Asheville, NC Health and Fitness

In 1976, educator, musician, and kinesiologist Robin Wes longed for a children's gym that prioritized personal growth over competition. Unveiled at a time when physical-education classes pushed students to focus almost exclusively on winning, Robin's program was swiftly adopted and is now used in more than 300 Little Gyms worldwide. Robin still pens original music to accompany lessons, which engage whippersnappers 4 months old–12 years old with gymnastics, dance, karate, and parent and child activities.

Each of The Little Gym's classes introduces simple movements that sharpen motor skills and set brains whirring, allowing kids to progress at their own pace until they can finally build a computer out of macaroni and glitter. Staff members strive to build a base for lifelong social skills and self-assurance with each exercise, including activities rooted purely in fun, such as summer classes or birthday parties, which helped The Little Gym to earn title of #1 Birthday Chain in Parents Magazine.

Anytime Fitness, which boasts 1,689 clubs in North America, makes it easier for average folks to etch out time for exercise by doing one simple thing: staying open 24 hours a day for 365 days a year. As fitness seekers challenge themselves on cardio and strength-training machines and hoist Iron Grip free weights in clean, well-stocked facilities, security monitoring ensures they’re safe and producing enough sweat to meet official government standards. Members can also ramp up their exercise regimens with the help of Anytime Fitness’s staff of personal trainers, who demonstrate moves and sling motivating tips. After workouts, guests can shower in the private restrooms or browse the gym's private line of nutritional supplements.

Bikram Yoga Asheville’s new 3,800-square-foot studio—equipped with six showers, custom antimicrobial yoga flooring and far-infrared Radiant Heat panels—does as much to detoxify the environment as it does its human visitors. While the latter work their way through the 26 traditional Bikram poses on biodegradable mats, they are surrounded by formaldehyde-free insulation and air purified by a hydroxyl generator.

Hard Exercise Works helps clients improve their physical health with intense total-body workout regimens for all fitness levels and sage nutrition advice within a supportive fitness community. Dedicated coaches push attendees to reach their goals in classes that accommodate up to 50 students, ensuring pupils' safety by demonstrating proper technique. Each workout consists of an ever-changing sequence of intense exercises, intended to improve strength and stamina over a five-week period. In addition to a vigorous fitness regimen, the gym's nutrition philosophy promotes well-being outside of class sessions by either prescribing a five-week diet for students or teaching them how to photosynthesize their own food.

Certified by the American Fitness Professionals & Associates and the American College of Sports Medicine, Lucy Thrasher leads exercisers through challenging workouts of the day. The ever-changing routines whip bodies into shape with various techniques, whether it’s building muscles with interval training or learning self-defense moves from an Asheville police officer. In addition, nutritional coaching ensures pounds lost in exercise don’t find their way back home.

James Whittle gleaned extensive knowledge of acupuncture and holistic health care from his studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Seattle's Bastyr University, and the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as during an eight-month stint working alongside doctors in Chinese hospitals. The acupuncturist currently leads a staff of dedicated well-wishers and emotionally fulfilled pincushions, helping relieve patients' pain with such contemporary and non-Western treatments as evidence-based acupuncture, massage therapy, and herbal medicine. Taking a holistic view of each guest's well-being, Blue Ridge Acupuncture Clinic also proffers lifestyle and nutritional counseling to help with weight loss and healthy eating while emphasizing the importance of prevention in maintaining well-balanced, pain-free physical and mental health.