When Dershowitz is looking for a more intense workout, he hits the gym.

“The problem is that when I try to work out in a public gym, I get interrupted by a lot of people telling me what they think of me,” he said.

He used to play pick-up basketball with students, but he has cut back as his skills declined.

“I like to be good at everything I do,” he said.

To circumvent the problem of public workouts, he has set up a gym in his home that includes a treadmill, an elliptical trainer and a universal weight station. He rotates through the machines with his wife and daughter while the three watch a movie.

When a movie is not playing, Dershowitz uses his workout as a time for reflection.

“Sometimes it can be a way to think about my classes and my writing,” he said. “I use exercise to think through some puzzles.”

While Dershowitz uses his workouts for planning, his law colleague, Charles Fried, looks forward to unwinding and listening to music while running on the treadmill.

Fried uses the equipment at the Malkin Athletic Center (MAC), especially now that it has been renovated.

“What they’ve done is terrific,” he said. “It was a long time coming. For a while every third-rate Holiday Inn had facilities better than Harvard.”

While Fried is satisfied with the MAC’s makeover, many other faculty members use private health clubs.

Tatar said that she is a member of the Mt. Auburn Club, where she is currently taking a class in gyrotonics—a combination of ballet and yoga.

“It’s great to try something new every year,” she said.

Tatar, a veteran exerciser, aims to work out every day. “I try not to be too fanatical about it, but I would put myself close to that category of fitness junkie.”

Tatar says she’s spotted several of her peers at the gym, including Radcliffe Institute Dean Drew Faust and University Professor Barry C. Mazur.