As the weather gets colder, the will to actually go outside and be active decreases just as fast as the temperature does. You can still be active in the winter, it just requires a little extra discipline and a few go-to (preferably indoor) places to get your sweat on. It’s not just about staying fit, it’s about creating healthy habits, both mentally and physically so we can exit the colder months as the best version of ourselves! Toronto is the home of plenty of cool exercise classes and fitness studios to help you stay active during the treacherous cold months this year!
Stay active this winter at these 7 places!
Barry’s Canada
Get your sweat on at Barry’s Yorkville or Barry’s Richmond! Once you enter Barry’s infamous “Red Room”, you can expect a strength and cardio interval fitness experience that is both effective and fun. You can opt for class packages or you can sign-up for 30-day memberships.
Sky Zone
Who says trampoline parks are reserved just for children to have fun? Grab a friend and head over to Sky Zone trampoline park to jump around, shoot some hoops, and get your heart rate up!
United Boxing Club
Exercise your body and your mind at United Boxing Club! It doesn’t matter if you’re starting out with no experience, as they have classes for all levels of experience from technical to fitness boxing. You can choose to buy class passes or a monthly membership.
F45
Over the years F45 has been gaining immense popularity. If you’re looking for a “quick”, effective workout – this might be the class for you! The ‘F’ stands for Functional training, the class includes a mix of circuit and HIIT-style workouts geared towards everyday movement. 45 stands for is for the length of the workout, and there you have it. F45.
Boulderz Centre
Head over to Boulderz Centre on your next day off and climb away! Indoor rock climbing has to be one of the most fun ways to stay active during the colder months! They offer both roped climbing and bouldering for all experience levels.
The Pink Studio
Get your dance on at The Pink Studio! The classes are geared for beginners to intermediate level and all shapes and sizes are welcome! They offer various different dance class types including Zumba, Contemporary, Barre, Hip Hop, and more. Some classes are in the studio and some are even offered online.
Sweat and Tonic
Just as much as we need to stay active throughout the winter, we need to be social! During the colder months, it can get all too easy to be a bit of a hermit. Enter Sweat and Tonic! Break out of a boring workout routine and enjoy a drink after you exercise at Sweat and Tonic’s bar, cafe, or in one of their lounge spaces!
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Love running, but not so crazy about doing it alone? Get you a running club. Whether you’re seeking motivation to get active outdoors, or you’re training for a specific goal, there’s a club in the city to meet your needs. From the east to the west end, the following clubs gather rain or shine, year-round, and welcome runners of all types of levels and abilities. Cue up your alarm. It’s time to get back in the habit.
Here are a few of the top running clubs to join this fall in Toronto.
Longboat Roadrunners
Longboat Runners is one of the GTAs oldest clubs, which has roots that extend back to 1980. All running levels are welcome, but being able to run at least 10km continuously is recommended. Tailored coaching is on offer for members, as well as a group dynamic that makes each member a better, faster, smarter runner. Commit to beating your personal best and get your membership for $60. Students and seniors get a half-off reduced rate.
Running Rats Running Club
The goal is to have fun and stay active, with Running Rats, an inclusive club founded in 2022 that welcomes runners of all levels. As long as you can complete the recommended 7km comfortably, you’ll fit right in. Runs happen every Tuesday, year-round, and range from 7km to 10km and 13km routes in the downtown core. Newbies can join the crew for their first run at their meet point, TD Centre Plaza near Wellington and York Streets, at 6:15 AM any Tuesday. It’s free to join.
Parkdale Roadrunners
Since 2010, this crew has been running every Tuesday, rain or shine, at 7:00 p.m., starting in Parkdale. Runs are hosted in two distances every week, 7-10km and 4-6km. Runners of all abilities are welcome, and there are always designated runners leading the back of the group, and front, for each route. Routes get posted every Monday evening to their online Strava page. The group is free to join – just show up and introduce yourself.
RunTOBeer
If you need a little more than the prospect of a cool glass of water to pull you through a run, RunTOBeer is the club for you. Join for a 3-10 km run that ends in a (free) beer at a partner brewery or bar. Runs are free, and take off from various locations downtown. The only goal here is to enjoy a brew post-run, no matter when you get there. Runs are posted on their site and registration is done through Eventbrite for each event.
High Park Rogue Runners
Every Wednesday and Friday runs take off at 6:30 p.m., and Sunday morning at 8:30 Runs range from 6-12km and 16-32km. No pre-registration is required, drop-ins are welcome, and it’s totally free. Just meet at the North High Park gates (Bloor & High Park Ave). As long as you can run a continuous 6km, you’re ready to run with this crew.
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Going to the gym isn’t what it used to be. At least, not in some of the world’s most vibrant cities it isn’t. Providing more than a sweat session, a growing number of fitness venues offer a well-curated lifestyle and a distinct brand. No longer a space to solely work out solo or take a fitness class, the gym has become a place to socialize, shop, and sip even cocktails (or smoothies and green juice, naturally).
A prime example is Toronto’s newly opened – and much anticipated – Sweat and Tonic, which offers more of a social club vibe than that of a fitness club.
Housed in a historic three-story building, you’ll find a state-of-the-art fitness facility, spa, café, and bar where members can chat with others in creative and comfy lounge spaces. Further uniting its members, Sweat and Tonic also hosts weekly speaker series, corporate retreats, social events, demos, screenings, and pop-ups. For those also there for, um, the fitness, the gym offers more than 150 yoga, HIIT, and spin classes weekly.
Across the pond in London, those with pockets deep enough not only get a five-star workout at luxury fitness chain Third Space, but their own concierge, a spa, and the option of private massage chairs. and laundered gym kits. The brand also offers luxury fitness-filled escapes for its members.
In response to the persistent retail apocalypse, gyms and smoothie bars are teaming up throughout North America, as smoothie brands move away from being solely mall staples.
As Business Insider highlights, smoothie chains have historically relied on foot traffic in malls. With the move away from the mall by shoppers, relocating to share real estate with gyms makes sense when it comes to sales.
Pricey and popular fitness institutions like Equinox and SoulCycle have partnered with retailers and restaurant chains for years. In cities with sky-high commercial real estate costs, partnering with a gym may offer a less risky way for smaller businesses like local green juice or food companies to enter the market.
Aside from making strategic financial sense, the changing face of the gym marks a shift from a functional space to a lifestyle in itself.
At a time when new boutique fitness facilities – complete with their drop-in rates – seem to open practically weekly, gyms need to set themselves apart in the overall experience to build brand loyalty.
A growing number of fitness facilities organize social events for their members like at Planet Fitness, this means weekly pizza nights (right?) At some gyms, the culture is even comparable to a nightclub – if that’s your vibe.
In the past few years, some fitness facilities have also become spaces to both work out and work.
As GQ highlighted last year, the latest trend reflects the ever-growing gig economy with gym-co-working hybrids, as fitness facilities are now introducing the concept of co-working office space. Back in 2013, Brooklyn Boulders rock-climbing gym first launched the concept at its Somerville, Massachusetts location. Equinox then introduced its first co-working space back in 2016 and now features six of their Sports Club locations worldwide, sleekly redefining the concept of work/life balance.
The hotel gym is even getting a makeover, as wellness increasingly becomes a priority for travellers.
At Archetype in the newly opened JW Marriott Edmonton, the sprawling gym is reason enough to book a stay. The space features cutting edge brands, offering things like Sorinex rig systems, Keiser compressed air technology, Woodway, ICG 7 spin bikes, and even a Somadome meditation pod. Hotel guests also have access to four custom curated group studios, with yoga, boxing, spin, and HIIT-style classes. Membership options are available here to non-hotel guests.
The bottom line is that the gym now provides more than just a toned body.
It offers a community of like-minded people, a strong sense of culture, and a bubble to escape the outside chaos for an all-encompassing mind and body experience – whether you come for an hour or stay all day.
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