Health clubs offer deals in slow months

Looking to jump back on the workout wagon? Well South Florida has there are more options for those looking to get the biggest bang for their buck when it comes to fitnessin South Florida.

The summer months are a slow time in South Florida the tri-county area for many businesses, including gym and fitness centers. In an effort to keep people signing up for memberships, gyms in South Florida are offering lower price points for new members, with little to no commitment. But the typical warehouse-styled gym with regular workout equipment and fitness classes have some competition from centers that offer more specialized ways to work out tone muscles and shed pounds.

“The idea of wanting to work out hasn’t changed, but more people want to be entertained while they’re doing it,” said Jose Antonio, spokesman with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. “Now you’ve got intense workout programs gaining speed, like crossfit, and the smaller independent yoga and pilates studios to compete with.”

Steve Bowser, owner of Crossfit Fort Lauderdale, remembers when he was the only crossfit-affiliated gym in all of Broward County four years ago. Now there are about 30 crossfit competing gyms in Broward, and at least as many in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, respectively.

Crossfit is an intense strength and conditioning workout and hosts its own kind of strength-based competitions similar to Strongman. The style has taken off in recent years and attracts people of all ages, genders and athletic abilities, said Bowser.

Unlike traditional gyms, Bowser said he retains about 90 percent of the members that sign up.

“It’s more of a community, we work out together in groups,” he said. “You’re not just paying for a gym membership, but continuing education.”

Even though only 16 percent of the U.S. population belong to a fitness center, the amount of memberships has increased more than 10 percent over the past three years to just about 50 million members, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.

According to the IHRSA data, interest in fitness classes like yoga, zumba dance classes and kickboxing continues to rise.

“It all comes in cycles,” Antonio said. “Before zumba and crossfit, there was Jazzercise and step classes. These fads too will fade with time.”

Life Time Athletic Club in Boca Raton is thriving after a recent $8 million renovation, said director of membership, Daniel Miller.

The center offers fitness classes and a traditional workout setting, plus spa services including cosmetic treatment like botox, a bistro, recreational and Olympic sized pools.

“We’re more like a country club than your traditional gym,” Miller said. “We serve a clientele that is looking for more luxury than what you get at crowded starter gyms.”  

Members pay more for those kind of services too. Life Time Athletic Club fees start at $122 a month without an annual contract. More exclusive options go up from there.

Compare that to The Zoo Health Club in Oakland Park, where membership starts at $15 a month. The gym opened in a former Gold’s Gym spot on Commerical Boulevard in Sept. 2011.

Group yoga and pilates classes range from $15 to $45, sometimes more, at private studios in South Florida.

“You get what you pay for,” said Phil Kaplan, longtime personal trainer, former gym owner and president of Be better Solutions. “People who are serious about using the services will pay more for a club that offers more. But some people will rarely cancel when a membership fee is low, even if they aren’t working out regularly