Comments (8) Best New Gym - 2007

UCSF Bakar Fitness Center at Mission Bay

If there were ever a reason to go back to school, UCSF's new fitness center at Mission Bay could be it. Luckily, you don't have to be a student to join the gym, which offers brand-spankin'-new equipment, pools, youth and family programs, group fitness, recreational sports, aquatics, outdoor programs, personal training, massage services, and a kids' club — whew! The all-new facility offers up Gucci-like amenities like flat-screen cable TVs on all of the workout machines, a heated rooftop swimming pool, deluxe elevators, and high ceilings. Premium members get free parking, too, but the waiting list is long. Try for an off-peak membership (midday workouts for non-corporate slackers like waiters and freelance writers), which allows you to jump the queue and get your workout on when the gym's a little less crowded.