Regina Gyms and Fitness

Though they owned successful health clubs, the founders of Fitness For 10 were growing frustrated as they floundered to keep profits up while paying salespeople, group fitness trainers, and childcare providers. So they founded Fitness For 10 to cut out the extra fluff, stocking their club with just the workout essentials. Their return to basics paid off, and today, they have more than 10 clubs in the United States and Canada.

At the Regina location, rows of elliptical trainers and other cardio machines line the checkered floor, in addition to three complete exercise circuits, a range of free weights, and SportsArt Fitness strength-training machines. Bright yellow, green, and orange walls energize eyes as guests hit the treadmills or grab exercise balls from the front lobby. After hearty sweat sessions, guests can slip into a tanning bed to bronze their skin for lounging on the beach or distinguishing themselves from their doppelgänger snowmen.

After years spent preparing boxers for the ring, Shae Therrien, a certified CrossFit instructor, and Charlee Demyen, a boxer, discovered that the fitness regimens tailored to fighters could benefit everyone. As part of Fresh Start Conditioning at the Regina Boxing Club, they now train patrons of all fitness levels with their circuit-based training program, which combines the endurance and training of boxing with elements of CrossFit. The routines vary from skipping and running to ab-strengthening and medicine-ball drills to heavy-bag training. The program’s classes are designed to transform students’ appearance and overall health, resulting in an improved range of motion, enhanced stamina, and rock-solid abs that can turn even the statue of David’s head.

Since its 1965 founding in Venice Beach, California, Gold's Gym has dotted the globe with more than 600 locations where professional athletes and exercise newbies gather under the umbrella of personal strength. Nearly 3.5 million Gold's members chart and aim for their fitness peaks, perspiring beneath the gaze of certified personal trainers or pedaling beside peers at cycling sessions. In a diverse lineup of group classes, patrons strengthen cores with Pilates, finger-paint pictures of ninjas in martial arts, and amp up heart rates along to the pulsating soundtracks of Les Mills routines. Many Gold's Gym locations stockpile futuristic amenities, such as cardio machines with individual iPod docks and televisions that help keep patrons motivated.

Though Adrenaline Personal Training Studios looks like a garage, there’s not a single car or snow blower inside. There’s a tire or two and also a sled, but it looks nothing like a toboggan. This is a weighted sled, a tool that helps exercisers build speed and power. It’s part of an arsenal of functional training equipment, which includes agility ladders, strongman yokes, squat racks, and York weightlifting gear. Certified trainers and strength coaches teach clients how to use these tools during workouts that range from partner training to outdoor boot camps. One-on-one training is tailored to individual goals such as weight loss, sports performance, or injury rehab, and group sessions revolve around shared objectives and teamwork. In addition to leading strength and cardio workouts, staffers build custom nutrition plans to help clients slim down, build muscle, or win a staring contest with a many-eyed potato. After workouts, exercisers can head to the locker room to change or unwind with the help of a massage therapist’s relaxing strokes.

In the mornings, Kathleen Whippler —YMCA of Regina’s senior director of funds development, marketing, and communications—greets a group of ladies on their way to an arthritis exercise class. They’ve told her how the class helps keep aches at bay for the rest of the day. In the afternoon, she sees parents drop their kids off at the Y’s special-needs program. They’ve told her that before the program, there was nowhere for their kids to go, let alone a place they were excited about. Experiences like these keep Whippler passionate about her work at YMCA of Regina. “You can see the difference you make—what I do affects the lives of other people.”

These programs reflect YMCA of Regina’s overarching mission to build healthy communities. As bustling community hubs, both locations tout dozens of programs and amenities, such as four-lane pools, cardio machines, free weights, and more than 65 weekly exercise classes. Furthermore, the centres strive to make fitness a key part of any lifestyle; personal trainers lead private sessions, fitness classes include yoga and Zumba, and the Northwest centre invites guests to scale a climbing wall.

Although physical fitness is a critical part of overall wellness, the Y’s services extend far beyond the workout room. The centres host an alternative suspension program that strives to transform school suspensions into positive, transformative experiences, and the Community Café provides youth with job training. Whippler says services like these help form tight-knit communities. “It’s just a place to belong,” she says.

At District Fitness Studio, a dedicated team of personal trainers, massage therapists, kinesiologists, and health professionals nurture clients toward their personal goals with a full stock of equipment and individual attention. The facility integrates comforting design elements such as Victorian wallpaper, plant arrangements, and leather seating in its fitness areas, eliminating the sterile and unwelcoming atmosphere often found in fitness studios. At the center of the health-and-wellness lounge, District Fitness Studio trainers lead groups through kettlebell training, TRX training, nutrition counselling, and fitness plans. The staff also guides individuals with personal training to address specific goals without having to worry about whether their fellow exercisers are actually undercover agents from rival fitness schools.