Payne Whitney Gym

As a professor who has used this gym a lot, I can honestly say AVOID AT ALL COSTS. This gym is terrible. It is outdated and the equipment is from the 1970s. I only use it because I’m on campus so it is close to put up with all of it. Half of the equipment is always broken. Yale just spent millions to clean the exterior of the building but they won’t spend a few thousand to get decent spinning bikes or treadmills, etc. The hand sanitizer is never filled, and the equipment not very clean. On top of that, it is more expensive than other gyms in the area. AVOID AT ALL COSTS! It’s a total dump!

Payne Whitney is a gym that seems stuck in time. A lot of the weight machines look like they are at least 20 years old, so don’t expect sparkling modern equipment. That said, the machines and weights do work (pretty low standards I’ll admit) so if you want to lift heavy things, these heavy things will certainly do.
When you’re in the main weight room, you’ll be working-​out to a local radio station, with lots of talk and cheesy local commercials. At first I wondered why they don’t play a playlist or even Pandora, but then I remembered — this is a gym from the past — before we had such things as the Internet and digital music.
There’s a nice variety of cardio equipment, although, do NOT come here at rush hour. Treadmills can be very hard to come by then, particularly if the university teams are training.
The locker rooms vary dramatically. The more you pay, the better the lockerroom you will end up using. Ok, let me clarify — you pay more to rent the lockers (which are basically identical to the others) in the very nice 2^nd floor lockerroom. The lockerroom with the pay-​per-​use lockers … well, let’s just say that the shower floor is pretty gross. There are no bring-​your-​own-​lock lockers — it’s all rental or dollar-​per-​day. But in fairness, if you can afford it, the 2^nd floor lockerroom is very nice.
The gym’s location ends up tipping the balance for me, but if there was a rival gym next door, I’d be there.

Strengths:
Olympic pool that often has available lanes during open swimming time
High ceilings and natural light in the main work-​out room
Lots of cardio equipment, resistance machines and free weights
Scales (now fixed)
To do:
First and most importantly, create a culture of innovation, improvement, feedback, goal-​setting, benchmarking, measurement, accountability, and performance incentivization — which may require bold, decisive action on employment agreements and labor relations
Replace the CRT TVs (not kidding) with large flatscreens
Clean (since 2001, over perhaps a couple hundred visits, I can’t recall once seeing anyone cleaning anything — yikes)
Put in modern exercise bikes. For instance, of the ones there now, one set of them jerks when used standing
Stop errant alarms, e.g., in the 3^rd floor men’s locker room
Put in eucalyptus towels :)
Extend hours to 6am — 10pm, 7 days a week
Get a complete first-​aid kit, a fellow traveler tells me
Bring in a fresh juice bar

Poorly run gym. Clearly pretty corrupt.
Closes for a week+ in the summer for «cleaning.» What other gym do you know that closes for more than a day?
Hours on the weekend are terrible. Closes at 4:30pm. What gym closed at 430 ever? What’s wrong with a Sunday night workout?
Information on when the basketball courts are closed is usually released in confusing emails a day after the courts close or sometimes not at all.
I think it’s clear that the gym’s management lacks the incentives to run this like a real gym.

no frills, but a very large gym with all amenities. they have all that I need for a great workout: stairs machine, elliptical (cool new machine to try that makes you feel like you’re gliding), and weights. great for those swimmers and avid squash players also. membership is restricted to Yale affiliates only.

I used this gym on and off for a few years and I was pretty fond of it, in that way that you are fond of even a half-​decent gym, be it endorphins, the satisfaction of taking care of yourself, a self-​righteous spring in your step, whatever.
I was well beyond my undergraduate years, but easily the average age of the Payne Whitney Gym-​goer. It’s truly an all ages show.
I swam in both pools regularly, and I loved them both. As I remember it, the open lap swimming schedule was relatively accommodating. I used the cardio machines, but less often — the room is crowded, stuffy and drear. I took a yoga class with one of the worst yoga instructors of my life. But I know some of their instructors are great, so I think I just chose unwisely. And the class was held in a beautiful, well-​ventilated, vintage basketball gym tucked into a corner, oh, I don’t know, somewhere in the building. The soft indoor track is awesome, especially since you can distract yourself with the action on the courts below. This is in some brand-​spanking new annex of the gym, just past the crew tank. If you’re getting lost and breathless, enjoy it.
My least favorite thing about the gym was the floor of the third floor locker room, which needed to be cleaned much more often than it was. But the locker room itself had fine lockers, a sauna (which was quite clean, as no one used it), a suit spinner and a big old-​fashioned scale.
If you have the opportunity to join, give it a try.

Lots of room to workout. Only recommendation is to avoid the after work hours (5−7pm) because everyone and their mother goes at that time.

A top spot for all Yalies, athletes and non-​athletes alike. If you want to play pick up basketball, you can usually find a group to play with, just remember to bring your own ball (not everyone is used to sharing). I am a former track and field athlete, but I love playing basketball, so that’s why I ventured to the Payne Whitney Gym in the first place. For runners however, the track is very nice, but don’t be surprised if you have to move to the outer lanes if a Yale team is having practice. They also have a weight room, which has elipticals you can use. If you want to feel the «payne», definitely try out the free weights. :) It’s a large building, and there is a pool too, although I’ve never used it myself. Hope this helps!!!

The gym is very fancy looking from the outside, and is the second-​largest gym in the world by cubic feet according to Wikipedia. Inside it doesn’t seem super fancy, but it’s more than adequate for a university gym.
I am a runner and so mainly use the gym because it is one of only a few gyms in the area with an indoor track. The track is nicely maintained, although you never know when a whole sports team may show up and do organized sprints around you. (This could probably be solved by going to the gym at a less popular time).
The weight room can also be crowded, but it has lots of machines and free weights, so even though you might have to wait for the exact machine you want, you can usually find something else to do in the meantime.
I’ll have to explore the rest of this huge building to see what else is offered. I know there are several swimming pools, and even a pool for the crew team to row in! Permanent lockers and towel service are extra charges.

When I first visited the Yale campus a few years back, I remember exploring with a friend and wandering into what we thought was a grand cathedral. As it turns out, the building was initially commissioned as a cathedral, but when the original donor kicked the bucket, Yale decided it needed a gym. Or something like that.
The building, when not swallowed up in ugly blue scaffolding, is worth an ogle. I’ve been told that it is the second tallest standing gym in the world. Not too shabby for a school whose football team keeps losing to Harvard.
I actually venture inside once in a while and use the facilities. The free student membership is nice, and lockers are affordable and easy to split.
Despite the massive size of the Payne Whitney building, the actual weight room is rather small and gets crowded at certain hours. There are a number of ellipticals and treadmills, but the cardio machines are always in high demand, and during peak hours, you’ll get dirty looks if you exceed thirty minutes. The weight machines are on the older side, but perfectly functional, and are less susceptible to crowding than the cardio. There are also mats in back for stretching, abs, napping, and they fill up only occasionally and the wait’s never bad. Bottom line: the weight room is pretty average for such an extravagant-​looking gym, but it’s also perfectly adequate.
Locker rooms are plenty and never crowded. The best room is on the second floor, but the lockers are also more expensive.
The rest of the gym consists of various courts and classrooms. Looking for squash courts? Look no further. Indoor swimming pool? Payne Whitney has two. The place is impressive, no doubt, and necessary to the lifestyles of many Yalies. I’m the one reading a book between sets, looking like I probably don’t want to be there.