Fitness Classes in Evanston

At Blockhead Fitness, ACE-certified personal trainer Sean Block and his experienced fitness staff whip bodies into shape with custom full-body workouts in a spacious personal-training studio illuminated with natural light. Exercisers of all abilities can pair up with a trainer and take advantage of a wealth of fitness accouterments, such as free weights, medicine balls, and resistance-training apparatus, to slim down bodies so they can fit comfortably in kangaroo pouches.

Developed by Jill Dailey McIntosh, The Dailey Method is a challenging one-hour program that combines ballet barre work, stretching, core-conditioning, and orthopedic exercises to tone and lengthen bodies. Improve posture, endurance, and strength as muscles grow supple, soft edges firm up, and your sense of physical well-being grows like a Grinch's heart at Christmas. The Dailey Method takes a mindful approach to wellness—its workouts are safe and effective for people of any fitness level, including pregnant women and those recovering from an injury. Check out the Chicago or La Grange schedules for beginning and intermediate class times offered every day, and call ahead to schedule. Participants can use their Groupon for single classes ($20 each), toward any class package, or toward a one-month unlimited pass ($100+). Students should wear comfortable clothing that doesn't restrict movement, alignment, or celebratory robot dancing at the conclusion of class. Locker rooms with showers are available to freshen up after your ultra-workout, so you can scrub off the old you.

Buy here to buy a three-class Stroller Strides pass at UIC's Physical Education Building. Classes meet outdoors beginning May 1 at University Village (Roosevelt & Halsted), West Loop (Adams & Racine), or downtown (Roosevelt & Michigan).

Featured in TimeOut Chicago, Solão Fitness distinguishes itself by hosting nearly 25 different dance-workout classes seven days a week. In naturally lit rooms with glossy maple floors, clients swivel hips to Cardio Samba one day and groove to Hip Hop Body Rock the next. A lounge area and refreshment bar allows Solão's terpsichorean community to hang out before and after class to socialize, decompress, and draw hearts on textbooks.

The award-winning professional belly dancers at Arabesque edify adult performers of all levels in the theories and techniques of Middle Eastern dance. Instructors teach hips to shimmy through scintillating moves as guests study such art forms as belly dance, choreography, and prop work. Throughout classes, skilled dancers lead by example, gracefully wielding swords, fans, and pool noodles or tapping out rhythms with finger cymbals. Classes are available in five skill levels, ranging from beginner to advanced. Instructors and students can flaunt new moves during periodic local and national performances.

As one of Illinois's only wellness centers certified by the Medical Fitness Association, Galter LifeCenter employs a CPR-certified staff of credentialed professionals. Athletic programs and integrative therapies cohabit in the cutting-edge facility, and athletes-in-training can seek respite in clinical massage between pumping iron kettlebells in the weight room and testing their water wings in the two swimming pools. More than 60 cardio and strength-training devices mingle throughout the gym, and a patchwork of saunas, steam rooms, and whirlpools provides a venue for relaxing. Galter LifeCenter takes its role in the community seriously, piloting eco-friendly initiatives and welcoming all to monthly health lectures.