5 Philly-Area Fitness Studios for Treadmill Classes
When it’s way too hot to run outdoors, find your stride with these treadmill classes.
Treadmill running gets a bad rap, but six Philly fitness studios, like EverybodyFights, are determined to change your mind with their super fun treadmill classes. / Photograph courtesy of EverybodyFights.
This post has been updated.
Most runners dread the treadmill — it’s an open invitation to a pool of sweat, the mindless sound of heavy feet and, worse, the monotony of a mechanical rolling track. But sometimes, especially in the summer heat, the treadmill might just be the running buddy you need.
That doesn’t mean you need to dread the tread: Several Philly-area fitness boutiques are here to help you make amends with your treadmill “frenemy” by incorporating treadmill running into their cardio- or HIIT-based workouts. Often accompanied by upbeat music and cool lighting, the total-body routines makes treadmill running actually fun. We’ve rounded up five fitness studios offering treadmill classes and running opportunities that’ll keep you on pace to crush all your fitness goals.
EverybodyFights
Class to take: ROADxSTRENGTH or ROADxFIGHT
Where: 1900 Market Street (Center City)
Cost: $30; first class is free
A recent favorite among our Be Well fam, EverybodyFights’ Philly location currently offers two 50-minute “Road” classes. These interval-based training workouts operate in three-minute rounds — like a boxing match — and encourage you to treat each exercise as if they are part of a fight, focusing on resilience during the jogs, sprints, and hill climbs. Their ROADxSTRENGTH goes back and forth between running and strength training every two or three three-minute rounds, while ROADxFIGHT incorporates running, boxing, and bodyweight exercises.
Orangetheory
Class to take: Their signature Orange 60
Where: 1625 Chestnut Street (Center City); 1050 North Hancock Street (Northern Liberties); 3711 Market Street (University City); a number of ‘burb locations
Cost: $30
With a cardio-intensive workout designed to get your heart rate over 84-percent for at least 12 minutes, Orangetheory has developed a killer of a class. During their trademark 60-minute, full-body workout, you’ll run on the treadmill, put in work on the rowing machine, and lift weights. On the treadmill, Orangetheory encourages everyone to go at their own pace, so feel free to walk, jog, or sprint depending on how you feel. Each class is guided by a trained coach, who switches up the routine every class so that you’re never getting the same workout.
PureEnergy Studio
Class to take: BUILD60, HIIT and Strength, and Tabata Conditioning
Where: 21 Plank Avenue (Paoli)
Cost: $20; a free one-week trial is available
PureEnergy on the Main Line offers a variety of cardio classes that’ll push you through treadmill-inclusive circuits. Their 60-minute Zone Training workouts, such as BUILD60, HIIT and Strength, consist of a warm up, three 15-minute training segments, and a cool down. Their 45-minute Tabata Conditioning blends cardio and strength interval training, revving your muscles and improving agility and balance. And after all that treadmill running, you might as well zen out at one of their yoga classes.
RippedPHL
Class to take: Any that doesn’t have the “No Tread” designation
Where: 1519 Walnut Street, 3rd Floor (Rittenhouse); 220 Haddonfield Road (Cherry Hill)
Cost: $16-$22 depending on class time and type
Created by Philadelphians Katie and Dean Costalas and Charbel Sarkis, RippedPHL offers a multi-dimensional cardio workout that is said to activate both fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. Similar to circuit training, each class alternates every 15 minutes between the treadmills and floor training, where you’ll use TRX bands, body bars, and free weights to enhance your workout.
Unite Fitness
Class to take: Their signature Unite Workout
Where: 26 South 20th Street (Rittenhouse); 105 South 12th Street (Midtown Village)
Cost: $28
Unite Fitness was created to give active people a total body workout that is quick and effective. Their signature cross-training workout is broken up into three sections: running (25 minutes), strength training (30 minutes), and recovery (10 minutes), which means you don’t have time to get bored with any one segment of class. The treadmill section is interval-based, which will challenge you while helping build your stamina. Your training coach will help you modify the workout to meet your individual fitness level and goals, and you’re encouraged to move at your own pace.
