Grand Rapids Health and Fitness

Under the guidance of cofounders and brothers Mikhail and Arkadiy Sarkisov, the skilled coaches at Grand Rapids Fencing Academy enlighten budding swordsmiths on the essential techniques of modern fencing. During informative classes for all experience levels, students learn the foot moves, blade work, and confetti-cutting skills of èpèe-, foil-, and saber-style fencing. Each session is designed to improve mind-body coordination and flexibility while providing aerobic exercise. A wall of full-length mirrors allows pupils to view and modify their techniques inside the sprawling hardwood studio.

Mikhail and Arkadiy Sarkisov sharpened their fencing skills on the former Soviet Union's national fencing team before earning medals in their home country's national championship. In 2004, the United States Olympic Committee named Mikhail the Developmental Coach of the Year in fencing. Both brothers hold master's degrees in fencing and have placed highly in numerous tournaments across multiple globes.

Writing and gross motor skills; math and nutrition; fine motor skills and social etiquette. Physical and social development may seem unrelated, but connecting the two can boost cognitive ability in growing children. That’s why WisdomGym Preschool always incorporates movement into its academic sessions. WisdomGym is just one branch of the Horizon Complex, which fosters a healthy community by teaching kids of all ages dance, gymnastics, and cheerleading skills.

Children as young as 4 months old can participate in gymnastics classes that help build motor skills through playful routines and exercises. At age 2, children can begin dance classes that progress to advanced levels of ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop. In cheerleading classes—for ages 4 and older—students can practice tumbling and chants with the goal of one day learning to successfully chumble. As kids play, parents can wait out in the lobby and peer through the windows that open into most classrooms.

The 20-acre Salvation Army Kroc Center provides a diverse array of community services, ranging from fitness and recreation to worship. In the fitness center, visitors can take advantage of equipment such as free weights and cardio and strength-training machines. The facilities include a two-court gym and an aquatics center, replete with a pool, hot tub, and water slide. The center also houses The Salvation Army Kroc Church, which hosts bilingual services each Sunday.

Within an intimate studio characterized by exposed-brick, Tiffany-box-blue, and burnt-orange walls, Allegro Coaching stirs with a bustling schedule of more than 20 different group fitness classes per week. During warm months, coaches lead outdoor boot camp classes at parks around Grand Rapids. Certified instructors, many of whom hold degrees in exercise science and have trained MMA fighters, shepherd both exercise-uninitiated and seasoned athletes through the cardio and strength-training exercises of boot-camp sessions or muscle- and definition-building TRX-suspension-training, Pilates, or boxing classes. The studio's personal trainers also travel to local businesses, where they enlighten employees with wellness counseling and onsite coaching and offer practical tips for staying active in the office that move beyond typical exercises such as crab-walking in circles around cubicles or shadow-boxing the water cooler.

Adhering to the USA Gymnastics slogan, "Start here, go anywhere," the instructors at R-Athletics prepare youths for physically fit futures, whether they continue on to be competitive gymnasts or competitive gymnasts' favorite hairdressers. Lofty windows fill the expansive facility with sunlight, spotlighting the professional gymnastics equipment that speckles the floors of colorful mats. Amid the tumble pits and trampolines, a staff of qualified professionals leads youngsters 18 months old to 18 years old in gymnastics and cheerleading visits throughout the week. As their children master vaults, bars, and beams, parents can watch proudly from the facility's ground-level and elevated viewing centers.

Natural Health & Healing Center’s chiropractors, massage therapists, and certified aestheticians manipulate the body to soothe aches and pains. Keeping with the clinic’s eponymous theme, many available healing methodologies involve natural elements, all with a common theme of restoring inner wholeness and creating long-term outer beauty.

Proper nutrition is key, and Natural Health & Healing Center offers nutritional coaching on beneficial diets, gluten avoidance, and the perils of processed foods. The facility also houses lasers and other ultramodern equipment to shape bodies and keep exteriors glowing, with skincare services such as IPL photofacials performed by certified aestheticians that tackle the signs of aging.