Fitness & Wellness GuideGyms: Boutique

Aiyoku: A Cardio Lounge

  • 77 Mowat Ave. (at King St. W.), Unit 001 View on map »
  • 416-516-8999
Step through scarlet lacquered doors into a hushed room with bamboo floors, Asian-inspired antiques, and Xian warrior and Buddhist statuary, and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d mistakenly stumbled into a hotel lobby in Hong Kong. It’s exactly the effect co-owner David Peereboom was going for when he opened his decidedly un-gym-like gym in early 2007. Chilled bergamot-scented towels delivered post-workout to your treadmill, 26-inch personal flat screen TVs and a DVD player above each machine, a DVD library and complimentary herbal tea and fresh green apples deliver on the club’s promise that “you will feel better.” Top-of-the-line cardio equipment includes The Wave, an updated elliptical machine that mimics rollerblading and cross-country skiing. In lieu of clanging free weights there is the Power Plate, a vibrating platform usually found in NFL and NBA locker rooms, which is said to increase muscle flexibility, range of motion and strength. Classes, which are kept to a maximum of six participants, are untraditional and include Tansei (a kung fu–Tai Chi hybrid), and the core- and strength-focused Dragon Boat.
How much:
lifetime membership fee $199, plus $49 per month or pay as you go.
Location

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