Toronto gyms keep growing in number. As more local upstarts and international chains realize there's room for a fitness experience beyond GoodLife or your local rec centre, Toronto is consistently presented with new options to motivate, sweat and inspire.
Here are my picks for the top gyms in Toronto by neighbourhood.
Annex
A staple in the community, Miles Nadal JCC is a dynamic hub. It's an aquatics centre (with a salt pool), as well as a fitness centre with over 75 exercise classes. It also hosts regular seasonal camps for kids.
Bayview & Leaside
As the original CrossFit spot in the city, Crossfit Toronto is the place to go to if you want a dedicated CrossFit practice. You can participate in weeks-long bootcamps, regular Crossfit training, or personal training in a space that has all the fixings: monkey bars, climbing ropes and tires.
Bloorcourt
Located inside Galleria Mall, Planet Fitness’ appeal is low membership fees and a Judgment Free Zone ethos, meaning it tries to give you a peaceful workout. The gym is open 24-hours, seven days a week, and for $10/month, you’ll get all the basics you need for a workout.
Bloor West Village
Apart from a great gym with state of the art equipment, System Fitness includes a well-rounded class schedule. Choose from yoga, pilates, spin, and jazzercise classes every day. There’s also a track that circles the cardio area.
The Cooper Koo YMCA is equipped for any type of workout. Photo by Jesse Milns.
Canary District
The Cooper Koo YMCA is a mega 82,000 square foot open concept facility that has everything. There’s two swimming pools, after school events, a running track, and multiple floors of gym equipment. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a diverse schedule of classes.
Castlefield Design District
The Uptown Powerstation is a one-stop shop. Whether it’s the power cycle, yoga or TRX classes, this spot delivers. The star of the show is boxing, which combines basic fundamentals with core and strengthening. Your first class is free, and there’s usually trial memberships at a reduced price.
Corktown
Lift’s philosophy is “results-based training” (RBT), which means you won’t be getting a basic CrossFit class. You’ll get all the usual suspects (kettlebells, box jumps, ropes), with an added touch of a spring-loaded floor for lifting barbells. While the group workouts are excellent, it’s worth taking at least one personal training class.
Danforth
Energia Athletics has something for everyone. Yoga, pilates, kettlebells, or CrossFit, the multi-level studio has you covered. If its equipment that you need, Energia has a great retail store on the ground level, too.
Entertainment District
BOLO is where you go if you want to challenge yourself or learn a new skill. Whether you want to become a boxing champ, or sweat it out in a 30-minute heated HIIT class, BOLO is designed as a one-stop fitness space.
Financial District
The appeal of this GoodLife is that it’s open 24 hours on most days. The space is clean with cardio and strength machines all on one floor. There’s also a great stretching and free weights area.
Junction
LA Fitness is an effective workout space with everything you need from a gym. On top of cardio and weight sections, this LA Fitness also comes with a massive pool, a basketball area and a play area for kids.
Motivation is even on the walls at One Academy in Leslieville. Photo by Jesse Milns.
Leslieville
One Academy is a 10,000-square foot training playground that stays open 365 days a year. The functional training centre offers 13 types of classes, as well as personal training, physio and registered massage.
Ossington
Academy of Lions has been on Ossington since 2008. With three floors, the Academy offers all levels of CrossFit training and specialized classes like Way of the Barbell and Sticks and Stones. It also offers yoga once a week.
Parkdale
F45 Training has expanded rapidly with a studio in almost every area of the city, and is centred around four different stations. The circuit takes 45-minutes to complete and all the exercises are displayed on a screen. The Parkdale location stands out for its spacious studio, and expert trainers.
Roncesvalles
Bloor St. Fitness is hard to miss. With four gigantic red boxing gloves at the entrance, the fitness centre wants to be seen. Inside, you’ll find a fully equipped fitness centre with a boxing ring, yoga, HIIT blitz, Pilates and Muay Thai classes.
Rosedale
The Rosedale Club offers a spacious facility with separate sections for cardio, free weights, and personal training. In the centre of the gym is a dedicated turf zone with an adult jungle gym. The space never feels crowded and you don’t have to wait for a machine to become available.
Scarborough
Resistance Fitness is known for its friendly team and staff of personal trainers. There are ample cardio machines, a free weights area, and a boxing room. The class schedule offers hot yoga, kettlebell, and boxercise. Or, you can opt for a personal training session in CrossFit style.
South Core
There’s no shortage of classes at Pure Fitness. From spin to TRX to bootcamps and yoga flow, Pure has it all. When you’re done that, head to the spacious open layout filled with natural light. They have all the gym equipment you need to complete your workout.
University of Toronto
The Goldring Centre is an indoor arena and multi-storey workout space at the University of Toronto. There are state-of-the-art volleyball and basketball courts, a fitness studio, strength and conditioning areas, and a sports medicine clinic. There are also many drop-in classes.
Equinox in Yorkville has almost all the amenities you could want in a gym. Photo by Jesse Milns.
Yonge & Bloor
Hone is the perfect place to go when all you want is a bare-bones gym with a cheap membership. Hone is spacious and has a variety of cardio and weight machines to choose from.
Yonge & College
Mattamy Athletic Centre is an all-in-one rec centre at Maple Leaf Gardens. The space features a multi-purpose court for basketball and volleyball, an ice skating rink, a high-performance gym, and a dance studio.
Yonge & Eglinton
The appeal of Orangetheory is the wearable tech. Led by an instructor, the 60-minute session is split between different machines while wearing a heart rate monitor. The goal is to get your heart rate up, which helps you burn more calories for up to 36 hours post-workout.
Yonge & Wellesley
Last Rep is a spacious HIIT and fitness centre. The studio is outfitted with TechnoGym machines, multiple rooms for weight machines, and organic products in the changeroom. There are two main classes offered throughout the day: a 40-minute Blitz and a 55-minute Blaze workout.
Yorkville
Equinox has a ton of trendy workout options, like the Pursuit, a game-based indoor cycling workout, or the Muse. The luxury gym knows how to sell itself—with cold eucalyptus towels offered to all guests, the gym has multiple workout rooms dedicated to Pilates, yoga and running.
by Lori Harito via blogTO
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