Toronto Entertainment District Gym Guide: Match your workout with your mood

Don’t worry, we’re not here to promote #SummerBody2019 – but if you’ve been hibernating from the gym all winter and looking to get back into the swing of things, it’s time to get moving! No matter your mood, lifestyle or experience level, you will find a fitness studio in the Toronto Entertainment District to be excited about. After all, paying for a gym membership you don’t actually like does more harm to your wallet than good for your body! #relatable amirite? Here’s a roundup of some of the coolest gyms around the district. Say goodbye to boring workouts! Spinco 129 Spadina Ave.

If you’re in the mood for a high-intensity, group cardio workout, Spinco offers 50-minute guided, full-body spin classes. Quick and easy, right? We’ll let you be the judge of that. The sense of community is a huge part of its mission, empowering those to work in unison to the beat of energetic music as you engage your glutes, core and arms in this all-in-one workout! You’ll sweat your butt off, we promise. Who says you can’t feel boujee while working out too? We wouldn’t blame you for forgetting whether you’re in a gym or a spa with its ultra-minimal studio. This location offers 2 showers and 2 toilets per washroom and 42 bikes in the spin room. It also offers private rides on top of its regular schedule.  

Gym Guide: Spinco
Gym Guide: Spinco

Imprint Pilates 101 Spadina Ave. We’re letting the cat out of the bag with this one. Imprint Pilates is one of Toronto Entertainment District’s best kept secrets, and we’re shouting from the rooftops about how awesome this gym is! Different from other studios, Imprint Pilates offers private and semi-private, slower-paced Pilates, TRX and yoga classes. Focusing on your personal needs, its instructors are there to help you succeed. Whether you prefer to be on the mat or the Reformer (with pulleys and springs), you will be on your way to becoming your strongest self. No matter your age or lifestyle, TRX Suspension classes cater to beginners, runners and cyclists, using gravity as resistance to help you move and feel better. That’s not all. Imprint Pilates also offers ESSENTRICS®, the low-impact muscle strengthening and stretching classes – perfect for stand alone or complementary workouts. New moms! There are a variety of sessions catered just for you too – pre and post-natal.   Barry’s Bootcamp 310 Richmond St. W

Gym Guide: Barry's Bootcamp

  Dubbed as “the best workout in the world”, Barry’s Bootcamp’s Red Room will change your mood, bringing your serotonin levels up from 0 to 100 as you combine cardio and weight training to burn as much as 1000 calories per session. Its daily schedule rotates to alternate muscle focus – ensuring a balanced workout by the end of the week. An instructor leads each class, switching between running and strength training intervals on the floor. Although this may sound (and look) intimidating, the folks at Barry’s encourages first-timers to give the science behind these carefully designed sessions a shot too! The team is super friendly and supportive of all fitness goals. After burning up a storm, its lower-level Fuel Bar serves up colourful, protein-packed shakes and smoothies too.  

Gym Guide: Barry's Bootcamp
Gym Guide: Barry's Bootcamp

Body Positive Fitness 266 King St. W Founded by Fitness Specialist Jenna Doak, Body Positive Fitness aims to remind everyone that all bodies are good bodies. BoPo classes are inclusive no matter your size, gender or fitness level – with no room for shame. Jenna provides two different programmes – BoPo Move and BoPo Lift, a 12-week course strengthening minds and bodies while teaching you to use weights in a safe and effective way. You can find Jenna inside the Cardio-Go studio where her classes run weekly. See if this is the right class for you by requesting a free trial class!   The Underground Dance Centre 220 Richmond St. W

Gym Guide: The Underground Dance Centre

  If traditional workout routines with weights and machinery isn’t your thing, why don’t you try dancing to get your heartrate up? There’s no way not to have a good time at The Underground Dance Centre. Whether you’re pumped up and want to join Hip Hop (all levels welcome), feeling a little sultry for a Heels class, or want to take a stab at anything from Bollywood, K-POP, Jazz or Afrobeats – this is the place for you! This list literally goes on and on, and yes, it has Beyonce and Britney classes too. If that doesn’t sell you, we don’t know what will. No need to commit to long gym contracts either. Sign up for a drop-in class, book private classes or stay tuned for workshops and pop-ups!  

Gym Guide: The Underground Dance Centre
Gym Guide: The Underground Dance Centre

BOLO 364 Richmond St. W

Gym Guide: BOLO

  Last but not least, BOLO is here to spice up your life with its community of “badassery” as founder and CEO Caleigh Rykiss puts it. The studio is comprised of a boxing ring, hot room, HIIT room, blowout bar, and café. You could spend the whole day there! You’ll be nothing less than sweaty after a class at BOLO, but that’s the whole point, right? With classes like Tabata Burn, Band Burnout and Core Quencher in the hot room and HIIT Box, Box n Core and Bolo Boxing in the HIIT room, you can easily switch up your routine each day.  

Gym Guide: BOLO

  See, fitness doesn’t have to be tedious. As winter blues melt away, lift your mood and warm up at some of the many fitness studios in the Toronto Entertainment District. We’ll see you there! Like what you read here? Keep up with all of the Toronto Entertainment District BIA’s experience stories and follow us on FacebookInstagram (@entertainmentdistrictto) and Twitter (@Toronto_ED). Want to be featured in an upcoming blog post? Contact us! info@torontoed.com