Jamaica Plain Gyms and Fitness

At Reading Athletic Club, firm yet friendly trainers and modern equipment from brands such as Nautilus whip exercisers into shape. Personal trainers stage workouts in the cardio deck and weight area, packed with weight machines, treadmills, elliptical machines, and other mechanisms that foster fitness. Ladies break a sweat in the women's only section while youngsters play with babysitters. During fitness classes, instructors help boost their students’ endurance via high-energy boot camps that tighten all areas of the body or the flowing poses of Hatha yoga. After workouts, students can unwind under the soothing strokes of the center's massage therapist.

Members of the lauded burlesque troupe The Boston Babydolls share their accumulated skills during fun courses and workshops that welcome anyone regardless of experience level. During four-week intro courses, they'll cover burlesque fundamentals such as shimmies, bumps, and tassel twirling, as well as go over burlesque history and costuming. Courses cover topics such as how to build an alluring burlesque bra to spice up established dance routines.

The Boston Babydolls have won the Boston Phoenix's Boston's Best Readers Poll in 2012, 2011, and 2010 for their mélange of sensual dance routines, tinged with devilish comedy and retro style from the 1920s and 1950s. Singing, magic, and circus arts spice up their performances to keep guests entranced without the use of ancient incantations.

Fitcorp's trainers have big shoes to fill. Founder Gary Klencheski earned his exercise technician certification from the American College of Sports Medicine and served on the Governor's Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports for 20 years. Klencheski's passion and expertise trickle down through each of his gyms' eight facilities, where each personal trainer has a degree in exercise science, a nationally accredited certification, and the charisma of a dictator holding pompoms.

The gym's array of fitness services includes cardio and strength-training equipment, as well as group Pilates, yoga, boot-camp, and Zumba classes. Massage and acupuncture sessions keep the body in high gear, and an onsite nutritionist offers nutrition tips developed by registered dietitian Amy Boyce.

Dappled light plays over the sleek 3,500-square-foot fitness studio, illuminating cardio and weight machines as guests toil alongside their attentive trainers. Verdant foliage sways in the breeze just outside the floor-to-ceiling windows that ring around the gym. Patrons torch calories and chisel physiques on new equipment, and a variety of classes, massage services, and dietary counseling keeps members relaxed and healthy in and out of the gym. Groups can also mosey outdoors for one-hour group fitness classes that tone muscles under the lush canopy of tree cover shading the deck. Pilates and yoga strengthen and lengthen muscles, and Zumba and Power Dance classes liquidate loitering fat reserves with high-energy cardio workouts set to lively soundtracks.

CrossFit 781 looks more like a gentrified hangar than a gym—there are ropes dangling from the ceiling and heavy objects pinned to the matted 6,000-square-foot floor—but the space is ideal for CrossFit’s workout of the day. Led by co-owner Jason Brown or Danielle Bjorkman or their staff of fellow CrossFit Level 1 coaches, each workout includes a daily series of functional exercises such as pull-ups, push-ups, or flipping oversized tires that are to be completed as quickly and intensely as possible while maintaining proper form.