Portland, ME Health and Fitness

After years traveling the globe and working in the fitness industry, Stephen and Antonia Anderson wanted to design a fitness facility that was as beautiful as it was functional. The duo eventually realized this dream, opening The Body Architect within a lofty building with wooden beams, exposed brick walls, and wall-to-wall windows that proffer spectacular views of Portland and Mount Washington. In front of these windows, rows of professional Precor and Cybex machines bustle amid the clang of strength and TRX suspension training equipment. Meanwhile, up on the roof deck, certified instructors conduct a variety of fitness classes beneath the sun, including boot camps, yoga, and personal-training sessions. Additionally, an onsite massage therapist stands by to help untangle muscles or knotted gym socks before or after members unwind in serene spa-inspired showers.

5,000 square feet of indoor rock walls outfitted for top-rope belaying and bouldering entertain guests of all experience levels at Maine Rock Gym. Visitors can partner up to climb meandering problems across varying angles and overhangs while staff climbers remain on hand to serve as belayers and to fend off curious mountain goats. Indoor, onsite clinics instruct climbers at introductory or advanced levels, and guides lead outdoor excursions to Maine's granite cliffs and New Hampshire's White Mountains. The gym also sets up a portable climbing tower at outdoor events and orchestrates team-building challenges, which improve communication and problem-solving skills more effectively than trying to teach the quadratic equation through interpretive dance.

There has never been a rain delay at Southern Maine Sports Zone. More than 3,000 athletes use the indoor sports facility each week to play soccer, volleyball, basketball, and field hockey. As athletic battles rage in the 62,500-square-foot field house, spectators can chant encouragement or order refreshments from hang-gliding vendors on the second floor. For more tot-friendly extravaganzas, the sportatorium also shelters an enormous bounce-house zone and children's camps.:m]]