Tenleytown offers a variety of fitness options, from a typical gym environment to the latest yoga trends. Sport & Health is the local gym, Orangetheory Fitness is a fitness class specializing in high-intensity interval training and CorePower Yoga is a contemporary yoga studio.
Sport & Health opened in 1998 and have expanded since, by introducing new classes. They offer anything from gentle yoga to intense classes focused on a total body workout. It is a family-friendly workout space as it has a kids club that supervises children as parents enjoy their workout. Their busiest time is in the evening after work usually from 5-7 p.m., according to the manager, Alex Switzky. Over the years Sport & Health has altered their layout to accommodate more customers and the evolving fitness industry.
Orangetheory Fitness has been in business since 2010, but they expanded to the Tenleytown area in 2017. The studio has revolutionized how technology is used in workouts. According to its website, Orangetheory’s mission is to provide an effective full body workout in 60 minutes to adapt to people’s daily schedules.
Customers do not have to stick to one type of exercise. Orangetheory offers multiple modes of exercise for people to modify their workout to their interests. According to Andrea Medinaceli, an Orangetheory sales manager, customers have their own heart monitor to record their heart rate and calories burned. This allows the instructor to make sure everyone is not overworking or underworking.
Orangetheory gives customers heart monitors to gain “splat points,” which shows how many minutes customers pushed their bodies to their maximum. Medinaceli said the more splat points gained, the more calories customers burn even after their workout into the following day.
In contrast to Sport & Health, Orangtheory’s busiest time is from 5-7 a.m. when parents and others come in before work or school. Local resident Ali Epstein said Orangetheory is “getting better and has been a great addition to the fitness community in Tenley.”
Next to Orangetheory is CorePower Yoga. It opened in December 2018 and complements the intense full-body workout next door. They offer four different yoga classes for people of all levels and interests.
For example, their beginner classes focus on an introduction to yoga. If customers want something more challenging, they can take their Yoga Sculpt class. This class combines yoga with cardio and weights to increase strength and overall fitness.
Customer Kyle Li’s favorite aspects of the studio are its “clean facilities and nice and attentive instructors.”
CorePower Yoga has many high school and college student customers. They have a unique program called the Student Experience that makes their classes more affordable to students. They can exchange one hour of working in the studio for a discounted membership. Students are also paid for their work.
Lauren Sangara, now the studio assistant, was first involved with the studio through this program. Located nearby to both Wilson Highschool and American University, many students take advantage of this opportunity and stay active easily.
Kyle Li, Tenley resident and returning customer at Orangetheory said she used to drive 30 minutes to the gym.
“Now I have a great facility right next to me,” she said.