Grad Tips: Fitness Opportunities and Options
February 3, 2025
By Katya Hrichak
As a graduate student, you have a lot to learn. Scholarship and research aside, there are many facets of the graduate school experience that are important to your success but might not be obvious or easy to figure out. Between achieving a sense of well-being, attending to basic needs, maintaining relationships or caring for others, etc., there’s a lot to keep track of.
The Graduate School is here to help. With the Grad Tips series, we’ll be providing insight into different aspects of the graduate student experience, sharing tips and advice on how to get the most out of your time at Cornell. To vote on the next topic in the series, check for a poll in upcoming issues of the Graduate School newsletter, News and Events.
This week’s topic: Fitness opportunities and options on campus and in town

Students looking to add movement into their regular routines have many choices to make: Conventional fitness center or other movement-based space? Group fitness or solo activity? Paid pass or membership or free option? Indoor or outdoor? There are countless possibilities at Cornell and in Ithaca.
It can sometimes feel like there aren’t enough hours in a day to add in some motion, but Graduate Student Life Advisor Olivia Hopewell regularly tells graduate students she meets with that this is truly beneficial—even when they feel like they’re too busy.
“One of my top tips for graduate students is to get away from your desk,” she said. “The data shows that students who have activities, hobbies, and community outside of their academic work are more successful and report simply being happier than those who never get away from their work. Not only does getting outside your work actually improve your work, but more importantly, it just helps you feel like a real human being.”
What gyms can I join?
Cornell’s campus offers several fitness centers, with locations at Helen Newman, Noyes, Teagle, and Toni Morrison Halls. With a membership, students have access to fitness centers, personal training, and group fitness classes, including offerings of yoga, Pilates, Spin, rowing, Zumba, barre, HIIT, cardio, core, and muscle pump.
Applied economics and management doctoral student Motoyuki Yoshihara enjoys weightlifting at Teagle in the morning along with other “regulars,” who tend to be graduate students and faculty members.
“It’s a nice, supportive, and informal setting to work out and socialize before the rest of the day,” Yoshihara said.
In the Ithaca area, there is no shortage of gyms and fitness facilities: Crunch Fitness, East Shore Gym 24/7, Finger Lakes Fitness Center, FLX Fitclub, The Gym, Island Health & Fitness, Planet Fitness, and the YMCA are just a few of the more traditional fitness center options. For facilities focused on class-based opportunities, there is CrossFit Vertical, Pallas Fitness, and Orangetheory Fitness. A couple of these locations, including Island Health & Fitness and the YMCA, offer discounts for college students.
Takshil Sachdev, a doctoral student in economics, has been participating in group fitness and weightlifting at CrossFit Vertical for two and a half years and has “found a wonderful community there” in the process.
For Caroline Siegert-Couch, a plant biology doctoral candidate, the Ithaca YMCA fulfills what she is looking for in her fitness routine.
“The Ithaca YMCA offers a monthly student rate and is great for those that have a partner or children because you can get a dual membership or family membership,” she said. “Your membership includes access to all the courts, equipment, the pool, and exercise classes at no additional cost.”
What other fitness opportunities exist?
Outside of Cornell’s fitness centers, students also have access to the Lindseth Climbing Center and Lynah Rink, with rock climbing and ice skating, respectively, being two additional opportunities located right on campus. Students can rent the equipment they need at both Lindseth and Lynah.
In Ithaca, other options include Mighty Yoga, YogOdyssey, HOTWORX, Centerline Martial Arts, and Cayuga Climbs.
“Mighty Yoga is a great place to practice, as well as YogOdyssey,” said Ash Kopetzky, a doctoral student in city and regional planning.
Beyond fitness spaces, Ithaca also offers ice or roller skating, depending on the season, at Cass Park.
Can I participate in physical education classes, Cornell Outdoor Education offerings, or intramural sports at Cornell?
Undergraduates are given priority for physical education classes and Cornell Outdoor Education offerings in order to meet their graduation requirements, but when classes are not full, graduate students are able to register. All students, including graduate students, are eligible to participate in intramural sports. This spring’s tentative offerings include bowling, indoor soccer, 5v5 basketball, volleyball, and spikeball.
What if I prefer to spend time outside rather than in a gym or facility?
Ithaca’s location in the Finger Lakes region affords those looking to be active outside many options. Public swimming is available from mid-June to late August at the Alex Haley Municipal Swimming Pool, Buttermilk Falls State Park, Cass Park Pool, and Robert H. Treman State Park in Ithaca, and at Taughannock Falls State Park in Trumansburg and Myers Park in Lansing.
Cornell’s proximity to the water also affords the option to partake in kayaking, paddleboarding, and canoeing. Paddle-N-More has locations at Stewart Park in Ithaca, Myers Park, and Taughannock Falls that offer rentals, lessons, and guided trips.
What free fitness opportunities are there?
On campus, free indoor activities include lap swimming, basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, squash, and indoor track running. Outside, students can play basketball, tennis, pickleball, and sand volleyball. Free equipment checkout from issue rooms at Helen Newman, Teagle, and Noyes can be used to access basketballs, volleyball equipment, tennis equipment, badminton equipment, pool tags, soccer balls, and squash and racquetball equipment.
The Cornell Botanic Gardens, F.R. Newman Arboretum, and on-campus natural areas provide spaces for walking and jogging with access right from campus—activities Kopetzky takes part in, in addition to exploring Ithaca’s yoga offerings. The Botanic Gardens also have off-campus natural areas, and, a slight distance from campus, the Lab of Ornithology offers walking trails. To help find a location for your preferred outdoor activity, you can use the filterable tools Ithaca Trails and Go Finger Lakes.
“So often when students are stressed and have a million things on their schedule, the first two things to get cut out are sleep and movement. Ironically, both are crucial in stress management and wellness,” said Hopewell. “Not only do studies prove this, but anecdotally, without fail, students that I meet with say things like, ‘I’ve been so stressed, and I know I feel better when I do X, Y, Z activity, but I just don’t have time!’ And here’s what I say to them: You are not a robot; you are an entire human being and with a human body, and it is crucial to actually meet the needs of that body such as healthy activity and adequate sleep.”
“It’s absolutely necessary,” she said.