Kendall, FL Health and Fitness

Specializing in adult and geriatric medicine, Dr. Tzewan Wong of Pinecrest Medical & Wellness Center oversees a range of services, all of which are completed or supervised by physicians. His center’s personalized diet programs help patients slim down, while acupuncture treatments address a variety of issues such as chronic pains or difficulties blending in at porcupine conventions. Other treatments include Radiesse wrinkle fillers and Juvèderm injectable gel, both of which help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, as well as laser hair-removal treatments and affordable labs, x-rays, and diagnostic testing.

IMT CrossFit occupies a 10,000 square-foot facility, which—aside from some weights and ropes—is almost entirely empty. This blank canvas gives trainers plenty of room to exercise their imaginations and construct new workout regimens based on CrossFit’s core focus on functional movements.

The coaches spend six days a week—mornings and evenings—teaching students exercises designed to promote their musculoskeletal health and enhance the functions of their bodies. Using kettlebells, Olympic weights, and even gravity, clients work toward running faster, climbing better, and getting fitter. And because there are no mirrors in the facility, exercisers can focus their complete attention on their workout instead of constantly consulting their reflection to find out who is the fairest one of all.

After losing 135 pounds, Spinderella Fitness owner Elizabeth Rodriguez was determined to inspire other women to seize control of their health and strive for the energy and confidence of the physically fit. She became a certified nutritionist and personal trainer before undertaking the study of a less conventional subject: pole dancing. Rodriguez struggled at first. She recalls that she "use[d] to go home in tears" of frustration. But 17 months later, she opened her own pole-dance fitness studio, and then a second one to meet the demand for her teachings.

Rodriguez's studios host more than two-dozen classes thanks to her collaboration with Melissa Fernandez—a trained dancer with a background in jazz, ballet, and hip hop—who helped broaden the curriculum. This collaboration has resulted in both high-energy, cardio-driven workouts as well as those inspired by salsa, Flashdance, and the sensual rippling of national flags.

Students who are serious about mastering advanced pole maneuvers progress through several levels. After mastering a pole routine at one level, they receive a colored thong to mark their graduation to the next. Pole climbing students repeat the process until they are certified black-thong dancers capable of disarming a kung fu master with the twist of a hip.

Studio owner, mother of three, and passionate polecat, Annia Vazquez, encourages women to tap into their inner minx during pole-dancing and flirty-fitness classes. The studio takes pole dancing—once strictly a means of determining the next fire chief—and turns it into a full-body workout that incorporates core work, conditioning exercises, and sultry dance moves. Students can explore some of the other seductive arts during exotic belly-dancing lessons or courses that combine Vaudeville-style and modern burlesque. Classes keep comfortable with a maximum of 16 students, giving instructors enough time to dole out personalized tips to help newbies transform into veteran vixens.

Jorge Perez lay on the gym floor, panting heavily and in a state of disbelief. He had years of athletic-training experience and certifications under his belt, but after one CrossFit workout, he felt like a train had hit him. Impressed by the innovative program and determined to improve as an athlete, Jorge continued on to perform countless CrossFit workouts after leaving the gym that day, eventually earning his certification as a CrossFit level-one trainer.

Jorge Perez now shares the CrossFit training methodology with students of all fitness levels at his own studio—CrossFit BluePrint Doral. Towering ceilings loom over an expansive floor of free weights, pull-up bars, and resistance bands, where Coach J and his staff of fellow certified coaches lead high-intensity CrossFit and boot-camp workouts. Committed to encouraging healthy lifestyles outside the gym, they conduct free nutritional seminars and share healthy recipes to demonstrate proper eating habits and how to get a restraining order against Twinkies.

A fourth-degree black belt and international competitor for the national Cuban tae kwon do team, Alain Alvarez is no stranger to hard work. After retiring from international competition in 1998, Alain decided to turn his talents to training others through fun, inventive, and effective boot-camp classes and personal-training sessions. Each class maintains a furious pace, as students sweat and bound through body-weight exercises, sprints, agility drills, and anvil juggling. Sessions also integrate fun group activities such as tug of war, potato-sack races, and tag-team butter churning. Alain preaches that exercise can improve not just physical but also mental performance, and conducts classes on the beach, in a parking lot, or on the grassy fields of a local park.