NEW YORK GYMS

The Sports Center, Pier 60, Chelsea Piers + 1 212 336 6000 (see map)
The Sports Center Health Club at Chelsea Piers has a taut following and rave reviews, boasting 20,000 square feet of cardio, circuit and strength training equipment, with nary a line in sight. It also has the only indoor sand volleyball court in NYC. Monthly fees can range from $135 to $170, with initiation fees up to $600. Two outdoor roof decks may help you make your decision.

Equinox, 568 Broadway, SoHo +1 212 334 4631 (see map)
With 18 locations in Manhattan alone, Equinox is an NYC staple – clean, cordial (the classes are excellent, quality personal trainers, and locker rooms are stashed with goodies) and current. Fees can be high (between $120 and $165) but you get what you pay for. Just avoid weekday nights and weekend mornings like any sane person, and you’ll reap the benefits of the in-house juices, shiny equipment, childcare, sauna/steam rooms and more, at select locations.

Ludlow Fitness, 100 Delancey Street, Lower East Side +1 212 260 9222 (see map)
Ludlow Fitness prides itself on value driven prices ($450 up-front gets you twelve months unlimited access.) Dynamic daily class schedules include yoga, pilates, boxing and body sculpting. Clean, state of the art equipment features DirecTV monitors integrated into each LCD screen. For the noncommittal, registration will cost you $99 up front, with $49 per month following.

Blink Fitness, 16 East 4th Street, NoHo +1 212 228 7000 (see map)
The design brainchild of Equinox’s David Rockwell, no-frills Blink Fitness shares with its members the  basics for just $20 per month. The essentials include cardio and strength equipment, a stretch area and a small locker room. You won’t find high-end bath and grooming products, nor a sauna or pool, but you will find great value and well-maintained equipment. Bring a friend to make the most of their occasional two for one offers.

Asphalt Green, 555 East 90th Street, Upper East Side +1 212 369 8890 (see map)
For those who love swimming and don’t dig gyms so much, a $99 monthly membership grants access to the deepwaterOlympic-size pool in Asphalt Green, as well as classes in a warm exercise pool nearby. There is also a gym membership for those who can’t help themselves, plus a sauna and steam rooms, members-only locker rooms and babysitting services available. Free group or water exercise classes come with certain memberships, so you can make the most of your choice.

The Sports Club/ LA, 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Midtown +1 212 218 8600 (see map)
With an elite corps of Exercise Science degreed/NASM certified Private Trainers, an award winning group exercise program with over 100 classes weekly, as well as a salon, spa, restaurant, bar, steams and saunas, plus the provision of workout clothes, you can’t really top it. What’s more is the bicoastal membership means keeping in shape, no matter where you fly.

Peter Anthony Fitness, 89 Franklin Street, Tribeca +1 212 274 9003 (see map)
Although not technically a gym, Peter Anthony’s private Tribeca studio caters to bodies such as performance artist Marina Abramovic and actor Josh Lucas. The fitness guru offers one-on-one training sessions with the man himself – a former body builder with a passion for improving the quality of life itself, not just being and staying fit. Prices for personal training start at $60 per session for semi-private classes (2-4 clients) and $150 per session for private one-to-one classes.

Equinox Printing House + Squash Club, 421 Hudson Street +1 888 458 0989 (see map)
This 35,000 square foot health club with towering views of lower Manhattan is one of the most incredible places to break a sweat in. Trainers are deemed ‘out of this world’ while classes (including yoga, spinning, sculpting, and more) and fitness programs like Rooftop Abs, make for one decadent work out. Don’t leave before you’ve spent time lapping the rooftop pool and sundeck, nor making the most of their masseurs: Swedish, Shiatsu and Hot Stone massages are offered.

Jackie Robinson Recreation Center, 85 Bradhurst Avenue, Harlem +1 212 234 9607 (see map)
Take $25 from your wallet, and put it towards six months of access to a full-sized indoor basketball court, plus the fitness room (which hosts a number of fitness classes) and gymnasium at this Recreation Center run by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Just make sure you can handle their hours: check their website for exact opening times.

Chinatown YMCA, 273 Bowery Street, Bowery +1 212 912 2460 (see map)
For those who are gym shy, or especially wary of having competing eyes on them while trying to work out, this affordable fitness center is extremely un-pretentious and relaxed. Facilities include a 25 meter pool, sauna, basketball court, and large change-rooms with lockers. Stand out classes include Core Training/Stretch and Water Workout.

By Sophie Ward