The start of a new year brings thoughts of committing, finally, to a fitness routine. This year will be the year you structure your day and manage your time so that health is a priority, you tell yourself. And if you’ve tried a standard box gym membership and found yourself either intimidated or bored by the options, you might wonder what the alternatives are. Charlottesville has a number of box gyms, furnished with the standard equipment, that also mix it up by offering classes, from spinning, body pump, and yoga, to barre. But it also has a plethora of alternative fitness studios that cater to specific interests or goals in a more intimate environment. Here are a few of those alternative spaces unique to Charlottesville. (There are plenty of studios devoted purely to yoga, Pilates, and Barre as well, but that’s a post for another day.)
2075 Bond Street, Suite 150
Charlottesville, VA
In addition to yoga classes, this specialty fitness studio offers cycling and intense performance training with equipment such as kettlebells, ropes, and medicine balls to test strength and endurance. Their philosophy is that athletic training betters your performance in all areas of your life.
1929 Arlington Blvd.
Charlottesville, VA 22903
This strictly cycling studio boasts a “concert-quality sound system” that delivers music with a beat to keep you motivated. Class offerings range from interval training that also incorporates weights to work the arms, a combination of cycling and outdoor running with Tread Happy (see below), and classes organized according to musical genre so you can choose your listening preference.
1000 West Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22903
The owner founded this rhythmic cycling boutique after a necessary knee surgery prevented her from running and she had to incorporate low impact exercise as part of her physical therapy. You can choose from eight different instructors and class start times range from 5:45 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., depending on the day of the week.
103 8th Street NW
Charlottesville, VA 22903
This “run studio” founded in 2015 stakes a claim to fame as the only one in the mid-Atlantic. As the website details, “6 different classes—tread Happy, Hustle, Temp, Distance, Flow, and Recovery—were developed based on the formula runners follow in a given training week.” However, the studio emphasizes that you don’t have to be an active runner in order to participate in, and benefit from, classes there.
609 East Market Street, Studio 107
Charlottesville, VA 22902
DanceFit Studio owner and instructor Edna-Jakki Miller has been teaching mind-body fitness for over 45 years. She developed her dance-fitness program in 1973, which centers on mindful movement. Current class offerings include Yoga Being, Yoga Light, Chair Energy Yoga, Cardio Flex, Hip Hop, Be Fit, DanceFit for Seniors, Kids Ballet, and Kids Hip-Hop-Jazz.
3042-B Berkmar Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22901
This fitness studio was founded on attentive personal training. Owner Andrew Barga has been a certified personal trainer for 15 years who has also faced his own struggles with weight gain, injuries, and chronic pain. Offerings include one-on-one sessions, small group sessions, exercise classes, workshops, and nutritional guidance.
233 Douglas Avenue
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Clay Fitness emphasizes the importance of community to help motivate and sustain a committed fitness routine. To that end, they offer small class sizes in an intimate space where students can get to know each other and encourage each other. The name of the studio comes from the idea that our bodies are “malleable and responsive like clay.” In addition to classes, they offer personal training, retreats, one-on-one nutrition coaching, and a jumpstart program. Current class offerings include athletic training, small group training, high intensity interval training, and cardio boxing.
2125 Ivy Road, Suite G1
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Owner and personal trainer Bill Burnett opened Success Studio 12 years ago with the goal of creating “a safe, non-threatening, and supportive environment that teaches clients a lifestyle change.” His staff includes three other personal trainers, a life coach, and a nutrition coach. Classes are structured as large group personal training sessions, while still maintaining smaller class sizes than what you’d find in a large box gym. Current class offerings are: Metabolic Express, Total Body Strength, Cardio Zone Training, ChiZel (high intensity interval training), and Stacked (in which “targeted movements [are] stacked together”).
1309 Belleview Avenue
Charlottesville, VA 22901
At CrossFit, certified instructors lead small group training sessions in functional fitness, which mirrors daily necessary movements like “lifting things off the ground, sitting and standing, pulling and pushing.” The workouts are high intensity and usually last a maximum of 20 minutes, though there are specific classes that last longer.
943 2nd Street SE
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Technically MADabolic isn’t unique to Charlottesville, but the Charlottesville location is only one of eight in the United States. The “MAD” in MADabolic stands for Momentum, Anaerobic, and Durability. The foundations of their program include high intensity interval training, strength training, and slow, focused movements.
Commonly abbreviated “IY,” this health food haven has been locally owned since 1975. You won’t find many (if any) animal products here, but the store carries more than its fair share of meat alternatives (think black bean burgers and Twin Oaks Tofu) but the place really shines when it comes to its produce, fresh and local. IY’s sourcing philosophy is both old-school and new age: they will buy produce from anyone in the area, whether it be a Charlottesville-area farm like Sharondale Farm in Keswick or a guy with a bunch of berries in his backyard. They are partnered with over 30 area farms and boast over 30 local Charlottesville chains, but you don’t have to be over 30 to go in. There is an extremely slim chance that you’ll be able to walk into IY and buy something that isn’t a local product, whether a cup of coffee or a bag of granola. Now that’s commitment to neighborhood partnership! Integral Yoga’s crown jewel may be its juice/smoothie bar, at which you can buy a 16 oz juice with your choice of local frozen fruit. A 16 oz serving of juice packs a walloping five pounds of fruit! And they will cater to any and all dietary restrictions or preferences.
Foods of All Nations is nothing short of a Cville staple at this point. Its warm, friendly, and inviting staff have been bridging the gap between central Virginia farms and the people they serve for over 50 years, during which they’ve developed both an extensive supply of local, domestic, and international foods. A lot of the produce is locally-sourced, and most of their meats and seafoods are direct from farms in the central Virginia area. What’s more, the folks at Foods of All Nations put as much work into cooking the ingredients as the Charlottesville farmers do growing them. The hot bar and deli have some of the best low-key food in the city, so before you buy a couple pounds of oysters, try, for example the oyster po’boy with okra and homemade remoulade. While you’re at it, get me some gazpacho. It goes without saying, but Foods of All Nations is partnered with a bunch of local businesses…Caromont Farm, Keswick Gourmet Foods, Polyface Farms, and Wade’s Mill just to name a few.
Norman Dill has been working in health food stores since 1976. He opened up Rebecca’s in 1987, naming it after his daughter and basing its core aesthetic on food principles set down at his mother’s table (no junk food!) The result is a health food store dedicated to selling only the most salubrious offerings, whether we’re talking produce, kombucha, or supplements. Rebecca’s is committed to selling only safe products with few or no side effects, and their wares are always local when possible and rarely (if ever) processed. There is an appreciation for ancestral eating: the practice of modifying our dietary inclinations to match those of ancient peoples (think the “paleo diet.”) And like Integral Yoga, they offer a plethora of local brands: Barefoot Bucha, Free Union Grass Farm (a local Charlottesville-area farm, meat and eggs), Mad Hatter Hot Sauce, etc. Check them out at the Barracks Road Shopping Center.