Anytime Fitness to Open Midtown Location

UPDATE ON ANYTIME FITNESS 2-28-17 - Anytime Fitness will occupy 6,646 square feet on the ground floor at 50 West Liberty 

A new gym will be joining an already-diverse collection of fitness options in Midtown and downtown Reno. 

Anytime Fitness will be opening a gym at 50 West Liberty Street, in the mid-rise tower that formerly housed Bank of America, and is now home to Meadows Bank. 

Before World War 3 starts in my comments area over whether Liberty Street is considered Midtown or downtown, the gym itself is referring to its location as Midtown, hence its Facebook Page name. 

According to its Facebook page, the gym will have 24-hour access, and feature the same small-group training sessions that made its other three gym locations so well-known. 

All three existing Anytime Fitness locations (Sparks, Golden Valley, Red Rock) have been ranked in the top 20% of all clubs worldwide (Club Purple) and their Golden Valley location is Club Platinum which is top 5% worldwide for customer service and satisfaction. Based on their Yelp reviews, I'd say the gym is pretty popular. They also have a five-star rating in Facebook. 

It's pretty exciting another fitness option will be joining a wide variety of fitness gyms, clubs and studios already available. 

On a personal note, I've been into fitness and healthy living for several years now, training 6 days a week at Fitness for 10 downtown and at Yoga Temple on California Avenue. It's a topic I care deeply about, to the extent I'm studying to become a personal trainer as a side gig, and because I feel like I can never learn too much about fitness. 

I bring this up because when I moved to Midtown/Wells Avenue in 2003, there were few gyms and studios available in central Reno, including downtown and Midtown. 

Now, there are so many fitness facilities, clubs and studios within a one-mile radius of downtown, it could very-well be one of the fittest neighborhoods in the west per capita. That's speculation of course, but logical speculation, given you can't walk a block in Midtown without bumping into a yoga studio or specialty training facility. Below is a list of spots I've either been to/attended, or has been recommended to me by friends whose opinions I trust. If you're looking for a new gym, here's your list! 

Fizio Athlete Training Facility and Recovery Center
400 Mill Street
Fizio just opened a few weeks back, and is unique in that it has a post-training recovery center. It's a boutique fitness center and an athlete recovery lounge. The athlete recovery lounge is unique to Northern Nevada. It is modeled after the Olympic Training Center and it allows members to have access to state-of-the-art recovery tools. They offer 20+ group classes, a boutique gym with modern equipment, and recovery center with tools like NormaTec Compression Boots, Clearlight Infrared Sauna, hot and cold tub, LaserTouchOne E-Stim Therapy, Ice compression, large variety of myofascial release tools and stretching and range of motion devices.

Reno Kicks Gym
10 State Street
Reno Kicks also recently opened on the ground floor of 10 State Street, an office building on the corner of State and Center Streets. The gym is a unique circuit-based approach to training, offering a circuit-based workout with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT is a style of training that involves short, intense bursts of exercise followed by slower more moderately paced exercise. Reno Kicks features motivating on-staff trainers by your side every step of the way, instructing you as you work out. There are no set class schedules, their workouts start whenever you arrive. This is an ideal gym for those that want a trainer guiding you through your workout, and for those who require constant variation in their exercise to both avoid boredom and muscle memory. 

Escape Boxing and Cycling Studio
50 South Virginia Street
You know you're in for a unique experience when you step through the space-age hallway leading to Escape, and it's very reminiscent of being in line for Space Mountain (pre-Star-Wars renovation) at Disneyland. A buddy of mine is in love with this studio, and for good reason. Glow in the dark yoga? No problem, Escape has it for you. They also have boxing and cycling classes as well as unique stomp classes using sticks that remind me of the Stomp show formerly on Broadway. 

Anatomie Fitness
100 West Liberty Street,  Suite 190
Anatomie is a private training facility with high-intensity training programs. The workouts are so effective they're usually around 30 minutes long. The founder and trainer, Jason Martinelli, is not only a certified personal trainer but also C.H.E.K. certified, something you don't find often in Reno. If you require high intensity one-on-one training, Anatomie is for you. 

Double Edge Fitness
1065 South Virginia Street 
Remember when this building was pink, and Romantic Sensations? I think that was the name of it. Anyway, history buffs in Reno were relieved when Double Edge Fitness sand-blasted the paint off this beautiful brick building, and I was elated when it became one of the more well-respected CrossFit gyms in Northern Nevada. CrossFit blends core strength training, cardio, gymnastics and regiments from several sports blended into a group workout. Chances are you know someone who does CrossFit. Whether they are the co-worker who constantly talks about his WOD, the old college friend who suddenly has Michelle Obama-arms or your neighbor who does burpees in his driveway, it's hard to deny that this fitness trend is here to stay. One primary difference with CrossFit is the level of support you get from fellow CrossFitters and an extended community. It's all about motivating each other, including put your weekly results and gains on a leader board. Make no mistake, CrossFit is intense, and not your casual workout that involves checking emails in between sets or adjusting your music. Be prepared to push your body with every workout. If you are considering CrossFit, I highly recommend this gym. 

Fitness for 10 Downtown Reno
100 North Sierra Street, 3rd Floor
Full disclosure, this is my gym and I really dig it. I'm here pretty much six days a week, and find it to be a really convenient urban gym. I would classify its size as somewhere between a boutique gym and a full-size gym. There's a nice array of cardio machines, from ellipticals to stair climbers and a stair mill. There's a decent-sized free weights section that can get a bit packed during 'rush hour' at the gym, between 5 pm and 7 pm, but even in close quarters everyone is polite and generally follows gym etiquette. While there is only one of each machine (e.g. bench press, leg extension etc), the machines are of a much higher quality than other gyms I've been to. There's a yoga studio room, a spin cycle room and a cardio room, and the gym allows you to use the rooms when classes aren't in session. It's a great gym for the price, and is rarely crowded. The hours are a bit short (they close at 8 on Fridays, 7 on Saturdays and 4 pm on Sundays) and they might consider turning it into a 24 hour gym when Anytime Fitness opens and competes with them. 

SoulSpace
100 West Liberty 
SoulSpace is a class-based studio that offers classes in High Intensity Interval Training classes, strength training, bootcamp style workouts using weights and bodyweight, spin classes and TRX suspension training classes. 

Kaia Fit Midtown
820 South Virginia Street
Kaia Fit is a specialty fitness studio that develops programs specifically for women. I obviously can't speak from personal experience with this one, but I do know that the programs are designed so participants work together as a team and build support and motivation through one another. The studio is highly rated on Yelp.

Sports West
If we were likening gyms to family members, then Sports West would be the grandfather of all gyms in midtown and downtown...old, maybe slightly outdated, but still tickin'. Sports West is pricey, but not pricey compared to the unlimited-monthly-pass pricing of most boutique gyms and yoga studios. Sports West is a large gym, with a large free weights area, a nice collection of machines, and a large cardio area. It also offers an indoor lap pool, saunas, steam rooms, racquetball courts, Pilates reformer machines and classes, a built-in spa with facials and massages offered, and personal training services. You even get towel service! So yeah, it's pricey but it's the most complete 'gym package' in Midtown. It's open 24 hours a day. 

Saint Mary's Fitness Center 
645 North Arlington Avenue
Saint Mary's Fitness Center is opulent, and I don't use that word lightly. Boasting over 100 group exercise classes a week, all included in your membership, indoor saline lap pool and warm-water therapy pool, two-lane indoor jog/walk track, large freeweight area, executive-style locker rooms with shampoo, shaving supplies, conditioner and towel service, men's and women's saunas, steam rooms and Jacuzzis, childcare services and more. 

Temple Yoga
190 California Avenue
This is the yoga studio I frequent, and they specialize in Ashtanga yoga, a more fast-paced yoga style that really gets you sweating and focuses on movement, breath, and quickly transitioning from one yoga posture to the next. Melissa over at Yoga Temple is awesome. 

Temple Yoga is not the only yoga-game in Midtown and downtown. Here are some more studios that come highly recommended. 

Midtown Community Yoga - 600 South Virginia Street (Entrance on Moran) - A beautiful, beautiful space to do yoga in. 
Pure Yoga - 855 South Center Street - A wide variety of yoga styles, Reiki healing sessions, and more. 
The Studio - 1085 South Virginia Street - Named RNR's Best of Northern Nevada Yoga Studio 2011-2016, so that's saying something. It's near-five-star rating on Yelp also says something. People like this yoga studio. They offer unique workshops, massage and wellness services, and host a tea/elixer lounge weekly with a dj. 
 

If I left any off my list, sorry! I only included ones I've been to or that friends regularly attend and recommend.