Boutique fitness studios are all the rage, and the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down. From CrossFit to cycling, Nashville fitness studios are offering a variety of options to the exercise-obsessed. Community is the foundation for boutique fitness studios — not only is the workout good, but the studios themselves are attractive for the sense of camaraderie they create. Instructors choose the most motivating music, walk you through exercises that promise results and hold you accountable to come back tomorrow. These eleven workout studios have joined the dozens of others in Nashville in the past year or so, and we asked the owners and studio managers to share why their studio is worth a visit. Welcome them to Music City by seeing just what they have to offer!
CycleBar
Workout: cycling
1004 Division St., Nashville, TN 37203 • (615) 257-6277
Class schedule: click here
CycleBar is a Cincinnati-based company with locally owned studios across the country. The first Tennessee studio opened last fall in Franklin (9040 Carothers Pkwy., Ste. A-207), and the second opened this summer in the Gulch. Aesthetically, CycleBar stands apart from other studios of its kind for the LED lighting and wide-screen graphics. Classes are held in the CycleTheatre, where the energy is high and the music is loud. Cyclers are motivated by the energy in the room as well as the personal data monitors that let them track their progress during class.
“CycleBar Gulch offers concierge-level service, premium amenities and a low-impact, high-intensity full-body workout for people of all ages and fitness levels,” says CycleBar owner Trish Spivey. “Our CycleTheater® houses 47 state-of-the-art bikes and boasts a DJ booth and top-of-the-line audio, video and lighting technology, all of which come together to create an unparalleled cycling experience. In addition to regularly scheduled classes, we also offer private studio rentals for corporate team-building events, birthday parties, bachelor/bachelorette parties, etc., as well as charitable giving rides through our philanthropic platform called CycleGiving®, which allows us to help raise funds and support for causes important to our community.”
CorePower Yoga
Workout: yoga
211 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027 • (615) 610-6133
Class schedule: click here
At CorePower Yoga, it is said that you work every muscle. According to their website, their unique approach to yoga results in a “highly physical and incredibly mindful workout.” There are three levels of CorePower Yoga with differing heat levels as well as classes that focus on sculpting, strength training and high-intensity interval training. The heated classes increase circulation, adding more benefits. Depending on how you feel about the heat, you can opt for the CorePower Yoga 1, which is unheated, or the Hot Yoga, which is heated to 100-103 degrees.
“CorePower Yoga is an intensely physical workout rooted in the mindfulness of yoga. CorePower Yoga offers classes that range in challenge, flow and style to fit every experience level,” Studio Manager Chelsea Gartner explains. “Each of our classes is specifically designed to fire up your strength, ignite your intent and build your core. CorePower Yoga is easily differentiated from the competition by our powerful, unique and intense brand of mindful fitness. No one else out there works every muscle and every emotion the way we do in our studios. The combination of a killer workout, mindfulness, high energy in the studios and our passionate instructors creates a magical formula we’re excited to share with the Nashville community!”
Inner Light Yoga
Workout: yoga
2227 10th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37204 • (615) 873-1460
Class schedule: click here
Inner Light Yoga (ILY) is not your typical yoga studio. Here, the music doesn’t take a backseat but is instead played loudly to build energy during class. “As Nashville’s first music-based yoga studio, it is our intention to not only deliver a unique and fun experience, but we welcome everyone into our space with open arms and amazing energy,” say Emmy Singer, who co-owns ILY with her husband Lee. “At ILY it’s not about what your practice looks like, it’s what it feels like to you. We want to move, dance, sweat and breathe together, because at the end of the day that facilitates community and connection.” The rooms are gently heated to 75 degrees, and the loud music and movements keep your energy level high.
Iron Tribe Fitness Franklin
Workout: high-intensity interval training
Newest location: 507 Fair St., Franklin, TN 37064 • (615) 538-4659
Class schedule: contact for information
In 45 minutes at Iron Tribe Fitness, you will be pushed to become the healthiest version of yourself. You will be working out in a small group, made up of folks of all ages, with two trained coaches. The intense, fast-paced workouts will leave you feeling fit but it is the Tribe that keeps people coming back for more. The small-group setting and positive environment keep you motivated during class and this community will also motivate you to return. “ITF provides a unique fitness program where you get the fun experience of working out with a group, but the personalization of the workouts customized for each individual. Think “personal training in the group environment.” However, I think what really sets us apart are the relationships and the community that we form with our athletes. To us, it’s more than just a good workout. If you were to come in and workout for 45 minutes and leave, we wouldn’t be accomplishing the goals we have for our clients. It’s about establishing individual goals and accountability, but keeping workouts fun in a community setting,” Iron Tribe Fitness Coach Jane Brooks tells us.
Head to their new Franklin location to see what the fuss is all about!
Maeva Movement
Workout: Dance, Pilates, Yoga
604 Gallatin Ave, Suite 204, Nashville, TN 37206 • (860) 303-0194
Class schedule: click here
Maeva Movement is one of East Nashville’s newest fitness studios, but it’s a not your typical studio! According to owner Laurel Desmarais, “Maeva Movement is an alignment-based studio offering daily classes in yoga, dance and Pilates. Our motto is “Find freedom through alignment.” It is not just moving that is important, but how we move that makes a difference. We provide custom programs for clients in solo, duet and group settings. Our highly skilled teachers offer a diverse perspective while sprinkling classes with creativity and fun. Come move with us.”
Marathon Pilates East
Workout: Pilates
968 Main St., Nashville, TN 37206 • (615) 730-6638
Class schedule: click here
Marathon Pilates (MP) has been, and still is, home to reformer Pilates in 12South under owner and certified Pilates instructor Anissa Pollard. Folks on the other side of the river were thrilled to hear they were opening a second location on East Nashville’s Main Street. Offering beginner and intermediate reformer classes and mat classes (not offered at the 12South location), MP works to help you build strength, flexibility and lean muscle tone. Only open since June, MP East is quickly becoming as popular as its sister studio.
“Located in the heart of Five Points, MP East features beautiful state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in a spacious studio setting,” Instructor Mary Vanko tells us. “We offer a full range of Pilates reformer, mat and fusion classes, along with personalized private sessions for individuals and small groups. The East location also includes a partnership with bWEll Massage Therapy and P3 Physical Therapy and Pilates so clients can address a host of needs, all under one roof.”
OrangeTheory Fitness
Workout: heart rate-based interval training
121 17th Ave. S. Nashville, TN 37203 • (615) 988-9288
Class schedule: click here
“The whole science behind this workout is that you get your heart rate in Zone 4 or Zone 5, for 12 to 20 minutes. When that occurs, you get what is called EPOC — Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption — a scientific term for how the body uses calories,” says Ellen Latham, creator of the OrangeTheory Fitness (OTF) workout. “When you get that 12 to 20 minutes, which we are monitoring, during the next 24 hours after your workout, you burn approximately 20 percent more calories. So, if you burned 400 calories in that hour, then you get to add 80 more calories.” During class, you will run, row and use TRX and dumbbells for a full-body, high-intensity workout. You can also track your workout with a heart rate monitor to make sure you are burning the max amount of calories.
“OrangeTheory Fitness Midtown is an exciting studio,” says OTF Midtown owner Brigitte Edwards. “Our members are downtown and Midtown business leaders, students and staff from the nearby universities as well as people from the music and health care industries. The people who make Nashville vibrant are working out with us at OTF Midtown!”
Pepper Boxing
Workout: boxing
2176 Bandywood Dr., #105, Nashville, TN 37215
Class schedule: click here
Boxing is a unique cardio workout. Your heart rate will climb, but you’ll be so focused on remembering to jab, jab, punch that you won’t even realize it. Pepper Boxing stands out thanks to their teardrop-style heavy bags. The bags are filled with water, meaning greater shock absorption and less swinging. During the 50-minute workout, you will get a full-body workout through interval training and body-weight exercises. And thanks to the circular layout, you can always have your eyes on the instructor — just in case you forget if it’s jab, jab, punch or jab, punch, jab.
“We offer a polished product, while making sure you get a knockout of a workout,” says owner Alexander Kaufman. “Pepper incorporates high intensity boxing movements with weight training to give you an exhilarating HIIT [high-intensity interval training] experience.”
SHED Fitness
Workout: high-intensity interval training
1201 Demonbreun St., Ste. 201, Nashville, TN 37203 • (615) 241-0999
Class schedule: click here
At SHED Fitness, each day is dedicated to a different muscle group: Monday is for upper body; Tuesday is for lower body; Wednesday is for arms, abs, etc,; Thursday is meant to raise the heart rate; and Friday and Saturday focus on full body. It is this structure that SHED a loyal following and keeps people coming back. Recently, they expanded from their Belle Meade location and opened a second studio in the Gulch. During the span of a class, you will visit three to five different stations for approximately 5 to 8 minutes, and you’ll leave feeling accomplished (and sore!).
VERTICITY
Workout: cycling
1008 Russell St., Nashville, TN 37206 • (615) 431-1100
Class schedule: click here
Located at Farrow at Five Points in East Nashville, VERTICITY is an indoor cycling studio with a mission to make you sweat, and Kimberly Novosel and Lindsay Booker are the millennial entrepreneurs behind the new facility. “The first thing I wanted for VERTICITY before it even had a name was that it be a place where lives change deeply, beyond having a fitter body and a bolder confidence,” Kimberly tells us. “There’s something that happens while riding together with dozens of others to the beat of the loud music that’s both intensely community-building and powerfully personal. Our riders come in seeking a sweaty workout, a fun 45-minute challenge, and leave with so much more.”
Since opening this studio in May, VERTICITY has been welcoming the community to partake in the full-body workouts. You will walk away sweaty, but also motivated by the positive environment they have worked hard to create. Hop on one of the 30 bikes and see for yourself!
Vigor Fitness & Wellness Studio
Workout: strength, yoga, cycling and barre
801 Fifth Ave. S., Ste. 101, Nashville, TN 37203 • (615) 739-6182
Class schedule: click here
Step inside this spa-like environment that offers everything from bootcamp classes to nutritional and wellness support. “At Vigor, we offer access to a certified health coach and registered dietitian, depending upon their need,” says Vigor’s owner and founder Robin Channell. “As a past fitness competitor, I learned the importance of cross-training and getting outside of my box to prevent muscle imbalances and injury. Doing the same workout five to six days per week started to wreak havoc on my body, and my goal is to help people get outside their comfort zones and try a variety of classes, like strength, yoga, cycling and barre in one convenient location.” Challenge your body in group workouts, then restore your muscles in the infrared sauna!
Looking for more ways to sweat? You can see all of Nashville’s top fitness facilities in the SB App.
