Gyms in Augusta

Picking up pole dancing after the birth of her first child, Robbie "Star" Cribb-McEwen has gone on to compete and win at state competitions. At Star Pole Fitness, men and women learn the core-strengthening permutations of pole dancing. Robbie leads a cast of certified instructors, with classes that run the gamut from introductory to advanced sessions that teach complex holds and transitions. Robbie and the girls emphasize proper form, and offer stretching classes that build pole-centric flexibility. Instructors recommend that students refrain from wearing lotion, jewelry, or large magnets around their waist.

Teena Marie was born into a dancing family. Her family owned Arthur Murray studios, and she took her first lesson at the age of 5. Just shy of her 18th birthday, Teena became a dance instructor. Now at the helm of her own studio—Ballroom in Motion—Teena and her staff of experienced instructors provide a relaxed and positive environment focused on fun and ease to better help clients step, twirl, and glide across floors. They offer lessons in a group or private setting, and host dance parties for people to show off their newly acquired skills.

CrossFit 4 Everyone’s head trainers and co-owners Julie and Joshua Miller are no strangers to intense workouts. Julie swam competitively for 13 years and Joshua is a black belt in Brazilian jujitsu and winner of several international competitions. As teachers of the CrossFit fitness methodology, they bring their commitment and experience to workouts. Instead of sport-specific activities, students build strength and agility through nontraditional exercises such as gymnastics rings, flipping giant tires, throwing medicine balls, and weightlifting. Workouts are super intense, but typically only last 20 minutes. In addition to the CrossFit regimen, Crossfit 4 Everyone also has a rock wall and offers hot-yoga classes.

At Dancing Dogs Yoga, community springs from vibrant routines of bends and balances. Here, owner Shelley Lowther and a team of seasoned instructors cultivate a nurturing environment with warm greetings and personal attention. As a trainee of Baron Baptiste—a trailblazer in the world of power Vinyasa yoga—Shelley has built the studio around athletic, breath-fueled poses that bolster strength, flexibility, and focus. The signature Baptiste power Vinyasa routines unfold in an 85- to 90-degree room designed to deepen stretches and evict toxins. To help beginners build a sturdy yogic foundation, Basics classes place an extra emphasis on pose alignment. Yin sessions explore yoga’s softer side with lengthy, floor-based poses, and massage therapy melts lingering tension with strokes as soothing as a bathrobe made of chamomile flowers. When she’s not teaching classes in Beaufort or Bluffton, Shelley records yoga-themed podcasts, helms community-outreach initiatives, and serves as an ambassador for the Africa Yoga Project.

The Ultimate Ride whips its clients into muscle-rippling and heart-fortifying shape with an eclectic schedule of exhilarating group fitness classes. Cyclo-philes can tone their calves in traditional spin classes as well as virtual rides classes, which feature cinematic projections of open roads winding through exotic locations such as Hawaii, Italy, and the Rockies, where wild bicycles still roam free. The Spin Flex class comprises a hybrid of cycling and full-body workout activities, and the Zumba dance-fitness class energizes and conditions clients for upcoming macarena marathons. Aspiring crew paddlers and rowboat chauffeurs can beef up with Indo-Row classes, which provide an extensive workout using indoor rowing machines. The Ultimate Ride clients need only bring a towel, a bottle of water, and—if necessary for motivation—a book filled with inspirational limericks.

Quantum Fitness may span 40,000 square feet, but there's barely an inch to spare. That's because 100 cardio machines—each equipped with a TV—occupy a good portion of it. And then there are the areas dedicated to group fitness classes such as yoga and spinning. Plus, set-apart rooms hold the nursery and childcare spaces, steam room and sauna, and executive locker rooms with massage chairs and pool tables.