Lansing Health and Fitness

An all-female team of fitness and nutrition experts creates a spa-like setting at Elements to help women feel comfortable while working out instead of toiling in a weight-filled warehouse. European-designed "smart" machines use advanced technology to personalize workouts by greeting each member by name, remembering their personal settings and performance, and serving as a digital coach throughout the session. For a more human touch, the center's personal lifestyle coaches develop highly tailored diet and exercise plans for each member, following up with them to provide support, encourage progress, and check for untied shoelaces. After workouts, women can relax in the detoxifying warmth of an infrared sauna or atop the warm, soothing jets of a hydromassage bed.

High cholesterol and high blood pressure—the doctor who gave trainer Emeka Umeh this diagnosis unknowingly lit a fire beneath a patient already tired of his XXL-sized wardrobe. Emeka worked to overcome the unhealthy habits that had fallen into, completing hardcore workouts that eventually slimmed him down to a mere 10.3% body fat. With compassion for those in similar plights, Emeka now guides patrons of all fitness levels through intensive workouts designed to boost their metabolism and tone their musculature at Fit Body Boot Camp. Each session combines both cardio and strength training, drawing together innovative suspension training and battling ropes with primal strength-training techniques that hark back to when early humans first drove their Camaros out of the primordial soup. Over the course of camp, many patrons see slimmer physiques and beefed-up brawn emerge. In addition to leading boot campers, Emeka also offers personal-training services, conducts body assessments to chart his clients' progress, and outlines nutritional plans, pushing his patrons to live healthier lifestyles.

A five-time American Taekwondo Association World Champion, senior master Von Schmeling, began Victory Martial Arts to teach pupils confidence and leadership skills while imparting martial-arts techniques. Classes capped at 30 students, with at most 10 students per instructor, cover disciplines such as general martial arts, krav maga, and self-defense for thwarting assailants and heavily armed spiders. Budding martial artists hone their craft alongside loved ones in family sessions or practice maneuvers in age-specific sequences for kids, teens, or adults.

As a certified personal trainer, Jenny Quinn knows that hoping and wishing don't burn many calories. To turn good intentions into noticeable results, she founded FLEXcity Fitness, a studio that makes exercise both fun and focused. Quinn draws upon a decade of training experience and a master's degree in exercise physiology to design small-group training sessions, which help clients tackle their goals with cardio, strength training, and motivation from their like-minded classmates. She leads high-intensity interval workouts alongside fellow trainer Trista Parisian, who has helped celebs such as Hilary Swank get svelte for red-carpet appearances.

With a turn on the treadmills and indoor cycling, you can help elevate the heart rate to a healthy level. Exercises with free weights and TRX can fortify muscles, rally the metabolism, and eliminate dependence on camel caravans to carry your groceries. Suitable for exercisers of all levels, the workouts also incorporate stretches to build flexibility and help prevent injuries.

Light filters in through the towering windows of the expansive Infinity Fitness facility, brightening private training studios and exercise rooms filled with cardio and strength-training equipment. Instructors lead students towards weight loss, improved flexibility, and increased energy during group fitness classes such as yoga, Pilates, indoor cycling, and certain Les Mills classes. They also work to bolster muscle mass and Jesse Ventura impersonations during BodyPump training sessions, as well as improve tone and core strength during BodyFlow classes that cull moves from yoga, tai chi, and Pilates. Past classes and workout rooms, massage therapists dole out services in a private studio and clients soak their weary muscles in a healing isolation float salt tank. Additionally, kid-minded chaperones run an onsite childcare center where parents can drop off toddlers, children, and dogs they’ve taught to coo and gurgle convincingly.