Stay Fit: A Comprehensive Guide to Where to Workout in Evanston

Dec 20, 2024

January is a time when your New Year’s resolutions get inculcated into your daily habits. If you made a resolution to stay or get in shape, lose weight, reduce stress, be more mindful, or undertake another health enhancing goal, you might want to consider joining a health club or take advantage of other opportunities.

This can help you ensure you have a place to work out during the cold winter months and stay (or get into) shape.

Best yet, Evanston has a bevy of fitness clubs, centers, and other athletic facilities, ranging from those in community-based organizations to independent facilities to national chains. Most have their own unique focus, approaches, vibe, classes, and/or amenities, so there’s sure to be one for you.

And with the fitness facilities being scattered throughout Evanston, there is sure to be one with a location that’s convenient – even walkable – for you.

The roundup fitness clubs, centers, and other winter-worthy athletic facilities includes:

 

Ahimsa Yoga Studio Evanston, 614 Dempster Street: Discover more than 30 classes each week. They offer everything from classes that are perfect for beginners to those that are right for the experienced practitioner. And you will find options ranging from restorative yoga and Vinyasa flow to Hatha and Yin yoga.

Blink Fitness Evanston, 1926 Dempster Street: They feature a wide variety of fitness classes and upgraded gym spaces as well as access to their other 80+ locations across the country should you want to work out during your travels. What is more, they emphasize “mood over muscle” as the core outcome and welcome all fitness levels.

 

Chandler-Newberger Community Center, 1028 Central Street: Run by the City of Evanston Department of Parks and Recreation, discover batting cages, fencing, pickleball, and more.

 

Club Pilates Evanston, 745 Chicago Avenue: Featuring classes for all fitness and age levels, their instructors have received hundreds of hours of training to ensure the highest quality workouts. And to round out your training, the club also has a Bosu ball, TRX apparatus, Exo-Chair, mats, rollers, and more available for your use.

Evanston Athletic Club, 1723 Benson Avenue: As part of the Chicago Athletic Clubs chain, their mission is to “empower you to achieve the healthy lifestyle you want.” Their Evanston location features a complete line of cardio equipment, weight room, 20-yard lap pool with 4 lanes, personal training, weekly group exercise classes, basketball court, towel service, and more.

 

F45 Training East Evanston, 1723 Benson Ave: They claim “high-intensity functional group workouts that are fast, fun and results-driven,” merging three different fitness training styles into one: High-intensity interval training (HIIT), circuit training, and functional training. Their goal: “To help you become your fittest, strongest and healthiest self.”

Fitness Matrix, 2306 Main Street:  Their process includes by starting out by understanding their client’s goals.  They then take baseline measurements to analyze body composition, muscle mass, body fat, visceral fat, hydration, and metabolism. And then they formulate a personalized fitness plan.

 

Fleetwood-Jourdain’s Fitness Center, 1655 Foster Street: Operated by the City of Evanston Department of Parks and Recreation, a wide range of fitness equipment is available for the members. To register for it, stop by their office.

 

Get Fit Methods, 912 Sherman Avenue: They emphasize 20 to 30minute small group high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions, nutrition counseling that aligns with your fitness goals, and a methodology for sleep recovery to ensure optimal rest for maximum energy restoration.

 

Gym 1801, 1801 Central Street: Focusing on the convergence of fitness and holistic well-being, they offer aerobics, Animal Flow (a movement-based training system designed to improve coordination, flexibility, mobility, power, and strength), kickboxing, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, personal training, yoga, and more. Their classes include golf performance, and, for your post workout recovery, they also offer cryotherapy, a dry sauna, and infrared light therapy.

Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Avenue: Run by the City of Evanston Department of Parks and Recreation, the Levy Fitness Room is equipped with a range of cardio and strength training equipment. The Center also offers a range of programs aimed at boosting strength, enhancing the mind/body connection, and improving flexibility, including balance and stability classes, pickleball, Pilates, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, yoga, and Zumba. Finally, you will have access to the locker rooms and showers. What’s more, The Levy Center offers serval classes that often qualify for coverage under Medicare Advantage or Medigap for adults who’re 65+.

 

Life-Time Fitness, 1618 Sherman Avenue: Coming in early 2025, we promise to update this article as soon as we have details about it.

 

Main Event Boxing and Fitness, 2510 Green Bay Road: In addition to a boxing program that is to help you lose weight, get in shape, learn to protect yourself, and feel more confident, they also offer Muay Thai to increase cardiovascular conditioning and focus, cross-training classes, and other training options.

Lighthouse Yoga Evanston, 1234 Sherman Avenue: They offer a wide range of options for all abilities; classes include Restorative Gentle, Gentle Yoga and Breathing, Gentle-Basics, Integrative Yoga for Healthy Aging, Mindful Vinyasa, QiGong, and more.

 

McGaw YMCA, 1000 Grove Street: Experience the joy of better health by enjoying aerobics, basketball, cardio machines (including cycling classes), free weight training, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), an indoor track, kickboxing, massage therapy, nutrition consulting, personal training, pickle ball, Pilates, swimming (featuring family, lap, lessons, swim team), weight Loss programs, yoga, youth classes and sports, Zumba, and so much more. This Y is the community-based, non-profit dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to the resources, relationships and opportunities for reaching their full potential.

 

Monarch Fitness Coaching, 928 Chicago Avenue: Here is where you can access detailed, custom one-on-one and semi-private personal training, group training, and open training sessions. These sessions can include exercises to enhance strength, cardio performance, flexibility, and stability.

 

Northside Boxing and Fitness Evanston, 1310 Sherman Avenue: Striving “to build a friendly, non-threatening environment,” they offer an open gym for weightlifting and cardio; group strength training classes; Muay Thai Kickboxing classes; Olympic-style weightlifting; and, of course, beginning, women-only, intermediate, and competitive boxing.

 

Northwestern University Recreation, 2311 Campus Drive: It’s not just the students, alumni, and faculty and other employees of Northwestern University that can use their facilities for fitness and recreation; community members with no NU affiliation may purchase yearly or monthly memberships, which includes access to the Henry Crown Sports PavilionNorris Aquatics CenterBlomquist Recreation Center, all Group Exercise classes, and discounts for many other Northwestern Recreation services and classes.

Orangetheory Fitness, 2800 Central Avenue: Their workouts are based on the five heart rate training zones, drawn from the percentages of one’s personalized maximum heart rate, so their trainers can deliver a more personalized workout. Member benefits include real-time workout tracking via a heart rate monitor and access to over 1,300+ fitness studios across the US.

 

Planet Fitness, 2410 Main Street: A clean and welcoming club, where their team members are ready to help in their “judgement free zone”. Membership amenities include the use of any Planet Fitness throughout the world, a huge selection of cardio and strength machines, massage chairs, and more.

 

Pure Barre, 910 Church Street: They offer classes that focus on low-impact, high-intensity movements that were inspired by yoga, Pilates, and ballet to help members of any fitness level build full-body strength.

Robert Crown Community Center, 1801 Main Street: Operated by the Department of Parks and Recreation for the City of Evanston, the Center offers hockey, figure skating, general ice skating, and more on their two NHL-sized Rinks (85’x200′), a running track, and much more.

 

Sharp Edge CrossFit, 1326 Dodge Avenue: The programing includes CrossFit classes, Yoga classes, personal training, Olympic-style weightlifting, nutrition coaching, and much more. A drop-in option exists for people who want to check out the facility or who just don’t want to make a longer-term commitment.

Sona Fitness, 3008Central Street: A boutique fitness studio offering both 1-on-1 personal training and semi-private classes. You’ll find spotless open gym fully equipped with a variety of strength and cardio equipment, a yoga room, and, of course, lockers to keep belongings while you work out.

 

Strength Wise Barbell, 2622 Noyes Street: Access strength and conditioning training with options for beginners to elite competitors. Their goal is “to redefine what it means to excel in your 40s and beyond, whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just looking to reach your strength potential.”  Options include personal training to group classes.

 

TITLE Boxing Club Evanston, 1029 Davis Street: Title Boxing welcomes boxers of all fitness levels and offer a progression of warm-up drills, shadowboxing, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) exercises, rounds on the heavy bag, and strength training to give members a full body workout

 

TruFit Personal Training Studios, 610 Davis Street and TruFit Wellness Studios, 604 Davis Street: The specialties of their trainers include strength training; weight management and weight loss; pre- and post-rehabilitation; pre- and post-natal exercise; nutrition coaching; functional training for older adults; sports performance; soft tissue work; breathing and mobility; training for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Pilates; and yoga. You can access their services private and semi-private training

And we are sure there are more options we might have missed. (If we left your facility off the list or got something wrong, please let us know and we’ll fix it ASAP.)

Finally, in addition to these options, many of the more modern condos in Evanston feature private exercise rooms in the buildings for their residents (and some even have swimming pools).

If you’d like to find a unit in one of these buildings, please let us know. And in the meantime, here is our exclusive (and comprehensive) list of the condo and coop buildings in Evanston featuring the amenities in each one.

Interested in a single-family home? We can help with that too.

And we can also help you sell your current home if you’re upsizing, downsizing, relocating, or just want a change.

In fact, please feel free to reach out to us for any of your real estate needs or if you just want to know more about what Evanston has to offer, so you can enjoy the best of its amenities. Contact us today. After all, we are here to help.

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