From a gym established by a champion boxing trainer, to a health club with an enclosed seawater swimming pool and a gym with actual sleep pods, Melbourne has a gym for everyone. As Australia’s sporting capital, Melbourne locals love to watch sport and keep fit themselves. There are constantly new boutique gyms, wellness studios and fitness centres opening across the city. Here we cover the best gyms in Melbourne, which each focus on a key area; whether that’s boxing, barre fitness or spin cycle classes.
Founded by legendary boxing trainer, Leo Berry, Leo Berry’s Gym – Richmond Boxing Club is a Richmond icon. It’s been a valuable base for underprivileged and disadvantaged local youth for years as well. The club has been training competitive boxers for over 50 years. It’s also well-known for its 90-minute circuit classes, which combine boxing skills (including bag and pad work) with traditional fitness training. There are also always multiple trainers on hand, to help you get the best workout possible.
Virgin Active on Collins Street is the most comprehensive gym in Melbourne. It has a 25-metre indoor pool and hydrotherapy pool, sleep pods for 20-minute siestas, an anti-gravity yoga studio, a spa and sauna, an interactive cycle studio and an indoor climbing wall. There’s also a huge gym floor with state-of-the-art equipment, as well as seven group fitness studios which host over 250 classes every week. As it’s part of the Virgin brand, you can also expect the best service at Virgin Active Collins Street.
Brighton Baths Health Club was established in 1881. It has Victoria’s only 50-metre open seawater lap lane swimming pool, which is open year-round. There’s an indoor health club with sea views and an assortment of cardio equipment and free weights. The outdoor ‘Lido Deck’ also has a variety of equipment, including a boxing bag and TRX suspension bands. For something different, Brighton Baths Health Club is home to Victoria’s only private beach and boardwalk as well.
“Welcome to the revolution in fast fitness.” The HIIT Factory focuses on High Intensity Interval Training. Most of the classes at The HIIT Factory are only 30 minutes long, and 90% of them use body weight only. The class varieties fall into three categories: cardio, strength and mobility. There are HIIT Factory franchises located across Melbourne, including Werribee, Essendon and Yarraville. The HIIT Factory offers classes throughout the day and is a child-friendly space.
Healthy Fit applies a holistic approach to fitness, nutrition and wellness. Voted by True Local and The Urban List as one of the top places in Melbourne to work out, Healthy Fit offers private, semi-private and group training sessions. It also has weight loss programs for both men and women, where members work with a fitness and nutrition coach to get the best long-term results. There are also nutrition coaching services available to all members. For a fully-comprehensive gym, visit Healthy Fit in Fitzroy North.
5th Element Wellness is a world-class health club, with group fitness classes, a yoga studio, personal training options and an indoor climbing wall. It’s the small touches at 5th Element that put it a step above the rest. It has a juice bar, a library stocked with wellness books and magazines, an option for blood chemical analysis, and an on-site wellness medical practitioner. There’s also an infrared sauna (direct from Colorado) and a Cold Tub® at 5th Element Wellness.
Barre Body has boutique studios in Flinders Lane, Fitzroy, South Melbourne and Windsor. All of them are interior goals, with either exposed bricks, whitewashed flooring or contemporary light fixtures. Barre Body offers a variety of barre, pilates, yoga and cardio classes throughout the week. There’s also Barre Body Online, which gives members access to hundreds of workouts and classes led by real teachers. As Barre Body says, “it’s an addiction you won’t want to kick.”
Apparatus Private Studios specialises in TRX and pilates. TRX sessions are run by TRX Ambassador and Master Trainer, CJ, and include suspension, RIP and functional training workouts. As for pilates, Apparatus offers both matwork and reformer sessions, which run for either 30 or 45 minutes. Apparatus also does private and semi-private training sessions.
Progression Fitness Club is located in the heart of Melbourne’s sporting precinct. Members have access to the world-class Glasshouse Gym, Olympic Park’s oval with a three-lane 500-metre athletic track, Glasshouse Cafe, and the Holden Centre’s 50-person altitude room. Progression Fitness Club’s classes include HIIT, three types of strength training, and yoga sessions. It also offers outdoor boot camp, boxing, yoga and running sessions weekly at six locations across Melbourne.
A typical 45-minute ride class at Bodhi & Ride is set inside the Ride Chamber, which includes high-tech bikes, cardio and weight training for the lower and upper body, and a nightclub environment. This includes loud DJ-mixed music, fifty different lighting settings, and bikes that are close together – like people on a crowded dance floor. The flagship studio is in Port Melbourne, but Bodhi & Ride also has a CBD studio. So take indoor cycling to a new level at Bodhi & Ride.
