Traditional Gym vs. Boutique Fitness Studios

Full disclosure: I work for a company that books boutique fitness classes. With that being said, boutique fitness is not necessarily for everyone and I believe traditional gyms still have their perks. Here in New York and in other cities with booming fitness scenes it can be a bit overwhelming to decide whether or not you should join a gym, stick with boutique fitness, or do a little bit of both. I mean really, you can barely walk a block in Manhattan without passing a place to sweat!

Here’s more info to help you choose which option might be the best for you

Gyms

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Generally, a typical gym works on a membership basis– either you pay month to month, pre pay for “x” amount of months, or agree to pay for a certain amount of months in advanced. Gyms can vary in what they offer from bare bones– just some cardio machines and things for strength training, to down right extravagant– 100’s of classes, saunas, pools, whirlpools, snack bars, etc.

Pros:

–Flexibility. Gym’s are great for people with wacky schedules since you can stop in any time during a gym’s open hours (there’s even a handful of gyms in Manhattan that are open 24 hours a day. How’s that for no excuses?). If your schedule is full of last minute meetings and randomly getting out of work super early your workout won’t be effected since you decide when to go.

-Variety. Curious about zumba? Stop by the group fitness studio and get those hips shaking. In the mood to swim a few laps? Hit the pool. A gym can offer a plethora of workout options to keep you from getting bored and allows you to choose your workout of choice for the day.

-Price options. Gym memberships can vary from incredibly affordable to a bit insane– and everything in between. With so many options for prices it’s easy to find a gym that has what you’re looking for and fits your budget.

-Affordable group fitness– more and more gyms are offering group fitness classes… and usually as part of the membership making it easy to take advantage of these classes.

-Try new things. I love trying new (and oftentimes wacky) classes at my gym because it feels like there’s no loss if I didn’t love the class- I didn’t pay extra for it! I never would have tried Zumba or learned about how awesome a conditioning class can be if I hadn’t tried those classes at my gym. And the equipment, I love the variety they offer. Seeing the regular upgrade in the equipment, I am not sure whether they source products from china to keep them affordable or purchase them from the local manufacturers. But honestly, I love trying new machines as they get introduced in the gym.

Cons

-Being motivated to go can be tricky. You know that episode of Friends where Chandler never goes to the gym? Sometimes I wonder how many people are guilty of paying for a monthly gym membership but NEVER going. Yikes!! It’s also easy to only visit the gym a handful of times per month and feel like you are “getting your money’s worth” even though you aren’t working out as much as you had planned.

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and that brings me to

– Binding contracts. Signing up for a gym can be a lengthy financial commitment… and a really hard contract to break if you find out your moving or decide you don’t like your gym. Once you sign that contract your locked in!

-Crowds. Gyms can get super crowded during popular times of the day, particular pre-work and post-work hours. It can be frustrating waiting in line for a machine or not being able to find a free locker in the locker room. Popular fitness classes can also get crowded which might mean being in close quarters with your neighbor.

–Less personal attention in classes. This isn’t true for all gyms, but often times there’s less personal attention in gym group fitness classes since there’s so many people– it can be tricky for the instructor to get to know everyone and correct everyone’s form.

Boutique Fitness

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Boutique fitness studio are much smaller workout facilities that often specialize in a certain type of class– think Soul Cycle, Barry’s Bootcamp, Pure Barre– each offers a signature class that’s unique to that studio. Studios like those have become “chains” now and can be found all over the country whereas other boutique studios might be more “local” with only 1 or 2 studios. Boutique fitness is becoming more and more popular here in Manhattan– and I’m even noticing the trend picking up in the suburbs and other cities as well. Generally, boutique fitness studios offer smaller classes that you can sign up for in advanced.

Pros

–Personal attention- small classes means it’s easy for instructors to make lots of corrections. I’ve also noticed that instructors make more of an effort to “get to know you” and learn your name which makes the experience more personalized. I’ve had instructs send me back to the weight rack to pick up heavier weights since they knew I was capable of challenging myself more. In my own experience, this didn’t happen all that often at classes I’ve taken at a gym– even when I attended the class week after week.

-signing up in advanced. If your someone who likes routine and schedule, boutique fitness studios allow you to sign up for classes in advanced and plan out your week.

-signing up = accountability. I don’t know about you, but I hate losing money. Paying for a class and signing up in advanced makes me more likely to show up since I don’t wanna lose money!

– “signature” workouts. Many studios have a “signature workout” they offer– classes at Uplift follow the same format, at Barry’s bootcamp you know your going to run on a treadmill and strength train. At gyms the instructor usually has free reign of what the workout will be compared to studios which offer a signature workout. You know what to expect even if you don’t necessarily know the instructor.

Cons

-$$$. Boutique fitness classes can be super expensive. Yeeeeeesh. Taking class every day can quickly add up.

-no late cancellations. Most studios have a cancellation policy in which you can’t cancel your class last minute without penalty of some sort. This can be rough for people with schedules that change last minute.

-lack of flexibility. At 3:30pm on a Wednesday it’s nearly impossible to find a fitness class to take in Manhattan. The lack of flexibility in schedules at studios can make it tricky to book classes for people with weird schedules. At a gym you can work out whenever you want.

The Hybrid

With the influx of affordable, bare bones, gyms in Manhattan (think Blink and Planet Fitness) I won’t be surprised if people start moving towards a hybrid workout week in order to get the best of both worlds and a more affordable approach to working out. With an affordable gym membership you can get all the flexibility that comes with a gym membership while also supplementing here and there with fitness classes at studios.

 

All in All it’s about finding what works for YOU, your budget, your fitness goals and your schedule 🙂

Do you prefer gyms or boutique fitness studios?