What is a Boutique Gym?
A traditional gym is basically designed to attract all kinds of members by offering a range of strength training equipment, cardio machines and group exercise classes.
A boutique gym, however, tends to focus specifically on group exercise, and will generally offer classes based on the latest fitness trends to attract as many members as possible.
So for instance, you will see that there are many CrossFit gyms opening up in many cities, as well as Pure Barre and Soul Cycle gyms / studios, all of which could be described as boutique or specialty gyms.
If you are wondering whether or not you should join one of these specialty gyms instead of a normal gym, some of the main pros and cons of these boutique gyms are discussed below:
Benefits of Boutique Gyms
Group Exercise
One of the main reasons why people join one of these boutique gyms is because they like the fact that they can work out as part of a group. They don’t have to work out alone, like they would in a standard gym, and can be instructed by a professional who is an expert in their field and knows how to get results. Plus it is a great opportunity to make some new friends as well.
Personal Feel
Following on from the last point, it makes a real difference when you have an instructor who knows you on a personal level and therefore knows what your own personal goals are because they are best placed to help you achieve these targets. Indeed many people are attracted to these gyms because they like this personal touch, and enjoy having a professional instructor who can guide them.
Fitness, Toning and Weight Loss
These boutique gyms are ideal if you are looking to improve your overall fitness, lose weight and tone up your body. Yes there are a few specialty gyms that are geared towards powerlifting and bodybuilding, but most of these gyms and studios are geared towards fitness, with the aim of helping you lead a healthier lifestyle.
Try Out New Fitness Trends
If you like to keep up with all the latest fitness trends, you may want to try them out for yourself, but cannot because your usual gym doesn’t yet offer any classes. Boutique gyms, on the other hand, will often jump all over these trends and will offer classes based on these trends, which gives you an opportunity to try a different form of exercise.
Exclusivity
You will generally find that these specialty gyms are a lot more expensive than a standard gym, sometimes costing as much as $100 – $150 per month, or up to $40 per class, which gives them an air of exclusivity and helps to prevent them from becoming overcrowded. In addition, because membership fees are so expensive, it encourages people to attend every class and makes it easier for people to see some noticeable results.
Drawbacks of Boutique Gyms
Expensive
The main drawback of these boutique gyms is that they are very expensive, as I have just mentioned. This is a good thing in some ways, but if you don’t have a large disposable income, you might find that they are simply too expensive to join, or find that the regular membership fee is simply unsustainable in the long run, which will obviously prevent you from achieving your goals.
Limited Strength Training Options
As mentioned earlier, there are a few of these studios that offer classes for serious bodybuilders, but most of these boutique gyms tend to focus more on toning and fitness. That’s not a major problem, however, because I think many serious lifters like to work out on their own anyway.
Limited Range of Workouts
It is also worth pointing out that these exclusive gyms will often focus on one form of exercise, and even if the instructor tries to provide a variety of different workouts and mixes up the classes so that they don’t become repetitive, some people will still find themselves getting bored with this type of exercise. This can become a real problem if you are locked in a long-term membership.
Predominantly Female Crowd
If you have ever joined one of these boutique gyms, you will have noticed that they tend to attract a predominantly female crowd. This alone helps give many women the courage to sign up in the first place because they know that they won’t be intimidated by a class full of men. However if you are male, it can be quite isolating and awkward if you are the only man, or one of only a handful of men in your class.
Trend Followers
The problem with a lot of these gyms is that they will often focus purely on one specific form of exercise that is popular right now, such as Spinning and SoulCycle, for example, or will have classes dedicated to the latest fitness trends. However there is a chance that when people start to lose interest in these forms of exercise and they start to go out of fashion, your favorite gym could close or your favorite class may end.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are several good reasons why you might want to join one of these specialty gyms. They are a lot more exclusive than ordinary gyms, have a much better community feel and are designed to deliver results. They do, however, come at a cost because they tend to be a lot more expensive to join than a standard gym.
So ultimately you have to decide whether one of these gyms is really worth the cost or not. If you feel that they will help you to lead a healthier lifestyle and will help you lose weight, tone up and improve your fitness, then it may well be worth paying extra to join one of these exclusive gyms.
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