I'd say this is the cleanest gym of all the Harvard gyms near the Yard. The facility is well maintained, and the women's shower area is super nice. Unfortunately, the weight areas are still under renovation. Hopefully the floors will be done by the end of September. read more

This is probably the worst gym I've used, in part because of poor maintenance practices and in part because Harvard community members / gym users take such poor care of the facility. Cleanliness: It's pretty terrible. - In every other civilian or military gym I've used, members regularly use disinfectant wipes on benches and machines after use. That's not the case here, so I'm mindful of wiping surfaces down before use. - Most nights, the bathroom trash cans are overflowing with used paper towels. A nice, older gentleman cleans the gym near closing hours, but it doesn't seem like the student staff at the front desk do so during the day. - This is the first gym I've used in which I regularly see used towels left on the locker room floor. I've even seen a towel left next to a toilet. This reflects not only the inadequate cleaning schedule, but also Harvard gym members' lack of care. Rules: - There are rules posted prohibiting Olympic lifting, lifting without shoes, etc., but they're infrequently enforced. - I regularly see gym members doing Olympic lifts (cleans, snatches) that put other members at risk in such a small space. Gym trainers have witnessed Olympic lifts and have said nothing. - I've been told to put my shoes back on while deadlifting, but I regularly see gym members lifting without shoes and sometimes squatting **without socks** (which doesn't even make sense). If you're going to enforce the rules, have systems in place to enforce them regularly / consistently. The gym is fine enough, as the membership fee comes out of my tuition, but Harvard University and its community should do a better job in taking care of its community spaces. read more

The Harvard student, faculty, and staff population has steadily increased, while the number of recreational facilities has remained the same...which means this gym is consistently crowded, making members irritable and frustrated. Pro's: Nicest gym on Harvard Campus Great location Con's: Consistently overcrowded You'll never catch a staff member cleaning the equipment during the day read more

I just recently signed up for the Harvard athletic facilities, and so far I'm a fan of the Hemenway gym. Considering that as a Harvard employee a year long membership is a whopping $24, I think it is money well spent (not to mention that health insurance will reimburse you...). Granted, it's the summer so there are no/few students, so my opinion may change in a few months. But I only go when it opens (6AM over the summer during the week, 9AM on weekends) and it has never been crowded. There is plenty of cardio equipment - like a dozen treadmills, seems like more crosstrainers and ellipticals, half a dozen bikes, couple of stair machines and row machines. There is a definite lack of weight machines, with most of the lifting area being dedicated to free weights. But there are 6 or so benches for the dumbbells (of which there is a great selection from 5lbs to like 80lbs), and then a whole slew of benches and machines for the plates. The locker room is well maintained with plenty of lockers and a big shower and changing area. There are also cubbies and free "wallet lockers" (like what you would see at a skating rink or water park) on the main floor of the gym. There are also free sweat towels aplenty. My biggest complaint is the fact that practically no space is devoted to stretching, with only a small corner of the main floor and a small corner of the top floor (each enough room for 3 people at a time) with mats, foam rollers, balance balls, etc. Another small complaint is that the crowd mostly seems to fall into two categories - ultra-fit-super-serious-exercise-freaks, and awkward-nerdy-weirdo-spastic-grad-students. The former group can get annoying because they work out with such intensity that you don't want to get in their way, the latter group gets annoying because they just take up valuable space and occupy machines you could be using for a real workout. I don't know which of these two groups I personally fall into, I'm sure each group would certainly classify me as a member of the other! read more

If you are a Harvard employee, you can use this gym for roughly $2.50 per month. So, essentially it's free. It's the law school's gym, so it's better-equipped than the others, and not as smelly as MAC. The individual TVs are a very nice touch. Towels are free. As for crowding, I've never had to wait ages to get a machine, and people are generally good-natured if you've signed up for what they're on. If you're just looking for something simple and don't need all the luxuries (???) of places that charge you hundreds a year there's no reason to not use Hemenway. read more

The one thing this gym has going for it is the location. The weight room is dangerously crowded and is short on free-weight equipment. The rules against Olympic lifting and the lack of space for many types of weightlifting limit what you can do on this gym. While I'm sure Hemenway was intended as a boutique gym for law students, Harvard needs to think about expanding and improving its gym offerings. If only that were a priority for the couch-potato administrators in University Hall. Oh right, they and the faculty get paid big bucks and go to their own private gyms.... Also, I think this place is run under contract with the Sports Clubs company (BSC/WSC/NYSC, etc.). Not sure how well that system works. read more

Eh, it's fine. Sometimes I love this place (when it isn't crowded), but sometimes I can't stand it (when there are people everywhere). It's basically free for Harvard employees ($30 a year- not including classes etc), and it's on my way home from work, so it would be hard to justify going anywhere else. So, I deal. I like the open concept of the place, it's pretty clean, and the machines are overall good, but it's also very small. That's fine when the students aren't around and it isnt crowded. But when it's crowded, it's REALLY crowded. I like to go straight after work, because I can't motivate myself at 6am or later in the evening when I want to chill. Unfortunately 5pm is a very popular gym time, and it can be hard to find an available locker/space in the locker room to get changed. The women's locker room gets very cramped. You might have to wait for a treadmill, but that might just be a winter problem. Also some of the people in here need to chill. No need to run in front of me and get your ID swiped first. The gym isn't going anywhere. Overall this place is fine, and I'd much rather work out here than pay over a thousand a year for other gyms out there. read more

Hemenway is dangerously crowded, the treadmills are often broken or their tvs don't work. Plus, working out with law students sucks - they're competitive and rude (about petty things like getting on one machine instead of the other). It's especially frustrating to actually get to the gym and for there not to be a free machine for hours since the gym allows people to sign up for the machines in advance. read more

Because Hemenway is the nicest gym on campus (which, let's face it, isn't saying much since the only comparison is the MAC which seems to consistently smell of sweaty feet and, thanks to the recession, is open irregular hours) this place is *always* packed. The crowdedness has led to the sign-up sheet and, as any gym-goer knows, the sign up sheet only leads to problems. No one wants to go to the gym to work out on a cardio machine for 30 minutes (it's just too short), and no one wants to have her workout interrupted by a Type A time-keeper who has discovered that you are thirty seconds over time. So yes, this is as good as it gets on campus, but it's just not that good- and now that there are so many economical gym options in the area, it might be worth it to investigate something else if, like me, you like to put on your ipod and just sweat without people bothering you. read more

Basketball courts are always too crowded - gym is crowded after 5. Go during the morning or around lunch time for the best work out. Good machinery. read more

Very nice gym. Paper towels and disinfectant sprays are always available and stocked. Staff is friendly and helpful. Has free weights, 3 or 4 pull-up bars, Smith machines, enough of everything for a true fitness dude or dudess. Plenty of machines and stations. Can't do Olympic lifting, though, with good reason. A much better gym than the trashy Rock N Fitness in Porter Square. Sub-standard equipment, rude customer service, trash on the floor everywhere. Availability of machines really depends on what time of day you go, and this is the same with every gym. You shouldn't give a gym a lower rating because rush hour is a reality. People come and go at certain times, typically. If you want to avoid the crowd, go a couple of hours after breakfast or before lunch, and early afternoon. High traffic times are 4:30-7:00PM every day. Anyway, gym is very good! Only minor improvement I can think of is expanding the stretch area. Common complaint in the reviews, but I'm pretty certain this is easier said than done. If anything, you can just stretch outside when the weather is nice or do it in the locker rooms. read more