Expanded fitness facilities at Lyon Center and USC Village help Trojans stay in shape

Fitness is easier to achieve than ever at USC, as students are enjoying new, state-of-the-art and significantly renovated recreational facilities.

Over the summer, the 28-year-old Lyon Center underwent the largest facelift in its history. The gym, which gets up to 3,500 users a day, opened this fall with new Olympic weight-training equipment, cardio machines and a freshly built F45 room.

And a new, 30,000 square-foot fitness complex opened along with the new USC Village, vastly increasing the indoor recreation space available to Trojans.

It’s the biggest increase in workout space since the Lyon Center opened in 1989.

Ainsley Carry

“It’s the biggest increase in workout space since the Lyon Center opened in 1989,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Ainsley Carry. “This has transformed student wellness at USC.”

The new and improved recreational spaces are part of a $10 million investment to enhance student facilities across campus.

Power lifting and free weights

The fitness complex at USC Village features power-lifting cages, benches and dumbbells, free weights and stacking stations, plus nearly a hundred cardio machines.

Among the new fitness offerings at that gym is the Queenax, a suspended bodyweight training system that includes a boxing system on wheels.

The sleek new F45 room in the Lyon Center is home to what has been the most popular workout class among Trojans since it launched last spring. The 45-minute classes focus on cardio and weight training through six body movements: squats, lunges, hip hinges, upper body pushing, and upper body pulling and rotation.

Senior Matt Sanchez said he loves the new spaces.

“There has been a huge drop in wait times for equipment, like benches and barbells, so now I’m able to have a better-quality workout in a shorter time,” said the accounting major, who visits one of the two gyms at least six times a week.

“The new studios for classes like F45 and Queenax make me feel like I’m getting a top-of-the-line fitness experience at USC, something I couldn’t say before.”

Students, faculty and staff can use the two University Park Campus facilities from 6 a.m. to midnight weekdays and from 11 a.m. to midnight weekends. Members can also participate in 16 types of group fitness classes, which take place daily from the early mornings to late evenings.

For more information about recreational facilities, fitness classes, and club and intramural sports at USC, visit the USC Recreational Sports website.