Gyms & Fitness Centers in Wallington

Brooklyn Bridge Boot Camp's founder Ariane Hundt, whose classes have frequented the media, runs courses centered around simple-yet-effective moves geared toward challenging camp neophytes and gym buffs alike. All width-whittlers can expect classes to combine cardio-pumping jogs with strength sessions as Ariane and her staff of certified personal trainers turn unassuming benches, fences, and naturally occurring ThighMasters into accompaniments for toning moves that use body weight and other instruments for resistance. Each one-hour workout torches up to 800 calories, and most bodies appear noticeably slenderized after a quintet of classes.

As they enter the training circle at Curves, female guests come face-to-face with the smiles of other women. And just as points on a circle share a common distance from the circle's center, workout participants share the experiences of those nearby by trading stations throughout the 30-minute training session. One minute is spent on a piece of strength-training equipment built for feminine frames and designed to work two opposing muscle groups with a single movement. Exercisers then move on to a recovery station, where they run, jog, or dance to maintain heart rates and keep platforms in place during momentary losses of gravity.

Inside Club Fitness's 40,000-square-foot exercise emporium, a staff of professionally certified trainers, nutritionists, aestheticians, and massage therapists works together to guide gym-goers toward healthier futures. The club furnishes a clean, friendly environment enhanced with resort-style amenities and has earned four consecutive Best of Astoria awards. A strength-training floor and four separate cardio areas encourage guests to target specific areas of the body, and fitness classes such as yoga, boxing, and Zumba help groups to pump up heart rates before cool-down games of Duck, Duck, Goose. Club Fitness's day spa beckons exercisers to kick back and relax inside a steamy sauna or refuel newly acquired muscles at the organic café.

When Ray went to college, he followed in his father's footsteps and studied for a career that would have kept him at a desk all day. But Ray has always been active, and he realized he needed to find a career that would allow him to interact with people. Initially, he trained in physical therapy—but when he discovered athletic training, he knew he'd found his true calling. For more than 13 years, he's dedicated himself to helping people achieve their fitness goals. Now, as the fitness-programming director at Seek Fitness, Ray is passionate about helping members get results with an effective training system. But even as he and his trainers encourage clients to push themselves, they still aim to make classes fun and a little crazy.

Seek Fitness focuses on three types of classes. During Zumba, trainers pump up Latin music, '80s and '90s throwbacks, and current dance hits, then throw themselves into easy-to-follow choreography that gets everyone sweating together as they party away calories. The trainers change up boot-camp routines for each class; on any given day, students might be swinging kettlebells or using TRX suspension bands. Energy-packed Fusion classes are designed to keep students moving for a full 50 minutes, whether they're taking jabs at focus mitts, pummeling punching bags and piñatas, or going through kickboxing combinations. At the end of class, trainers want everyone to be tired and sweaty but liberated from stress and proud of their workout.

The Central Queens Y prides itself on providing a safe place for adults and families to work out and enrich themselves. The center boasts not only athletic facilities such as the full-court gymnasium and the muscle-making “Body Shop,” but also rentable gathering spaces, an activity room for older adults, and an impressive Jewish Heritage Library. The five-story, 35,000-square-foot complex also hosts fitness classes for young and old, and organizes a variety of cultural activities such as theater outings, museum trips, and classical music concerts. Elsewhere in the building, athletes can practice their strokes in the 84-degree indoor pool, or train for a job testing hamster wheels on one of the many treadmills and ellipticals.

Boom Fitness focuses on maintaining a luxuriously spacious and well-stocked exercise haven. Cardio machines might be separated by as much as 18 inches to accommodate arcing pedals and stationary-bike sidecars, and a collective 10,000 pounds of free weights ensure that members needn't wait to lift. From an elegant eastern-themed studio—wherein professional instructors lead five types of yoga and tai chi—to glossy granite-and-marble bathrooms, Boom Fitness's amenities come lavishly packaged. Group fitness classes fall into cardio, tone, and mind-and-body categories so members can easily select an appealing workout, and the sessions range from urban-rebounding routines atop springy trampolines to full-body boot-camp drills.