Health & Fitness in Palmetto Bay

An addiction. That’s what Cheryl Mullin, head trainer at Tone You Up, Inc., calls her relationship with fitness. Starting out as a dancer at the age of 5, she transitioned into cheerleading in high school and eventually track and field in college, where she fell in love with lifting, plyometrics, and circuit training. Ten years and three certifications later, Cheryl and her staff of dedicated trainers pass their passion on to others with their three pillars of training: fitness, nutrition, and overall health.

Groups sprint and lunge across Tropical or Palmetto Bay Park during intense, one-hour boot-camp classes, all while Tone You Up's trainers preach the components of a healthful diet, such as eating plenty of protein and vegetables and not using cake frosting as toothpaste. Some staffers motivate the campers through cardio and strength training in the great outdoors, and others lead in-home personal-training sessions. Each one-on-one or one-on-two session begins with a thorough body assessment and fitness test. Based on results, trainer and client discuss goals and map a total lifestyle program to help shed pounds or boost athleticism. Tone You Up also offers programs for small groups, including onsite boot camps for workers at schools and offices.

Acupuncture served as the main healthcare treatment for thousands of years, and it is still the go-to therapy for millions of people worldwide. Acupuncture physician Richard Browne is at the forefront of this field as both a practitioner and an educator.

Browne is the cofounder and president of Acupuncture and Massage College, which has been a community staple for more than 30 years. When not teaching budding acupuncturists how to strategically place needles or deflate sinister-looking balloon animals, he can be found at Affordable Acupuncture Clinic, practicing acupuncture himself or overseeing his interns while they practice it.

Browne and his staff also offer services ranging from cupping therapy to shiatsu massage to Reiki. They work to relieve such ailments as back pain, headaches, and insomnia.

The instructors of Palmetto Bay CrossFit only teach one fitness class. That's because their inclusive sessions combine several forms of exercise into one comprehensive workout that strengthens the entire body. Each class melds strength training and gymnastics exercises with cardio and coordination techniques that nurture bodies, and the general structure of classes ensures that students of all fitness levels can take part. Additionally, each class incorporates sports-like competitions between students as a way to build camaraderie and get rid of any trophies lying around. Classes are further bolstered with nutritional guidelines.

With more than 30 years of experience teaching Iyengar yoga, director Bobbi Goldin oversees the impassioned instructors that lead her studio's classes for all skill levels. The weekly schedule includes multilevel I sessions that safely introduce the style's fundamental poses and emphasize proper alignment and spirit-animal management, and multilevel II classes that incorporate inversions and limbo-worthy backbends into the series and challenge attendees to sustain deeper stretches. The studio's gentle/special sessions easily accommodate students with physical limitations, leading pupils through one hour of slower-paced practice, which gingerly loosens joints, and 15 minutes of friendly ghost stories.

Lady of America Women's Fitness Club spreads female-focused wellness across the nation by furnishing each of its franchise locations with equipment and classes designed with women's bodies in mind. Each locale stocks a strength-training area with machines sized specifically for the feminine frame, and ellipticals and stationary bicycles help to chisel gams without transporting users across state borders. Instructors conduct such group classes as kickboxing, belly dancing, and Zumba aboard a floating aerobics floor, whose softened surface diminishes stress on joints. Throughout each facility, personal trainers patrol public zones to acquaint guests with exercise gear or host one-on-one sessions. Depending on the location, clubs might also include complimentary onsite childcare, brow dabbing, and amenities ranging from infrared saunas to manicures.

For 10 years, the instructors and trainers at Gables Fitness have help clients achieve their fitness and weight loss goals. Now the workout institution has reopened its doors as Red Zone Fitness, where clients choose their workout duration, even in group classes. With 30-minute one-on-one or group personal-training sessions or 40- to 50-minute group fitness classes, the fitness studio follows the FITT principle: Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type. Sessions depend on various factors that include strength aerobics, performance goal focus, exercise biomechanics, and effort. Experienced instructors lead students through group fitness classes that include spinning and Red Zone training, a group class for women that provides a heart-rate-monitored, full-body workout and strengthens the cardiovascular system in just 40 minutes.