Gyms in East Hanover

Warrior Gym’s founder John Alvino’s strength-, core-, and conditioning-based workouts are designed to increase strength and decrease body fat to jump-start transforming your body. Training involves whipping battle ropes, doing handstands and chin-ups, and hefting kettlebells during routines personalized by one of the trainers who coach the sessions. These trainers create a motivating, positive environment and give plenty of personal attention as students sprint, roll, and lunge up and down the fairway of turf that runs through the middle of the gym and doubles as a mini-golf course with live human obstacles on the weekend.

Final Round Boxing and Fitness’s Olympic-sized boxing ring trembles with the stomping of feet as veteran fighters circle one another, each seeking the split second opening that will lead them to victory. Ringside coaches and instructors shout advice, assailing the combatants with tips and tricks until they’re seasoned enough to take on a real fight. The gym has produced more than one champion, earning such titles as the New Breed Fighter’s middleweight champion or Gold’s Gym Strongman Competitions strongest heavyweight.

But the boxing ring only accounts for a small portion of the 16,000 square feet of workout space. The rest houses all of the machines, free weights, and kettlebells required to condition athletes. Brightly lit, hardwood classrooms provide a venue for less combatively themed classes, such as Zumba dance or extreme chess, in which players must complete a whole game by dead lifting actual knights in full armor.

Aikido is the "loving protection of all beings," in the words of Morihei Ueshiba, who created the martial-arts style. Although it sometimes incorporates wooden weapons, at its heart, aikido seeks to act as a replacement for violence. Greg O'Connor, founder and chief instructor at Aikido Centers of New Jersey, brings Ueshiba's tenets to his students, who have included children and seniors, as well as members of the New Jersey State Police, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Secret Service. O'Connor and more than 40 other instructors teach students self-defense tactics that redirect attacks, as well as more advanced methods that include wooden sword and staff training and aikido's dramatic falls and rolls.

Wide windows flank one wall of Inner Spirit Studio’s 2,500-square-foot facility, and floor-to-ceiling mirrors flank the other. In this airy, light-filled space, instructors lead students through hot-yoga and Pilates routines. The studio contains locker rooms for men and women, complete with private shower stalls.

Daily stresses in life, injury, and pregnancy strain the body's joints, and it's the job of exercise to strengthen muscles, easing the strain and supporting the skeletal system. That was the idea that led Joseph Pilates to create his signature method, performed at Pilates of New Jersey. Five certified instructors—one a physical therapist experienced in physical rehabilitation—teach students the ins and outs of Pilates' various machines and maneuvers. Along the way, they discuss the rationale behind each movement, handing out tips on how to move safely without wasting energy or how to safely tickle strangers' cats.

Glowing hardwood floors support rows of reformers, towers, and exercise balls, all used to enhance the intensity of Pilates motions. Crimson walls fortify the studio, the color echoed in every piece of Pilates equipment within the clean, newly outfitted space.

The trainers at Surge Training Center believe that each body is a machine, and should be versatile enough to tackle the challenges of everyday life. They focus on a multi-directional, compound approach to fitness, and offer eight different programs to help clients achieve their desired results. Programs range from CrossFit and mixed martial arts combat training to yoga and creative movement sessions that inspire kids to be passionate about fitness and wellness through the use of dance.