Maryland Heights, MO Health and Fitness

The certified and experienced instructors at No Excuses have one goal: to help their clients achieve more than they thought possible. To get them there, the trainers offer high-energy, focused workouts along with meal planning, grocery lists, weigh-ins, and a team-like atmosphere. Held in a no-frills indoor/outdoor gym, the Zumba, boot-camp, and Kangoo classes help participants burn fat and build muscle.

During her extensive dance training, K.I.S.S. Fitness Cafe & Spa owner Kem Smith grooved alongside Zumba and pole fitness pioneers, mastering the steps that she now showcases for her own students. Offering simultaneous classes in three different studios, her staff covers everything from entrancing pole spins and belly dancing to gospel yoga, and strength training in the studio's rhythmic curriculum. Recently added amenities include spa services, such as eyebrow threading and lash extensions, as well as a cafe area. The studio also hosts private parties that impart empowering moves and help attendees break in high heels without resorting to foxy kickboxing.

In 2000, Doctor of Chiropractic William A. Straughn moved his self-named practice to Florissant, the place where he was born and raised and where his grandmother still lives. This move enabled him to serve the people of his hometown who suffer from chronic lower-back and neck pain or who need to regain their footing after an accident or injury. Dr. Straughn and his staff also teach patients how they can improve their diets and how to incorporate healthy habits into their workdays, such as doing jumping jacks in a crowded elevator or sprinting full speed to the restroom.

Dr. J. Richard Landgraf founded his practice in 1956. Since then, it has been taken over by his son, Dr. John Landgraf, who joins a skilled fleet of experienced hygienists to carry on his father's vision of helping patients care for and retain their teeth. Services running the gamut of general, cosmetic, and orthodontic care—such as implants and Zoom! teeth whitening—take place as patients are entranced by TV programs or hypnotic x-rays beaming from chairside monitors.

At St. Louis Center for Aesthetic and Restorative Dentistry, Dr. Guilan Norouzi and Dr. Robert Peterson augment conventional cleanings and exams with a roster of cosmetic procedures, including teeth whitening and Invisalign. The duo and their staff sculpt and repair dentures, partials, and crowns in an onsite dental lab, and lab technicians dialogue directly with the patients to ensure faux grins fit, blend in with, and memorize the names of surrounding teeth. i-CAT scanners collect three-dimensional images of teeth, while E4D digital scanners memorize molar and bicuspids' outlines, enlisting the information to customize restorative hardware before patients' eyes.