Helen Newman Fitness Center: The superior North Campus Gym

Coming to Cornell, I was sad to leave my family, my hometown friends and often overlooked, my hometown gym.

Since the outbreak of “Chloe Ting” 2020, I have become a gym person. Level up from “12-3-30” on the treadmill, just hitting the core, to now have solid splits.

While the hills of Ithaca certainly provide good cardio and the humble “cornell calf,” I know soon enough I will be in TCAT bundled in my shoes with Aritzia Super Puff, and that this form of exercise will no longer be an option. So, the search for a new gym begins.

Living in North Campus, Teagle Turun Fitness Center and Noyes Fitness Center were too far to conveniently open. While those walks might work for someone whose clothes can do double duty, my jeans and shoes aren’t really made for them, so my two logical choices are the Toni Morrison Fitness Center or the Helen Newman Fitness Center.

This is the case for most freshmen. At the beginning of the school year, freshmen designate one of these centers as “superior North gym” and stand by their choice. As for me, I undoubtedly choose Helen Newman.

Being a girl at the gym, there is always hesitation for me to go to the weight section. However, I applaud Helen Newman for having a more welcoming environment. At Helen Newman, you also begin to build a community. My friend Helena Martinez ’29 and I go every day at the same time, and even if we don’t know the names, we always know who will be there: The guy in the jeans, the ‘grunter’ and if we’re lucky, Jordy di Corny will be working the desk.

There is a difference between being a beginner and trying to “mog” someone else. At Morrison, it’s almost always the latter. All too many times, people will use the clock to stop for exactly one minute to achieve the perfect “set vs time remaining ratio” – count down every second only to start raising the ego once again. And I don’t mind if it’s in another gym, but if you’ve ever been to another Cornell gym, then you know how crowded it is. It turns your quick workout into an all-afternoon activity while you wait to finish your set. Everyone started spinning, asking how many sets they had left in an effort to speed things along, but those who used the machine never seemed to get the hint.

If Morrison’s is the place to practice dying, Helen Newman is the place to actually do it.

Helen Newman has a designated space to hit the core – the main attraction for many people. Here, people can easily line up their mats and weights so you don’t have to run around the gym looking for these items. In addition, there is a wall where you can push your phone if you want to follow video training tutorials. At Morrison, you have to retreat to a strange corner that is always crowded with boxes. If you want the same privacy that Newman provides, you’ll have to put yourself in the sterile light of Morrison’s boxing room and hope no one does the moves.

And I agree: Morrison can earn points by having StairMasters. But besides the fact that this machine is constantly filled, if I want to go up the stairs, I just take a walk from North to Martha Van Rensselaer Hall and back. Although, to give Helen Newman a point, it has cable. For push, pull or random TikTok workouts, cables are a stable choice for whatever you’re training.

Not only are the machines at Helen Newman better, but so are the sights. At Morrison, your view is a wall, the same one you saw in the library five hours ago. While at Helen Newman, you can see Lake Beebee. I mean, come on, is there even a comparison?

Helen Newman is also right next to the North’s best dining hall: North Star dining room. The combination of a workout press followed by an Appel taco bowl is no match for anything Morrison Dining can provide. I mean who wants to leave, only to enter the battle that Morrison, running to everyone you know while sweating and has a smell mixed with the drop of the plate?

There’s just something about Newman to the North Star circuit that really bonds people together. Despite the inevitable crowd and chaos, you will most likely always see my friend and I every day at 5:30 pm press the split day. It’s convenient, and has become a great way to relax and unwind after a stressful day in the classroom.

While it may not be perfect, it has become the closest thing to a hometown gym in my new ‘home.’

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