Concrete Lotus, Reno

Annie and Erin, the smiling masterminds behind The Concrete Lotus, have created an exercise experience akin to the feeling of shopping in a small boutique. The cozy, homey studio, adorned with local artwork, comforts visitors with arabesque area rugs that absorb the ample natural light streaming in from the wide windows. Their classes mirror that intimacy with no more than seven students per session (four in the reformer classes), and instructors who act as a kind of fitness concierge. Sunlight bounces off the earth-toned walls as instructors circle the intimate Pilates Reformer class, correcting posture to help guests more effectively build and tone muscles through body-weight-resistance and core-activating poses on wooden reformer machines. In addition to Pilates Reformer classes, the studio leads yoga classes to lengthen muscles and unwind minds, and combination reformer and cycling classes to blast away fat through intense bursts of cardio.