Fitness

Due to flexible hours and access to university facilities and programs, a PhD is a good opportunity to get in shape or stay in shape. Here are some ideas:

• The gym: Berkeley has a gym, the “Recreational Sports Facility” (RSF). It is relatively nice, but often crowded (especially the weight room). To learn which times are less crowded, see here. The RSF also has many different kinds of courts, a climbing wall, and a pool. The university has webpages showing what is open when, but you can also add these calendars to your google calendar.

• Intramural leagues: Berkeley offers semesterly intramural leagues in many sports. Students from our department often play together!

• Classes: PhD students in our department can take any Berkeley classes, including PE classes, for free (though some PE classes require a small equipment fee).

• The Big Game: every semester, at the Berkeley-Stanford Joint Colloquium, we play soccer together! Students and faculty are all invited to play.

• Tennis: Berkeley (the city) has a lot of nice tennis courts which can be used by anyone for free. They can also be reserved for a price. To save money, we have created a page showing which courts are not reserved and might be free today.

• Club sports: While your opportunity to be a D1 athlete is over, Berkeley (the university) allows graduate students play in club sports.