Buenos Aires generally has very nice weather, but once in a while we do have extreme heat or a cold front from Patagonia or electric rainstorms. In order not to let these get in the way of your fitness routine, you can easily bring them indoors. First and foremost, we have many FITNESS CENTERS, or gimnasios (gyms) all over town. As more and more Argentines get on the fitness train, gym popularity is at an all time high. New ones pop up almost every week, and they all get really packed during the week after 6pm. All the gyms offer monthly and yearly packages, but some also have weekly or even day passes for those who are just in Buenos Aires for a short stay. Depending on what kind of fitness studio you are looking for, you will be able to find many choices.
Two of the biggest and most popular fitness chains in Buenos Aires are MEGATLON and SPORT CLUB. Both of them have multiple branches and they are the ones that you will most likely come across while walking around town. Since being a member of these clubs means you have access to all of their facilities at any of their branches, their membership fees are also a bit more expensive. For the higher price though, they are very well equipped with a huge variety and newer machines, an impressive schedule of classes like spinning, yoga, pilates, cross fit, shadow boxing, dance aerobic and so on. Some of them even have pools for swimming laps and also classes.
If you do not live close to one of these big fitness centers or simply watching your wallet, you can always look for smaller gyms in your neighborhood. This kind of studio is a lot more economical, while they may not have as many fancy machines, that doesn’t mean they are less equipped. The cardio and muscle departments still have all the usual suspects and are sufficient for all the basic workouts. Nevertheless, don’t expect a pool or lots of extra room/floor space for doing additional exercises. I would actually say that these small gyms are better for working out because generally there are not as many people around and you can do your program a lot more efficiently. A good thing that both big chains and small studios have in common is that they all have at least 2 or 3 personal trainers on site and they are there to help you out with any exercise questions that you may have.
If you feel typical fitness studios aren’t tough enough and want to bring that workout to another level, then you probably want to try out CROSSFIT. Since this trend has arrived Buenos Aires a few years ago, there are more and more crossfit studios opened up in the city. The big fitness chains offer this type of special program too, which is already included in its more expensive fee, but if you care for just the crossfit training, then sign up at a studio that is specialized in crossfit.
A more relaxed way to do something good for your body as well as for your soul is YOGA. Like all around the world the yoga boom did not miss Buenos Aires. As you can already imagine the big fitness studios offer yoga classes too, but I would recommend to go to a yoga studio which usually provides higher quality classes and more personalized instructions. Some of them also offer classes in English.
A great way to exercise your whole body while having fun and learning how to defend yourself is MARTIAL ARTS. From kickboxing to krav maga to muay thai, you can find all types of self-defense arts here in town. For these special types of training, rather than the big fitness chains, you will have to look up individual studio that specializes in its own discipline. If you are interested but don’t know where to start, check out Dojoclub in Palermo, they are a martial arts training club offering a variety of classes, like karate, kickboxing, muay thai, jiujitsu and taekwondo.
Lastly, another sport that will put your whole body to the test is ROCK CLIMBING. This activity will take you from indoor training to eventually outdoor climbing excursions facing the natural formation. Classes are offered at all levels. You can also rent shoes and gears at the studio in case you don’t have yours or not ready to commit 100% to this sport yet. If you are already a climber, you can simply pay a per use fee or become a member to use the facility. Many of the rock climbing schools are outside of the city but there are a few that are easily accessible in the city: Punto Cumbre, Bien Alto and Rustik.
For more workout ideas, also check out our How to Stay in Shape in Buenos Aires Part 1: Outdoor Edition .
Happy exercising!!
Vamospanish
