I recently started working with a company called FiTMAPPED, which is a comprehensive, fully searchable directory of fitness studios and gyms in NYC, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, and NOW Philadelphia! I'm so excited to be involved with such a great community and help them get the word out about different options for keeping up with your fitness. Part of what I'm working on is putting Philly gyms - big and small - on the "fit map".
| What better way to learn about gyms than to try them out on my own! My first stop on my Philly Phitness tour (see what I did there?) was Unite Fitness at 12th and Sansom, right in Center City. I've been wanting to try out this gym ever since I befriended Anne Marie Everhart on Twitter while training for the Philadelphia Marathon. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take Anne Marie's class, but I rallied up some of my favorite fitness friends and signed up for Juliet's class the day after Christmas. The class is designed so that you spend 25 minutes in the cardio room where you can choose from the stationary bike, treadmill or rowing machine, 5 minutes stretching, 30 minutes strength training, where this particular class featured exercises for your legs, back and biceps, and 15 minutes of yoga/stretching. At the end of the class, we'll have worked out heart, muscle and mind! |  |
 | My friends and I chose the treadmill for our cardio workout, where we alternated between different levels of sprinting and hill work. While I often do speed work on my own, I never do hill work, especially on a treadmill. Although I KNOW the benefits of the hill work, I always choose something else to do instead. I really like how I was challenged throughout the 25 minutes - whether you're trying to burn calories to lose weight or take time off your next marathon, these types of workouts are going to help! |
After some light stretching, we moved into another room, where we worked our legs, back and biceps. The workouts were setup in circuits, where we tried to see how many rounds of each circuit we could do in a predetermined amount of time. This part of the class seemed to move quickly, and before I knew it, we were on to yoga. I generally don't love yoga, but it was basic and quick, and just what I needed to stretch after my hour-long workout.
In general, I don't love it when the instructor for the class doesn't do the workout with the class, but I do understand that often in these small studios, instructors are teaching more than once class per day, and it would be impossible for them to do every class. After class, Juliet was happy to talk to us about membership and class-pack options, and also showed us how to use resistance bands to help with pull-up training! I have never used them before, but can totally see how helpful they can be! The studio even has lockers for you to use to keep your stuff safe during class! Overall, I had a great workout and I look forward to going back. I like the concept of the workout - it really touches on so many pieces of effective movement. While I wouldn't benefit from a membership, since I can realistically only make it there about once/week, I think it'd be a great option for anyone who needs a little push to help meet their goals! There are different programs you can sign up for, both nutrition- and exercise-based too!
There is also a location in Mount Laurel, NJ, and rumor has it there will be more popping up soon!
Have you ever tried Unite Fitness?
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