Griffin, GA Health and Fitness

Silver Sun Tan's variety of UV- and sunless-tanning equipment earned it the title of No. 1 Tanning Salon in the Athens Banner-Herald's 2011 Best of Athens Readers’ Choice awards. Certified staffers point patrons to traditional beds, such as the Ergoline Classic 600, or the open design of the high-pressure SunBoard XTT system, which allows tanners to move limbs freely or practice levitating. The team also handcrafts quick tans with the all-natural Infinity Sun airbrush spray tanning formula, and further enhances self-confidence with the InShapeMD medical weight-loss program.

Aqua-Tots Swim School trains and encourages swimmers in the art of buoyancy through its array of services, specializing in instructing those aged 6 months–12 years in small groups. Instructors boast national certification, completing 32 hours in the company’s Lessons for Life training program and successfully completing the Water Safety Instructor exam.

Children are placed in one of eight class levels, from Tadpoles (6 months–18 months), which acquaints infants with the pool, to Stingrays, which is for children who have more experience and want to refine their strokes and one day sting a jellyfish. Each individual class contains no more than four students training under the watchful eye of the instructor in a climate-controlled indoor pool. In addition to the children’s program, Aqua-Tots Swim Schools also leads adult swim classes and provides training for both swim competition and first aid.

From spacious locker rooms to family-friendly facilities, BodyPlex gyms are built to take the stress out of working out. Fitness machines ranging from cardio equipment to free-motion systems beckon those familiar with the gym scene to jump right into a regime. Newcomers need not stress about a learning curve, as personal instructors power walk the grounds, ready to give one-on-one instruction with an appointment. To ease the workout worries of parents, enthusiastic staff members man the gym's onsite Kidsplex, a youth-focused playroom stocked with crafts, toys, and two different video-game systems. Additionally, those who achieve their best when with like-minded people can break a sweat and their personal fist-bump record in one of the gym's daily fitness classes.

Allison Gorman, a full-time trainer at Extreme Conditioning & Fitness, loves to push herself, competing regularly in obstacle course races and training to compete in kettlebell lifting, as well as a 3rd place finish in both the 2012 Spartan Race and 2012 Metro Dash in Atlanta. She strives to help her clients both set and achieve fitness and health goals and practices, and is currently taking collegiate courses in anatomy and physiology to complement her previous experience in the health and fitness industry.