Urban Adventures Companies, the parent company of Vida Fitness, is departing from their large luxury gym format with a new studio gym concept they plan to open in April. Instead of building another big-box gym this time around, Urban Adventures Companies is opening SweatBox, an all-in-one gym that’ll combine aerobic and anaerobic exercises in a 50-minute, high-intensity, undoubtably-sweaty workout.
Until now, Urban Adventures Companies has avoided following the boutique gym craze, spearheaded by the likes of SoulCycle and Flywheel. SweatBox, like SoulCycle and Flywheel, will be nonmember, following the boutique payment model of selling individual classes rather than memberships. But unlike other fitness studios, the SweatBox workout won’t be based on one exercise–participants will work out in intervals using Matrix IC7 Coach by Color stationary bikes, TRX straps, and dumbbells.
And yes, participants will do all of the exercises within a “box”–raised platforms around the room that hold a stationary bike and other workout materials for each participant. The workout will incorporate modern technology as well: Each class member will wear a MyZone heart rate monitor that will provide real-time information so participants can stay in a target heart-rate zone. The workout will also be recorded via Bluetooth and downloaded to the participant’s smart phone, so they can track their progress session-to-session.
“The ability for individuals to track their own performance means each participant can push themselves relative to their own unique conditioning,” said SweatBox president David von Storch in a press release. “In essence, SweatBox is able to offer the best of both worlds: the social dynamic of a group setting with the individualized instruction of a personal trainer.”
Sweatbox is slated to open at 1612 U St., NW in April, and Urban Adventures Companies has already announced plans to open more of the boutique gyms in neighborhoods without larger gyms.
Caroline Cunningham joined Washingtonian in 2014 after moving to the DC area from Cincinnati, where she interned and freelanced for Cincinnati Magazine and worked in content marketing. She currently resides in College Park.
