Gulfport Gyms and Fitness

From the moment seasoned nature tour guide Kurt Zuelsdorf first dipped his paddle into Clam Bayou, he knew the mangrove estuary would be the right place to set his kayak tours. But there was a catch—a garbage dump’s worth of rusting shopping carts and waterlogged plastic bags was strewn about the waterway. Undeterred, Kurt hit upon a clever cleanup strategy: people could launch his fleet of kayaks for free, so long as they toted a bag of garbage out of the bayou with them. 

Numerous grants, media attention, and awards later, Kurt’s waterway cleanup program has reached its final stages. Now, kayakers and paddlers can freely navigate the mangrove channels, nabbing sights of manatees, herons, and tugboat captains hopelessly lost in the mangroves. An avid nature enthusiast who has kayaked waterways from Wisconsin to Florida, Kurt prizes Clam Bayou, citing the diversity of wildlife along the one-mile stretch. “It’s not like the zoo,” he says. “Every time you hit the water, it’s a completely different experience.”

Platinum Twirl Pole Fitness’s instructors cater to exercisers looking for an alternative to the average workout, leading them through confidence-boosting pole fitness classes designed to work the whole body. They introduce novices to the fundamental moves, such as the fireman spin and martini spin, in the basic pole fitness class before building upon foundations in the intermediate and advanced classes. In addition to offering pole fitness courses and private lessons, they teach other fitness classes, including Zumba, chair dancing, and co-ed total body strengthening sessions with free-weights. They also host parties for bachelorettes, gal pals, or elderly knitting circles in search of new and exciting ways to celebrate a night out.

Celebrity fitness guru Suzanne Bowen poured more than a decade of exhaustive physiological study into the BarreAmped method, the driving force behind Above The Barre Fitness. Though the method pulls from dance, Pilates, and yoga, it remains completely unique in that pupils lean upon a ballet barre as they incorporate small, exact movements into intense poses and stretches. Up-tempo beats and instructors bent on perfecting postures also distinguish the group or individual workouts from alternative forms of exercise, such as throwing medicine balls at passing geese. With regular practice, BarreAmped can reinvigorate the metabolism, culminating in toned bodies and long, lean muscles.

Unlike traditional gyms that take a laissez-faire approach to fitness, letting clients fumble through their own workouts, Orangetheory leads exercisers in innovative personal group-training sessions that run through four distinct steps. Inside the warm, citrus glow of each facility, dozens of treadmills, rowing machines, free-weight sets, and Trx suspension systems await the next interval changeover. Music sends electric currents of energy through the atmosphere as patrons sweat out calories, and personal trainers patrol the aisles, giving pointers for touching up form and blinking out motivational words in Morse code. Clients keep an eye on their heart-rate readouts to ensure they're in the peak range for burning fat and building muscle. After an hour—during which guests complete a 10- to 30-minute interval at each of the four stations—the "orange effect" sets in and jump-starts metabolisms, possibly for days after the workout has ended.

Orangetheory Fitness has been highlighted in the New York Times for its seminal workout plan, which was designed by Florida fitness expert Ellen Latham to help people to turn their workout plateaus into springboards. With more than 50 classes per week at each location, members can capitalize on the gym's personal-training vibe and stimulating group setting at their leisure.

Since she was a kid, Julia Zammito has been a fitness guru, eventually becoming a trainer and a regular guest on TV’s Daytime. When she's not working on her own physical fitness or standing confidently behind a camera lens, she shares her experience and know-how during her intense, yet supportive, boot camps at Redington Shores Beach and Walsingham Park. Using her own booming voice or a bullhorn, Julia motivates her students to push themselves, personally calling them out by name when she can. She uses mini hurdles, coordination ladders, light dumbbells, and kettlebells to fortify her always-rotating workouts and after-class pillow forts. She also incorporates calisthenics, which rely on the body's own weight as resistance.

At Bottoms Down Weight Loss, Celal G. Erbay, MD and his supportive staff advise moderation: a few complex carbohydrates here, some vegetables there, and just for good measure, some precisely calibrated weight-loss aides including appetite suppressants and metabolism boosting B12 fat-burning shots filled with five different B vitamins, chromium, MIC, and methylcobalamin. In addition to busting excess pounds with medical weight-loss aides, Bottoms Down offers diet plans that consist of a protein only diet option or a customized eating plan catered to specific dietary needs.