Gerald Ratner Athletics Center

It's not the biggest gym, but that's to be expected given that it's in Chicago. The space that they have is used very effectively though, and the pool looks huge and well-maintained, although I haven't swam in years. Some of the weight equipment show their age, but even then, everything is really well taken care of, and there are also plenty of newer equipment too. There's a good focus on powerlifting and free weights in the weight room, and the equipment selection shows that. They allow chalk which is fairly uncommon in my experience for school gyms (neither UIC nor UIUC allows chalk for example) and commercial gyms. They have a variety of barbells, including women's bar (35 lbs and 25 mm diameter) and I think even some power bars (45 lb and 29 mm diameter) instead of the standard mixed use barbells (45 lb and 28.5 mm). There are 10 (12?) squat racks (technically 5(6?) two-sided full racks, but the point is that there are 10 or 12 slots with safety bar to squat and such), although there aren't any dedicated bench stations so you'll have to pull a bench over to one of the racks to bench. They have most of the weight machines you'd expect to see. The main critique I have would be that they don't seem to have a hack squat, and all their leg press machines are horizontal leg press, which feel way worse to me than angled leg press. They were doing some maintenance when I was there though, so maybe they had those machines stashed away. Also, while they don't have a hack squat, they do have 2 Smith machines so really, it's just the lack of an angled leg press that somewhat matters. There's a decent cardio selection upstairs, and there are several rooms to play/practice other sports. It would be nice to have some matted areas to stretch and perform mobility routines/yoga, but there are portable mats available.

Received a day pass while visiting the college with my son. The pool is great and the facility was really nice and clean. There was an interesting little museum and hall of Fame when you first walk into the building that was cool to see.

A good gym just a short walk from the commons.

Weight room is crowded and not well laid out and too small for the number of people they are trying to service. The steam room has been closed for years (with no price adjustment for a day pass.) The pool is now under construction for months. Lockers are expensive--$70 a quarter. Overall an okay gym, but lots of frustrations with it.

This review is for the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center which houses the competition pool for the university. A parking garage is across the street, but other than that it's a challenge, For safety I would not park off campus. My son swam in his conference meet the UAA. He swims for Washington University. Typically Emory, Chicago & WashU are the top programs in the country. The teams are competing in swim and dive. The facility lacks adequate spectator space for very large meets such as this. The pool is a 50 meter plus diving. It's a great pool and swims fast! The staff at the event over four days was excellent. Ticketing was handled well and the lines organized. They even had a coat check. My deduction of 1 star is the spectator area. Not only small, but the design is poor. Only the two front rows can see well. 3.5 rounding down.