USF Campus Recreation membership is open to anyone, provided you first join the USF Alumni Association(and you don’t need to have gone to USF; see my review at ). For $ 315/year, you get access to the Hillsborough River kayaks at USF Riverfront Park, an indoor running track, a heated 25-yard pool, a wide array of machines designed to work one group of muscles at a time, and plenty of treadmills, exercise bikes, and stair machines — most of which have their own flatscreen TV attached. Those without a dedicated TV are usually within sight of the large screens mounted on the wall. You can also bring your own lock and towel, for the locker room, or pay an extra $ 90/year for a dedicated locker and shower towel service. Another perk of membership: if you have a bicycle, you can bring it to the Campus Rec bike repair shop, and many repairs are free.(Parts aren’t badly marked up, but they’re not free.) You can also just use their stand and their tools, if you’d prefer to do your own maintenance. Don’t have a bike? You can rent one overnight for free with your membership.(Guests who don’t have a membership can rent bikes for $ 10/day.) Bike rentals include lights, a helmet, and a lock. USF Campus Rec is also great for people with disabilities. They’ve got a NuStep recumbent crosstrainer with front and rear foot straps, several arm ergometers(for pedaling by hand), a motorized chair lift for the swimming pool, and Active Hands gripping aids. The staff routinely gets training on assisting customers with disabilities, and will help you get on and off the machines if you ask. They’ve even offered to make a vending-machine run for energy drinks, or go refill a water bottle, so as not to interrupt a customer’s workout for the time it takes to get unhooked, transfer to a wheelchair, etc. I love these folks. After all that, I’m going to sound silly when I tell you that one of my favorite parts of USF Campus Rec is the music, but it’s true. The gym has its very own radio station, Bull Beat Radio, playing popular music with a driving beat that’s perfect for sustaining your focus. And there aren’t any commercials. I am in heaven. The only thing they could do better for people with disabilities, as far as I know, is to provide a few unisex shower/locker rooms(like you’d find at a decent truck stop) so that you can get help from a personal attendant who wouldn’t be allowed into your locker room. That’s going to cost a fair chunk of money, but they ought to do it when they can.
