I think it's amazing. I've gone at several different times of the day, on pretty much every day except Thursday, and I've never ever had to wait for a machine. (a pet peeve of mine!) I love how there are TVs on every elliptical. Plus the staff is friendly and helpful. My next goal is to check out what else they have and how it looks, like the weight room, the classes, and maybe even the climbing wall! read more

Where do I begin with all the greatness the ARC offers. First of all the place is huge boasting tons of basketball courts, pools, and exercise equipment. The only complaint is the limited parking available during week nights, however once you get inside you can hardly tell it's packed because the place is so huge. The ARC also features a track on the upper level, which is a nice change from the treadmill. Can't wait for fall to go back! read more

After 10 years from now, if you ask me what I miss about UIUC, ARC is definitely on the top list. Swimming pool is excellent. Also SPA room. all kinds of facilities. Most equipments have TV with more than 100 channels. No reason not to love it read more

worst gym I've ever been to. ventilation sucks, air is humid and warm, NOTHING like what a self respectable gym should have. it smells like feet constantly. people go there for their vanity of walking at 2mph on a treadmill with their hair down while texting . people also text on the track. proximity to another person on a mat would be enough to smell their armpits. too bad it's mandatory in the semester fee that this bottom grade school charges its students. so like it or not, pay for it baby! read more

This place is god awful. How do you not have a system for students to get in if they lost their wallet or possibly even just forgot it. If they know their UIN and it links to a picture, I'm struggling to see a problem. It also takes about 147 minutes to sign a guest in. Aside from the terrible check-in issues, the gym is a complete mess. A school with one of the largest student populations in the country and you shove a tiny, mediocre weight room in the basement. Good luck fixing this garbage facility. read more

The facility is alright. It has lots to offer and is usually pretty clean in the main areas. It is customer service and professionalism, at multiple levels, where the ARC fails. read more