Targeted, studio-based fitness is booming. From cycle gyms and Pilates studios to boxing, yoga, or barre, as well as branded workouts like CrossFit or Orangetheory fitness, there’s a niche workout on the market to fit any interest.
Specialized workout regimens, of course, aren’t new. Jazzercize, to cite just one, long-lived example, has been around since 1969. But the sheer array of niche workouts available today suggests that many clients want more specialized options than the rows of cardio machines and weights that a traditional, big-box gym typically provides.
A fresh approach
Part of the appeal of studio-based fitness classes is that many offer novel approaches to working out.
Solidcore, for example, opened in January in The Summit at Fritz Farm, and bills itself as “Pilates meets bootcamp,” says studio manager David Robinson. At a recent class, about a dozen attendees sweated their way through a full-body workout on padded sliding platforms somewhat akin to Pilates Reformers. With music pumping in the background, Robinson roamed the semi-dark room, where the platforms are the only equipment, sharing words of encouragement and motivation throughout the hour-long class.
“What really sets us apart is how it’s a groupfitness class, but it’s strength-based,” Robinson says. “It’s zero-impact because there’s no cycling, there’s no running. You’re getting the muscle workout, without the damage to your joints.”
Personalized feedback
Others love the level of personal attention available in studio fitness classes.
Clients at Orangetheory fitness, which opened its Richmond Road location in 2015 and another at The Summit in 2018, appreciate that the class-based workouts using treadmills, rowers, bikes and weights can be personalized for any fitness level, says regional manager Amber Byard.
Instructors at Orangetheory Fitness use heart rate monitors and other metrics to provide personalized feedback.
“The idea of Orangetheory is that everybody’s different. We use extremely smart technology to monitor and identify each client’s optimal [heart rate based] interval range,” Byard says. “We track everything.”
While the classes have a fun, energetic team atmosphere, individuals can set their own pace as they tackle the machines—choosing to power walk, jog or run on the treadmills, for example.
Coaches can view data from participants’ individual heart monitors and assist them in achieving a more optimal workout.
“We watch their zones and their levels,” says Byard. “So, if we see someone on a rower, for example, and we’re asking them to be at a certain pace, if we can tell they’re not there, we may go up and look at their form, do a little correction or offer a little encouragement.”
Supportive community
The close-knit atmosphere at studio gyms also helps set them apart.
At EverybodyFights, which opened on Malibu Drive in June 2018 as one of the Boston-based company’s first franchise locations, clients can choose from an array of class types, from boxing and bag work to cross training and cardio. In addition to a fighting ring and bag room, the gym also includes weights, treadmills, rowers and bikes.
EverybodyFights, which opened on Malibu Drive in 2018, was one of the Boston-based company’s first franchise locations.
While the studio equipment is available for individual client use during open gym, “This is not a place where you come and put your headphones in and zone out,” says head trainer Matt Veigl. “We’re primarily a class-driven gym.”
The class-based approach leads to a supportive, social atmosphere, which in turn fosters a sense of community among members, Veigl says. “You meet new friends here,” he says. “It becomes your social deal.”
Understanding the power of a go-to fitness scene, Lexington’s new StrongerLife opened in December, billing itself as the city’s first fitness community for adults ages 55 and older. The gym currently operates inside CrossFit Maximus on National Ave.
“Our focus is the demographic that’s often neglected by the fitness industry and that actually stands to gain the most from fitness,” says Dustin Jones, a doctor of physical therapy who launched the gym with partner Jeff Musgrave, a fellow DPT.
“We commonly saw people on our caseload who had issues that could have been prevented with strength and endurance [conditioning] and improved balance,” Jones said. “And there are not a lot of fitness communities that cater to this realm.”
To help fill the void, Jones and Musgrave created StrongerLife’s high-intensity, group-based one-hour workouts, which can be customized and modified for varying fitness levels.
“We specialize in aging, and our goal is to allow each client to get the workout that’s best for them,” Jones says.
“It’s been cool to see this community develop. [Our clients] started really as a group of strangers with a shared struggle, but now they’re like a family." —Dustin Jones
“It’s been cool to see this community develop,” he adds. “[Our clients] started really as a group of strangers with a shared struggle, but now they’re like a family, basically.”
Built-in accountability
With costs approximately $20 a class (though reduced, package prices are often available), a month’s worth of niche fitness workouts can be more expensive than, say, a month-long membership at a traditional gym, which can range from $10 to about $50 a month.
The higher pricing is intentional, says Veigl of Everybody Fights.
“It’s about accountability,” he says. “If you’re paying $10 a month for a gym, you think ‘Oh, I’ll go next week.’”
In other words, charging a higher rate helps incentivize clients to actually come in and take full advantage of the studio workout experience. But for that premium fee, patrons are getting a lot in return.
“We create such value,” Veigl says. “A lot of people can’t afford to pay $300 to $500 a month for a personal trainer. But this is the next best thing.”
At a recent Everybody Fights 30-minute circuit training class, instructor Laura Butler was able to move throughout the gym, offering personal encouragement and direction to six groups working different areas of the facility simultaneously.
Similarly, at Solidcore, Robinson spent the entire, hour-long class circling the workout room, offering one-one-one, hands-on corrections to clients’ positioning and posture on the platforms.
“I might straighten someone’s knee up over the top of their foot to make sure [the workout] is not hard on their joints,” he explains. “We want it to be 50 minutes of high-intensity workout but with no unnecessary tension or pressure in unwanted areas.”