University of Washington Intramural Activities Building

I love the IMA. I’m a grad student, 44, and I was a bit concerned that everyone but me was going to be 20 and ripped, but interestingly enough a significant percentage of IMA users are faculty and other people my age or older so yay.
There is a massive universe of cardio stuff, on three floors, as well as an indoor track with a nice view, and all the weights in the world. I’ve never had to wait for a cardio machine or any thing else come to that. Some of the cardio machines have awesome virtual tours of either real places like the French Alps or virtual environments like Atlantis. There are also options on many to create an account to keep track of your progress.
The locker rooms are vast and «baskets» or tiny lockers, are available to students for free on a quarterly basis. You can turn in your ID for a lock to use on a larger locker if you want. There are showers both in curtained stalls for the shy and in open banks on the wall for the not-​shy. I’m shy, so I’m glad about the curtains. I’ve worked out at many gyms over the years. Some locker rooms are nude-​friendly, in others its just not done. This is nude-​friendly, and people change in front of their lockers and swan around in the buff even. There’s a nice getting-​ready room with a counter and wall mirrors for getting your makeup on and whatnot before heading back to school, and there’s wall-​mounted hair dryers, too.
There are water fountains that have the bottle-​filling spout. That’s nice.
It is a bit of a hike from campus. Takes me about 10 minutes to get down there, so I add 20 minutes round trip to my workout time. The hike back involves many stairs. I consider it a bonus.
Also: towel service. Yay. Drop off your wet towel and get a dry one.
The reason this is not a five star review?:
Given the massive budget of the IMA, I have NO IDEA why they don’t place a few fans around the gym. That’s the one thing: I can not run when it is too warm. I like the treadmill but I can’t use it there because I overheat every time. Other gyms have fans!!! Even tiny little podunk gyms have fans!!!
I do also wish that the IMA used one overall fitness tracking software like Fitlinx, in which you could enter all your cardio and weights. That’s pretty motivating. But it seems like that’s the price you pay for diversity of equipment, different makers are aligned with different tracking services. Some of which are terrible.
I also wish that the class situation was different. At most gyms, membership includes access to all classes. At IMA, you have to pay about $ 40 for each class, which typically meets twice a week for the whole quarter. It’s not a bad deal, about $ 13 a month to go to Zumba twice a week or whatever, but I wish you could pay some sort of all access fee and get into what ever class you want for the quarter. I’m easily bored. One class for the whole quarter would be a bit too much of one thing!
The long and short of it is: Fitness is very important to me, I can’t afford a gym membership while in grad school, and this makes fitness possible for me. It’s a pretty luxe gym and free to use for students, and I’m grateful as all get out for it.

Best gym ever at least from a weight lifting perspective. Huge weight room downstairs with all sorts of traditional and olympic weightlifting equipment. There are at least 6 platform/​rack combos and chalk stations scattered about. Two complete set of dumb bells, 8 flat benches and the list goes on. The only con is some of the equipment is warn down pretty bad and there is only one water fountain in the entire weights area.

This gym is huge! It offers tons of classes and covers a ton of hobbies. If you’re just interested in cardio/​weights — it also covers 3 floors for plenty of room for these interests. Bottom floor for weights, main floor for cardio, and top floor for a running track. As a grad student, I try to avoid the rush hour. This tends to be between 4pm-​8pm. Shout out to the climbing gym too!
Con. Climbing gym is relatively small for the number of climbers. Routes tend to stay up for quite some time too. The price is much cheaper than Seattle climbing gyms, but it would be nice to see new routes.

Ah the IMA, there are a lot of things I could say and will say about the IMA that have formed over the past 4 years that I’ve been a student here at UW. I’ve experienced the waves of bro’s, the occasional sports bra hoe, and all too often smelled that nasty gross hot sweat in the corner of the free weights room. It’s been an entertaining time. Sometimes I hate it, usually I love it, all depends on the time of year and the how the weather is outside.
Everyone always starts out strong at the ima, the place is packed all of September and the beginning of October (nearly matching the new years resolution wave). However, once the first round of midterms hit and it starts getting dark around 7, people hunker down and hide in their dormitories. They realize their dreams of a macho neck or a firm booty are like the fall leaves on a sidewalk, soon to be washed away by the autumn rains. Nevertheless I persist.
Not much has changed though as a new student might expect. Recently I will note they had a first and redid the layouts both in the free weights and the cardio areas. This new arrangement so far is great and I’ve enjoyed the change of scenery. Other than that they get a new machine (usually cardio) from time to time, but for the amount you are paying per quarter ($ 76), not much is coming back in the form of high quality machines in some sections.
The things that have really aggravated me is the airflow (no fans anywhere) and the ridiculous policies about lockers. I was victim to a poor information exchange and ended up paying $ 5 for a bleached to death cut up towel that I’d turned in instead of leaving in my locker. I called them and informed them the staff hadn’t even given me a towel when I got the locker, but the muddled bureaucratic policies that control this business left me no choice but to hang my head and pay. Besides this little incident the staff is great and the facilities generally are clean. I love to see people there getting their dollars worth, but at the same time those quiet nights when the squat racks are empty have to be my favorite. Enjoy this place all you can, I’ll be out after this year and surely will miss it. In the meantime it’s time to push for some final gains ;)

The IMA is a great deal if you’re a student at UW. It’s included in your tuition, so you might as well use it!
I spend most of my time in the cardio area, which always seems relatively clean. It’s pretty busy, but I’ve never had issues finding a treadmill or a bike, even at peak hours.
The IMA also rents out lockers, which is nice if you need a place to store your stuff while you work out.
They also have really cool water fountains that have a facet thing connected to fill up water bottles.
Dawg Bites, the little smoothie/​espresso bar is nice if you want a post-​workout snack.

Coming from the USC Health Science Campus Gym, I have to say that this is the best student gym ever — even better than the USC main campus Lyon Center. It consists of 3+ stories with a large weight room on the bottom, a large cardio space, multiple basket courts, and even a composite track at the very top. Even when it’s crowded, you can pretty much get your work out in without having to really wait… there’s just so much equipment around that everyone can do something as long as they have hands, legs, and feet.
Lastly (and this is the first time I have seen it at a gym), there are free computers to use on each floor in case you want to surf the web or check your email before, in between, or after your workout.
Tip: Lockers are free to use and locks are provided. All you have to do is trade in your student ID card and then redeem it when you’re done working out.

This is the place to be. If you are a student you get free access to the gym, which totally beats gym membership. I love working out here because of all the different machines they have to offer.
Front desk is full of very sweet people. They are always ready to help. The bottom floor consists of the locker rooms and the main weight room. The second floor that you enter in on has the main cardio room. I love this room because it has tread mills, ellipticals, adaptive motion control free stride, arc leg machines, stair masters, bikes, weights and more! Many machines have TVs on them which make working out go by a lot faster. The fourth floor has an open track for running, a few more weights and also a few more cardio machines. The facility also has basketball courts, volleyball courts, a swimming pool, rock climbing walls, racquet ball courts… You name it.
At the end of a work out, don’t forget to relax your muscles in the sauna located inside both male and female locker rooms. Really nice to stay fit, get healthy and exercise!

love the upper floor track and heated swiming pool.
they have exercise floates too!

I am here so often that they might as well give me a scholarship for perfect gym attendance. I can’t give this facility a five stars despite its incredible amenities and ample space to exercise. First off, the air circulation is horrible. I’m constantly feeling as if I’m bathing in other people’s sweat. It’s always the same temperature inside, no matter how cold or hot it is outside. Also, due to the poor circulation both downstairs in the weight room and upstairs in the cardio room, other people’s body odors tend to linger. There’s always an area in the weight room downstairs around the stationary bicycles that smells exactly like the inside of a man’s asshole. Is that a little vulgar? Probably, but there’s no other way to describe the rancid odor that only wants to burn my eyes and nose.
The cleanliness of the gym is also questionable. The blue gym mats that can be found on all floors for people to stretch and bend in all sorts of weird ways are always dirty. I think they only wipe it down once, which is unacceptable in my eyes. Also, many people do not wipe down their machines after they use it. You know who else used to drip liters of sweat on a treadmill or a stair-​stepper and left it as is? Joseph Stalin. Yes, I just went there. I’ve taken enough epidemiology classes to scare even the messiest person and I’m not afraid to do it. Be courteous and wipe the machines.
Other than these problematic areas, I would say the IMA is a great resource for students and staff. I’m not familiar with how much it costs non-​UW people or for general guests, so I have nothing to contribute here. There’s no reason not to use the IMA to its advantage, otherwise. The cost of maintenance for the gym is included in the tuition, anyway.
The building has 3 floors: the third floor has a track, antiquated cardio machines, and weight machines as well as limited dumbbells that only go up to 50lbs; the second floor is mainly the cardio room with a small room for lighter weights; the basement floor is the free weight room, some cardio equipment, and the locker rooms. The IMA also has a swimming pool that I’ve never used, rock climbing, dance rooms, fitness classes, and racquetball rooms. Outside they have a huge soccer field and multiple tennis courts.
I use the IMA primarily for the weight room because it is highly equipped. I’m talking like a huge assortment of weight machines, cable weight machines, dumbbells, and benches. I haven’t been to other university gyms, but at the IMA they offer 8 squat racks, 6 of which have platforms. They have chalk available and you are free to do Olympic-​style weightlifting. This is the best part of the the gym. The levels of raging testosterone inside the IMA can get a little intimidating. But, really, if you accept it and work with it like going up to a barbell and throwing it across the room, you’ll fit in just fine.
This gym always, always has high amounts of traffic. I’ve been here at 7 AM, 11 AM, 4 PM and there has never been a time where I did not have to worry about a squat rack being taken by someone else. It’s just the nature of having only one gym facility try to accommodate thousands of people. Waiting for too long has never been an issue because there are plenty of other things to do, like warming up, in the meantime. Or you can run or just stare at yourself in the mirrors.
If you’re looking to stay active, it can all be accomplished here. Sometimes it’s almost counterproductive. I plan my workouts to be around 1 hour. I often find myself staying an extra 30 minutes because I come up with other exercises to do.

I am not nor have I ever been a student here; however, I have been a regular guest for using the facilities when I first moved to WA state. I have to say, for all school gyms I have been to, this is one of the best facilities. It’s clean, easy to locate everything, and people are so friendly. I have been here to play tennis a few times, and the courts new or old are still very good.
Even for a guest, the price is worthy for just using the facility for a few hours.

Love this place to work-​out. Im older but I am not afraid to work out with the young fits kids. I definitely love that I can go upstairs, have my cardio work out and do some other exercises without feeling like a testosterone filled competition.
Have yet to utilize the pool, courts, rock wall or the tennis courts…

I really love this center because, as a UW employee without a membership, I can play racquetball first-​come-​first-​served for $ 5.50 and bring a guest for $ 7.50 (before tax), with free locker and equipment rentals. Awesome! They have like 10 courts so there’s seldom a wait, and the facilities are nice. Love it!

IMA is great!
I have done cardio exercise here a couple of times. Most of the time I try to avoid it because the air circulation is never good on the first floor. The room just smells like sweat. I have also used its running tracks up on the third (or fourth?) floor but it gets so boring after running for 10 minutes. I normally prefer running outside than indoor.
My favorite part of the IMA is its indoor swimming pool. I know they advertise it and say they have 3 swimming pools but I never knew where the other two are located. The one indoor swimming poor that I go on a regularly basis is pretty big. It has lanes for faster swimmers and also a deeper side where you can work out on your own pace. You give them your student ID card in exchange for a temporary locker so you don’t have to buy a new lock.
If you forget your ID card, you could still go in and let the reception knows your student ID number. So make sure to remember your ID number. However, they only let you do that for up to two times per quarter. After two times, you must bring your ID card to get in.
The only downside of the IMA is that it takes forever to walk there. It is just so far away from everything on campus. I have tried to drive there or run there but it still feels so far away. It is a workout to get there before I actually try to do the workout.

I really wish I used the IMA more when I was still going to UW as an undergrad. I guess the only problem was that it’s such a long walk from campus!
Before I ever visited the IMA, my friend told me it was bigger than my high school. Now every time I think about the IMA, I always think about what he said. I was also told by another friend that I should take advantage of the IMA while it’s still ‘free’ for me, because I would never find another gym as grand. He was right.

Favorite workout equipment (by gender):
Women: elliptical machines
Men: the mirror (you know who you are!)
You will see:
–people sleeping on the stretching mats
–hyper-​crass shirts like «DTF= Down To Frat»
–about $ 10,000 worth of Beats headphones by Dr. Dre on any given day
Despite the silliness of some of its patrons, the IMA has amazing facilities, great programs/​classes, and I think the climbing gym is fantastic. If you have access to it I think it would be a waste not to use this place.

I love the IMA. It’s one of my favorite things about being a student at UW. I’m going to definitely have withdrawal issues when I finally graduate. There’s an indoor track, the yoga studio view is spectacular, an Olympic sized pool, lots of elliptical machines with TVs, tennis courts, and so much more. I do wish that the mat rooms downstairs were cleaned more often for my ABSolute Conditioning classes. Still, it’s hard to complain when fitness classes for the entire quarter, twice a week are under $ 40 for the whole quarter.

HUGE facility.
7 bucks if you aren’t a student or faculty member.
Indoor track. Swimming pool.
At least 6 basketball courts.
Outdoor sports courts.
SO many ellipticals! Cardio room is awesome. Don’t know many of the names but i think they have a pretty huge selection.
Free locker rental for the day.
TV’s all around and some on each machine. They also seem to always have new equipment.
Expensive I must say for classes: yoga and dance in particular.
Little snack bar to reenergize.
Sometimes the abundance of people can be a bit distracting but all in all, it’s a good place to workout.
P. S. Forgot to mention the three dollar an hour parking! Eeekkkk!

A great deal for a student, pretty good deal for employees…
Benefits: large facility, TV for many of the machines, lots of machines, weights, large basketball court, indoor pool and track, towels and lockers are included, raquetball and squash court, many classes to choose from, etc. Free parking on Sunday’s.
Drawbacks: Many TVs are somewhat broken, locker room wasn’t upgraded with the renovation, have to pay for parking till 9pm, far from campus, especially busy around 4pm-​8pm so many machines are taken.

It’s kind of out of the way on campus, but I guess you can’t complain about making an effort to go to the gym, can you?
Anyway, it’s big enough that there’s probably not a wait for the equipment you want, and everything seems to be well-​maintained. I’ve taken a pilates class and the instructor was fantastic, and it was super-​cheap compared to the rest of the pilates studios in town. The daily check-​out lockers are nice and convenient if you are coming from class/​work and need somewhere to stash your stuff.
If you’re a UW student, you’ve all ready paid for it, so you might as well take advantage of it. Definitely nice as far as campus gyms go.

This is my third quarter at UW and the first time I ever made it to the IMA.
First thing I see when I walk into the women’s locker room– naked girl. Woah, wasn’t QUITE expecting that right then.
Other impressions?
It’s huge, white, and impersonal.
It’s filled with mostly boys and girls who all look like athletes, with only the occasional older person or not-​so-​athletic person thrown in. (This may have just been this time, but… I doubt it.)
There are a bunch of machines and a BUNCH of people working out.
There’s also a weight room that I didn’t really go into (as well as a running track, pool, etc).
There were some classes going on. I peeked through a door and saw people hopping forwards. Wonder what that was all about…
I’ll be back… but only while I’m a student. I’d much rather go to a smaller neighborhood gym/​fitness place than pay for membership here.
*I’ll probably keep editing this review as I go there more*