Loves Park Gyms and Fitness

Who said golf was a rich man's game? We didn't. It was a filthy, lying cyber-bully. You know which one we're talking about, the one with perfectly quaffed hair, a button-less future shirt, and a smug grin taunting you—almost daring you—to challenge him to an enunciation contest (he has never lost). But don't be intimidated by the way his eyes twinkle under the Canadian moonlight or how he stands on water as if he were Moses, he's incredibly self-conscious of his inability to inflect.

Today's Groupon gets you and a golf buddy 18 holes on the difficult Tamarack Golf Course in Naperville for only $50. Each Groupon is good for two people to play an 18-hole round together, so get a pair and a foursome together to hit the lynx for the price of a 2.6-some (meaning it's up to a 62% discount—weekday rounds are $55, weekends are $65). Golf with friends is the best kind of bonding; there's nothing like being out in the open air, hearing the wind blow through the beautiful old trees lining Tamarack's well-groomed fairways, and refusing to grant your compadres mulligans. The satisfaction of a well-played hole is amplified by one's sadistic enjoyment of your partner's three-shot adventure in the woodsy rough.

Whisper Creek’s visionary architects, Greg Nash and Billy Casper, and Orchard Valley’s architect, Ken Kavanaugh, present two championship-style courses of verdant, undulating terrain, flecked with challenging features. Golfers traverse Whisper Creek's 240 acres of protected wildlife sanctuary in GPS-enabled golf carts that provide yardage measurements, record scores, and eliminate the need to ask tiger-head club covers for directions. During an 18-hole round (up to a $68 value with cart), clubs send dimpled orbs hurtling past imported white-sand bunkers, pristine waters, and more than 5,000 character hardwoods. Over on Orchard Valley’s 6,800-yard, par 72 grounds, manicured practice facilities conduct dress rehearsals for the course’s 18 holes (up to a $76 value with cart), which span sand traps and wetlands, including the expansive water hazard on the aptly named "All or Nothing at All" second hole.

Developed by Jill Dailey McIntosh, The Dailey Method is a challenging one-hour program that combines ballet barre work, stretching, core-conditioning, and orthopedic exercises to tone and lengthen bodies. Improve posture, endurance, and strength as muscles grow supple, soft edges firm up, and your sense of physical well-being grows like a Grinch's heart at Christmas. The Dailey Method takes a mindful approach to wellness—its workouts are safe and effective for people of any fitness level, including pregnant women and those recovering from an injury. Check out the Chicago or La Grange schedules for beginning and intermediate class times offered every day, and call ahead to schedule. Participants can use their Groupon for single classes ($20 each), toward any class package, or toward a one-month unlimited pass ($100+). Students should wear comfortable clothing that doesn't restrict movement, alignment, or celebratory robot dancing at the conclusion of class. Locker rooms with showers are available to freshen up after your ultra-workout, so you can scrub off the old you.

Core Concepts focuses on a "classical and systematic approach" to teaching Pilates, maintaining the comprehensive system originally designed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s to battle hoards of rampaging clowns. Today's deal is redeemable for four 55-minute group mat classes. Mat classes are the flat, squishy foundation of Pilates; they use the human body to strengthen and stretch itself, with the occasional aid of "magic circles," foam rollers, bands, and light weights. Mat classes are available for rigid novices and advanced, pretzel-poised students alike throughout the week.

Exercisers burn up to 600 calories during Jazzercise, Inc.’s 60-minute total-body workouts, which meld moves from diverse realms such as jazz dance, kickboxing, and yoga. Set to a medley of popular tunes, sessions are open to all skill levels and start off with a gentle warm-up before 30 minutes of cardio, strength training, and a closing stretching segment. The discontinuation of the Nobel Prize in Jazzercise ensures a noncompetitive class atmosphere, and whippersnappers aged 4–12 can get in on the fun during Juniors Jazzercise classes.