The Gym Combat Sports and Fitness, Arlington

The Gym: Combat Sports and Fitness kind of looks like a stripped-down warehouse for a collection of athletic endeavors. In some respects, it is—instead of concentrating on the sort of amenities you'd see at chain gyms, it focuses on results. That philosophy seems to be working out well, considering that, at over 30 years in business, The Gym is one of the oldest of such facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

One arm of The Gym trains youth and adults in combat sports like mixed martial arts, tae kwon do, wrestling, boxing, and jujitsu. Some students are interested in self-defense techniques or alternative fitness disciplines, while others are working their way up to competitive bouts. Another arm focuses more explicitly on fitness through boot-camp and cross-training classes, as well as personal training. Supplementary yoga, massage therapy, and kinesiology taping can help exercisers shore up their strength and recover faster.