Greenwood, SC Health and Fitness

In 2007, Pace Beattie had an inkling that his life was about to change. He had discovered hot yoga—a discipline that integrates meditation with rigorous exercise—and resolved to pursue it as his vocation. He saw this as a long-term vision; something he would do after retiring from finance and moving back to his hometown of Greenville.

Then, everything changed: In the eight weeks that bridged 2008 and 2009, he lost his job and his mother passed away. In the aftermath, he scrutinized his life and realized: The time is now. Pace enrolled in workshops and conferences, completing levels I and II of the Baron Baptiste teacher-training program. He moved to Greenville, recruited a team of highly specialized teachers, and opened Southern Om.

Today, having boldly charted his own path, Pace equips others to do the same. He fosters self-discovery through two styles of hot yoga: Southern 26 and Southern Flow, a form of power yoga in which students sweat out sweet tea. These classes serve beginners and experienced practitioners alike, incorporating modifications that support alignment.

At its two Columbia locations, Plex Indoor Sports aims to provide complete indoor recreation with artificial-turf fields, ice arenas, inflatables, basketball courts, family entertainment center, and full-service cafe. Both facilities offer after-school programs providing access to soccer, football, and lacrosse programs, ensuring that children learn the proper techniques required to work toward goals and play safely. Total-fitness classes are also available throughout the week, highlighting invigorating methods such as yoga, Zumba, and hip-hop aerobics. The Sandhills location hosts a roller-skating rink, and the Irmo location houses an NHL regulation-sized ice rink with public skate times in between hockey games and practice sessions of the local ice-fishing team.

A 30-foot rock-climbing wall towers over the Family Entertainment Center, granting visitors an elevated view of a facility packed with wall-to-wall inflatables and family activities. Visitors can roller skate, set new high scores at the arcade, or attempt to stay atop a mechanical bull. Other attractions include bungee jumping, a rock-n-roll ride, and more.

Blue Root Acupuncture’s licensed acupuncturist Angela Soto calls upon her extensive knowledge of medical and herbology practices when enhancing customer well-being during each of her facility’s health services. Treatments range from traditional acupuncture visits⎯which can be used to stimulate circulation, influence the release of neurotransmitters, and pop the bubble wrap that was distracting the immune system from operating properly⎯to treatments that include Energy Light Rejuvenation and fire cupping. Angela also specializes in multiple types of massage, including Swedish and deep-tissue approaches as well as tui na massage, a form of Asian bodywork that helps to balance energy flow in an attempt relax muscles while reducing fatigue and stimulating the lymphatic system.

At Snap Fitness’ 24-hour gym, guests come and go armed with their access keys and are able to work out at their convenience. Around the gym, rows of cardio machines and stacks of free weights stand by as personal trainers show guests the most efficient ways to pump iron and bench-press their old refrigerators.

With a focus on full-body training rather than muscle-isolating machines, Vaughn Bethell’s sprawling 12,000-square-foot gym eschews the traditional rows of high-tech equipment for functional gear such as giant tires, kicking bags, and training ropes. Of course, Bethell—a qualifying World Cup soccer player who has trained many pro-athletes-to-be—believes that the best piece of equipment is the human body itself. He relies on his bevy of fitness-related certifications to craft effective exercises that draw from the body’s own weight to create muscle-toning resistance. He uses these functional movements in a variety of services at his high-ceilinged studio, including athlete training, women’s boot camps, and personal-training sessions.

Bethell also prides himself on cultivating a welcoming nature in his gym, inviting guests to cool down in the lounges or showers before playing a round on the ping-pong tables or dead-lifting the communal computers.

Equilibrium Zen Gym's holistic healers continually study traditional Chinese medicine to get the knowledge required to strengthen physiques, not just by treating clients' symptoms, but by healing the root of their problems. Equilibrium's staff of soothers includes George Gantt, who became a Tai Chi enthusiast after a knee injury during his college years, and Ingrid Harris, who left a lengthy career in the business world to become a licensed massage therapist

During the center's reflexology treatment, Harris manipulates specific sections of the feet in an effort to influence the energy flow in the rest of the body and pull any dandelions that have sprouted between the toes. Fine needles penetrate strategic points of the body in order to balance out the distribution of chi during the acupuncture treatment, and vacuum suction teams with carefully placed cups during the massage cupping, which can increase circulation and prime soft tissue for the absorption of liniments and essential oils.