A cruel contradiction of working out is that you do it to look and feel awesome—even as you look and feel terrible doing it. The better you want your hot night out to be—and the easier you want your Metro stairs climb to be—the more you grunt and strain and pant and grump around in clammy clothes wishing death would come.
While we’re waiting for modern science to fix that part for us, a solution has popped up in the form of the luxury gym and spa. Life Time Fitness opened in Rockville in 2008, and Equinox opened in downtown Bethesda this past fall.
“The clubs doing the best in this economy are those with a clearly defined target market,” says Meredith Poppler, vice president for industry growth at the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, based in Boston, Mass. “The luxury model provides multiple revenue sources with amenities such as beauty salons, spa services, private locker rooms, dry cleaning services, upscale food and beverages and specialized personal training.”
Classy ambiance and plush amenities don’t make the elliptical any easier, of course. But high-tech, personalized workouts and resort-like facilities may mean feeling human again more quickly. And the less you associate a pounding heart with grade-school gym class—think dodgeball and humiliating strength challenges—and the more it feels like the nicest place you’ll go all day, the more you’ll want to be there.
Equinox is modeled on a spa, with perks and extras that go so far beyond gym expectations that you almost feel guilty sweating there. “We have immaculate facilities and spectacular personal service,” says General Manager Rachel Sernitsky. “A client would come here for the reason the same person might go to The Ritz Hotel.”
For its part, Life Time is a couple of measures more luxurious than your standard gym, as well as family-friendly and relaxing. General Manager Ken Corbett touts the high-end service you can get at several price alternatives, such as small-group personal training and onetime half-price deals on all the spa treatments.
A neat feature of both gyms: Personal trainers hang out even when without clients, using some of the stranger equipment (sliding discs, little car dollies, those big step-up or jump-over stools). A shy person can see how the equipment is used and know whom to ask about it. Roaming trainers note apparent curiosity about unusual machines and ask if you’d like to see how they work, but they don’t seem to be standing around watching you; they’re working out and having a good time, daring each other to jump higher.
Some of the luxuries suggest a spa, rather than a gym: fresh-cut flowers, refrigerated towels, dispensers of high-end shampoo and conditioners, hair dryers. It’s hard to say what exactly these things do for your workout, but taken together it’s nice that someone cares about the little things.
And there’s a scientific feel to it all, with customized nutrition seminars and elaborate, trendy classes: hot yoga in a dedicated studio with its own temperature-control system (Life Time); Tabata, a hyper-efficient type of cardio-interval training based on Dr. Izumi Tabata’s methods from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo (Equinox); capoeira (Equinox), a Brazilian martial art that scientists believe is partially responsible for supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio’s butt (judging from late-night infomercials endorsing her capoeira trainer).
Both gyms feature mood lighting and sleek, friendly young employees eager to help you. It’s like working out at Abercrombie & Fitch, with less bass. The architecture is beautiful and nothing smells like feet, even your feet. You have your choice of treadmill brands. And there are plenty of non-sweaty things to do—hot tubs, healthy eats, lounge areas, with workout clothes and accessories for sale.
If an indulgent atmosphere and shockingly beautiful bathrooms make you look forward to the recommended number of hours of panting each week, then indulgence…is good for you, right? Luxury gyms may be what’s missing in the battle against nationwide obesity, potentially saving us millions in health care and escalator-repair costs and depriving Michelle Obama of a concern. Joining a high-end gym is not just good for you, it’s good for your country.
Quick Stats:
Life Time Fitness
(Based in Minnesota; 86 clubs nationwide)
1151 Seven Locks Road, Rockville
240-314-7022
www.lifetimefitness.com
Equinox
(Based in New York City; 48 clubs)
4905 Elm St., Bethesda
301-652-1078
www.equinox.com
Hours
Life Time: 24/7
Equinox: 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday; 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Membership
Life Time: 5,100 (capped at 6,400)
Equinox: 1,600
Number of cardio machines
Life Time: 142
Equinox: 80+
Number of weight machines
Life Time: 65; dumbbells up to 110 lbs.
Equinox: 50; dumbbells up to 110 lbs.
Parking
Life Time: Free and abundant in several adjacent lots
Equinox: Street metered parking; parking garages nearby; five blocks from Bethesda Metro
Number of classes per week
Life Time: More than 100, mostly in the mornings
Equinox: 70, most in mornings and evenings
Most popular class
Life Time: Strictly Strength with weights
Equinox: 360 Training, a pilot cardio program currently exclusive to Bethesda Equinox
