Grove City Gyms and Fitness

Since their near-simultaneous invention in the 1930s, yoga and Pilates have been locked in the smiling ferocity of mortal frenemy combat, each vying for wellness superiority. Today's deal brings the two sides together and seals the pact with a massage. For $49, first-time clients get a two-class pass ($50) and one 60-minute Yamuna Body Rolling (YBR) massage ($60) at Focused Fitness, a $110 total value.

Take any or all of Aikido of Columbus's classes over the course of a month; the class schedule offers options six days a week. A friendly, experienced instructor pilots each session by first leading the group through relaxation training and vigorous exercise. Unlike jiu-jitsu and Sock'em Boppers, the point of Aikido is to avoid violence and dissolve potential physical confrontations. Learn self-reflection, self-awareness, and self-centered selflessness with today's side deal.

Buckeye Kettlebells’ owner and chief trainer, Dave Clancy, believes that training is about pushing his clients past their perceived physical limits, showing them what they're truly capable of. In one sense, Clancy teaches fitness. Drawing from his dual certifications as a Russian Kettlebell Challenge level-two instructor and certified strength and conditioning specialist, he motivates clients to build muscle, flexibility, and range of motion. He leads his charges in a host of kettlebell classes, in which they heave the spherical burdens toward total-body fitness in addition to facing off against their body weight in exercises including pull-ups, push-ups, and squats.

In another sense, however, Clancy teaches the power of believing in yourself. He inspires patrons to tap into hidden stores of self-confidence to overcome physical and accompanying mental challenges—a skill that is useful in all of life's arenas, especially the local coliseum.

Fueled by Joseph Pilates' belief that exercise should enhance and support the natural machinery of the human body, instructors lead students through a tapestry of intense, focused moves that draw from weight training, aerobics, yoga, and tai chi. In addition to leading group mat classes aimed at boosting core strength, they stock their hardwood studio with machines such as Cadillacs, ladder barrels, and reformers that rely on handles, ropes, and pulleys to heighten the workouts. The staffers offer semi-private and private lessons that focus exclusively on these reformer machines, which each face their own mirror so practitioners can perfect their poses and James Cagney impersonations simultaneously. To liven up the floor routines, they sometimes combine elements of TRX suspension training or ballet-barre workouts, both excellent complements to the intense core work of Pilates.

Coach Jerry Page dons an Olympic boxing gold medal around his neck and once called Evander Holyfield his teammate. He puts aside his six golden gloves to guide fighters at Ohio Krav Maga & Fitness, a facility overseen by second-degree black belt Mark Slane and staffed by decorated martial artists and coaches. Those that lead the studio’s namesake Krav Maga courses show students how to work with their body’s natural instincts to take down a predator or quell the body’s urge to start the wave with every conversational mention of sports.

Further self-defense skills emerge during ground-fighting jiu jitsu classes, muay thai combat, and weapons disarming seminars. In the gym’s fitness corner, cardio kickboxing slings five rounds of fast-paced punches and kicks, while yoga helps fighters wind down and leaves them more relaxed than a sloth traveling through taffy.

The trainers at Fitness Edge simplify physical wellness by assembling all the building blocks for healthy living in one place. In addition to meal planning and personal training, their iSweat program – formerly known as Adventure Boot Camp – devotes a solid 20 days to completely reinventing bodies. With sessions held five days a week, the regimen builds strength and endurance through a series of circuit training workout. The dynamic group classes wrap up with a final weigh-in, test of athletic ability, and pat on the back for anyone with enough breath left to whistle the national anthem. Trainers also help out existing athletes with sports training designed to improve play at game-time while simultaneously warding off injuries.