The Top 15 “Gyms” In North America
The Top 15 “Gyms” In North America To Put On Your Bucket List
The reason why I have “gyms” in brackets is because I really feel these places are more than gyms. They’ve created a community amongst their clients and that is really the best thing of all! That is why I love what I do because we change peoples’ lives.
I love going to gyms! So much so that I actually checked out Athletes Performance coming back from our honeymoon while we had a layover in Arizona, and it wasn’t until I saw Athletes Performance that I came up with the idea of opening up my own spot. If you are anything like me when you are on vacation when you go to work out you try to find a nice spot. Well here I created a list of what I feel are the top gyms in North America. These are compiled in no order, so next time you go somewhere be on the lookout for any of these places.
It’s Time Fitness
It’s Time Fitness is located in beautiful Vancouver, Canada. Sheila Hamilton owns It’s Time and her and her staff LOVE to learn, which is one of the reasons why I like this place – the clients benefit from it! Besides being all Strong First instructors, they also have their FMS (Functional Movement Screen) and most recently Sheila has finished her EXOS (remember Athlete’s Performance I was talking about?) certification and her Strength Matters kettlebell cert. To find out more information about her gym check it out here.
http://itstimefitnessresults.com/
Semiahmoo Athletic Club
Semiahmoo is located in White Rock, British Columbia. Joe Scalia and his fiancée both own Semiahmoo. Semiahmoo is a Crossfit box with a twist. All the people who work here are serious former athletes! Joe played professional hockey for two years after graduating from Cornell University and Sharon qualified for the Provincials in BC for Olympic weight lifting. Fun fact, Joe was my first salesperson when he used to work for Twist many moons ago. You can check out their website here
http://semiahmooathleticclub.com/
360 Fitness
Jack Wheeler has created a phenomenal place located in Red Deer Alberta for people that need to lose weight. His team never stops learning and they remain on the cutting edge of everything fitness. Their clients have lost more than 30,000 lbs in total of fat and recently Jack opened up another360 Fitness in Sherwood Park Alberta.
CrossFit Above All
CrossFit Above All is located Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Curtis Laughren is a real go getter. He is passionate about changing peoples’ lives and it shows! He actually helped me get my start in the fitness industry again and when he was the manager at Sunridge World Health he was basically there from dusk till dawn. This speaks volumes! Not to mention he has the best commercial for any box/gym that I have every seen. You can watch it here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLRZNP_8aTI
He created an excellent place. Check them out!
Athletic Leaders Fitness
Athletic Leaders Fitness is found in the heart of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) Ontario, Canada. Granville Mayers owns this spot and by far he has the best beats then anyone on this list! When you walk into his facility the music is pumping nice and loud and he practices what he preaches! For example he can military press a single 60kg kettlebell for more than six reps! The man is a beast! Check out his facility here.
Thrive Fit
The thing that really impresses me the most about Thrive Fit besides that it is on the Toronto waterfront out of all places is that Brian Kotoka and Francis Nitsch have created something really unique in that they focus on the essentials! All you will see here is kettlebells, barbells and a pull up bar. Nothing fancy except giving clients what they want and that is results! Check them out here.
Hardstyle Kettlebell Montreal
You will see many similarities in this list. A lot of people are Strong First certified and Louka Kurcer is no exception! He recently has been selected as a team leader for the StrongFirst brand and to teach kettlebell courses! Besides that his facility is located in Montreal! Who doesn’t like Montreal!? You can check his place out here.
http://hardstylekettlebell.ca/en/home/
^^^^ Isn't her logo bad-ass!??
Fuelhouse
What can I say about Molly Scott and Fuelhouse!? They hold a special place with me. Fuelhouse is located in Seattle (By the way that’s where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed with Meg Ryan… ) but I’m expecting BIG things from Fuelhouse..they have created a CULTURE where most gyms die to have. And she has done this in less than two years of being opened! You can check them out here.
Elite Sports and Spine
This place can also be found in Seattle and I really think more and more of these places are going to be around in the future. This is where doctors and trainers collaborate to give their patients/clients the best care possible and Jeff Sokol works here. What more do you need? Check them out!
http://www.elitesportsandspine.com/
Fitness Quest 10
So I mentioned a little bit about my second start into fitness and if it wasn’t for Todd Durkins book “The IMPACT Body Plan” I don’t think I’ll be doing this today. He showed me exercise is more than the same old bodybuilding routine. His gym is very top notch too, located in sunny San Diego. He also trains pro sports stars. If you want to go to a high energy facility check Fitness Quest 10 out here!
http://www.fitnessquest10.com/
Revolution Fitness
Franz Snideman owns this amazing facility located in La Jolla, California, besides being a very good friend of mine Franz is a very passionate and knowledgeable trainer and it shows with the clientele he has! From professional surfers to ordinary people like me and you. Franz has also found my passion with kettlebells three years ago and I have been using them as a major part of my programming ever since! Check Revolution Fitness out here!
EXOS(Formely known as Athlete’s Performance)
I knew what I wanted for Bisbee’s but I didn’t know exactly until I checked these guys out in Arizona while on my honeymoon! (To be fair we were waiting for our flight back home) These guys have it all! They have created a proven SYSTEM for football players to help pass the NFL combine. They also train athletes from every other sport. Now they are getting into the corporate fitness world with Porsche and Nike just to name a few. I would DEFINITLY recommend checking this place out! Here’s their website.
http://www.athletesperformance.com/about/locations/phoenix-arizona/
Iron Village
Doug Balzarini owns this facility and it’s located just north of Boston in Massachutes in a city called Beverly. What I really like about this place is not so much the facility itself but the knowledge that Doug has. He used to work under Todd Durkin in San Diego and worked at another place in Dubai. The knowledge that he has is incredible and he has created a group like atmosphere like CrossFit but not. I highly recommend checking them out here.
http://www.ironvillagesc.com/about/
DeFranco’s Gym
He trains Triple H …enough said 😉
https://www.defrancostraining.com/
Mark Fisher Fitness
This entry is probably the most “weird” entry in this article but the man know’s what he is doing. Mark has created a niche training actors and actresses and the normal Joe and Jane. It also helps if you and your company have built a revenue of $3.3 million spankin dollars and in their third year he reached growth of 1,487%. His business has been ranked number 312 of 5000 top growing businesses by Inc. Magazine. Not too shabby at all. Check them out here!
There you have it! Let me know what you think! I am sure I left off a bunch but all of these places I feel have the IT factor. Let me know what you think!
