Woodbury, NJ Health and Fitness

Diamond Angels, founded by Tangey, inhabits a 1,500 square-foot-facility, equipped with two dance-training rooms and a cadre of hand-picked instructors that teach all-levels of dance-fitness classes. The all-female studio fosters a nonjudgmental environment suitable for adult women of all ages and whistling abilities. During one-hour classes, held seven days a week, up to 10 flirty-fitness fanatics in athletic shorts and high heels soak up an instructor's expertise. The toning, cardio-intensive, aerobic routine's sultry moves help dancers develop a more toned, slimmer silhouette. The studio also hosts private parties for groups of girlfriends 18 years or older, which they must prove by reciting the Latin alphabet backwards.

For years, the doctors and weight-loss experts at South Jersey Health and Body have aided clients looking to shed weight and adopt healthier lifestyles. The team provides one-on-one attention while devising custom weight-loss plans that incorporate a range of techniques, from behavioral modification to nutritional counseling. First, patients enter their diet and sleeping habits into software that processes the information. A staffer then explains the results and tailors a program to suit their individual health goals. Throughout the process, the clinic encourages patients to stay on course with weekly accountability checks and quarterly report cards mailed to their mothers.

Home may be where the heart is, but a gym is where that heart stays fit. The family-owned Pinnacle Fitness & Wellness fits both roles with a staff of personal trainers, fitness class instructors, and a resident nutritionist who helps each client achieve their fitness goals in an intimate workout environment. Group fitness classes provide a supportive environment for students to shape and tone their bodies through Zumba, cardio kickboxing, and TRX training. Instructors even lead students in Flirty Girl Fitness classes, which aim to strengthen the core and create long, lean muscles using moves from pole dance routines, music videos, and speed dating seminars. Personal trainers also led small group fitness workouts for two to five people and individual sessions that take into account each client’s fitness level and needs to craft a specialized program geared toward sport-specific training or weight-loss goals.

Urban Defense Center founder Master Lawrence Whitaker developed his studio’s signature self-defense program to arm students with practical-minded moves that prepare them for dangerous street situations. Students learn to spar, take down an opponent, defend against weapons, and escape from the shadow of a suspicious-looking skyscraper. Students also train their gray matter, pre-empting potential legal repercussions for defending themselves by studying concepts such as reasonable grounds and probable cause. Alternatively, Tai-Fit sessions shuttle through a series of punches, knees, blocks, and kicks with the goal not of emulating a fight but of torching calories instead. Fighters can pursue either track with a personal trainer who pays closer attention to form and technique than a beauty contestant does during the Simon Says portion of the pageant.

Lauren “Pinki” Schiavo began her pole career as a student at Poise Dance Studio in 2005, and her spinning skills soon blossomed and earned her an instructor position. When the studio's owner sold the space, Lauren took the helm and injected some sass into the class regimen, renaming her business Flaunt Fitness as an homage to empowered women of all ages and body types. She drew from her training in jazz dance, hip-hop moves, and gymnastics to augment her pole-dance prowess and recruited a squad of professional teachers to lead her schedule's shimmies.

Flaunt Fitness' classes impart pole twirls and calorie-dropping cardio workouts under one roof. The DVD Fitness classes screen popular exercise videos as instructors ensure that guests maintain good form, and private parties spice up dance lessons with champagne and making balloon animals with just your feet. Further slimming figures, the studio sustains a support network for members with monthly encouragement meetings sharing healthful recipes and nutrition products for purchase.