Hialeah Gyms and Fitness

The voices of certified personal trainers Zach Marcy and Alex Villegas boom across their fitness studio and outdoor parking lots, driving students through the high-intensity exercises of boot-camp classes throughout the week. Drawing from years of personal-training experience, the pair leads imaginative workouts that aim to hurdle students over weight-loss plateaus, adjusting movements to accommodate each student's level of fitness. In addition to workouts, trainers provide students with a fitness- and body-fat assessment. Clients can also attend Synergize Boot Camp’s bimonthly fitness seminars.

No one would think Angelique Millis ever suffered from weight problems—it's hard to imagine that the slim, well-toned fitness professional and renowned health columnist was at one point 40 pounds heavier and five dress sizes larger. After mustering the courage and self-discipline to overcome her struggles, she decided to dedicate her life to helping others improve their lifestyles and achieve their weight-loss goals—no matter how big or small—in a realistic, measurable manner. Hence, she became professionally certified through the National Federation of Professional Trainers and the National Strength Professionals Association and founded Elite Fitness Connection.

Today, Millis and her staff aim to motivate, educate, and inspire their clients with assessments, one-on-one and small-group training sessions, and nutritional guidance. Factoring in each individual’s lifestyle, current capabilities, and dietary habits, the team customizes exercise and nutritional programs to cater to each client’s desired goals. They also take regular measurements to quantify progress along the way. During the intense yet supportive personal-training sessions, trainers vary each total-body workout to keep muscles from getting bored and throwing paper airplanes all over the room. For more of a communal atmosphere, they lead small-group Fit in 30 classes, where they spend a half-hour helming cardio- and resistance-circuit routines designed to melt away fat and chisel bodies into finely toned edifices.

When former project managers from Bally's, World Gym, Crunch, Guess, and Clinique realized the need for a women's-only gym in the world of fitness, they joined forces to create the Elements Diet and Fitness program. This fitness regimen depends upon three primary ingredients to help ladies of all stripes get into shape: smart-card workouts, personal-lifestyle coaches, and group-fitness classes. European-built smart-card equipment uses a personal-identification card to remember each member's name and personal settings, slowly advancing the difficulty of a workout and tracking individual progress. Personal-lifestyle coaches establish a report with their clients, through which they send constant motivation, support, and fitness instruction. Finally, group classes encourage self-discovery through fun fitness experiences such as performing candlelight yoga, training in tai chi, and belly dancing while taking a Myers-Briggs assessment.

At Pole Dance Miami, honored as 2010’s Best Gym Alternative in the Miami New Times and featured on NBC Channel 6, dance poles host a dizzying array of spins and twists in more than 40 weekly classes that unite high-flying exercise with feminine sensuality. Passionate instructors lead one-hour classes in sundry styles for patrons of all skill levels, from the sultry sways of Beginner 1 to the Vixen class’s foxy spin combos. The fuchsia studio’s floor-to-ceiling wall of mirrors assists patrons in achieving proper form during mat stretches and twists, and its hardwood floors are tuned to make pitch-perfect music when struck with stiletto heels. Ladies can flock to the studio en masse for pole parties, during which instructors lead partygoers in basic moves to celebrate bachelorette parties, birthday parties, or high-noon tea parties.

A contemporary fitness program popularized by celebrities such as Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, Goo Jumps classes find students strapping into shock-reducing Kangoo Jumps shoes for a high-energy, low-impact cardio workout. Rebounding elliptical frames beneath the shoes' soles ease contact between joints and the ground as exercisers run, do squats, or throw temper tantrums because their clothes have gotten too big for them. The reduction of trauma to the joints and muscles can facilitate exercise regimes for those suffering from arthritis, sports injuries, and other physically restrictive conditions and also may help correct posture and promote better balance.

All American Crossfit co-owner Oscar Castillo is a firefighter, but even though his job is physically demanding, he says it doesn't compare to CrossFit. “What we do at work—it's hard, but it's not as hard as CrossFit,” he says.

But that's not to say the workouts are only for the physically fit—Oscar and his partner can vary the weight and intensity of each exercise for students of any fitness level. The constantly changing workouts combine elements of weightlifting, gymnastics, and cardio to appeal to those who tire of traditional gym routines. Students swing kettlebells, climb ropes, and perfect their Olympic medal acceptance speeches while holding themselves up on gymnastic rings. “It's constantly varied,” Oscar says. “It doesn't get boring.”

As they challenge their bodies with each day's workout, members can draw inspiration from an assortment of colorful flags representing professions such as firefighting, police work, and the military, as well as causes including the fight against breast cancer.