But big-box gyms aren\u2019t resting on their laurels; they\u2019re innovating and expanding their offerings. Faced with increased competition from boutique fitness concepts, some gym operators have opted to create their own boutique fitness-style classes, or in some cases, build an entire brand around running various group fitness modalities under one roof.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Can gyms really re-create the intimate, high-energy studio feel inside of a large club and thus take market share away from boutiques? ATN explores some of the ways operators are trying to do just that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
HVLPs Look To Bring Boutique Fitness In-House<\/p>\n
Vasa Fitness might well be leading the charge when it comes to recreating the boutique fitness look and feel inside of a big-box gym. The fast-growing high-value, low-price (HVLP) chain offers three \u201cStudio\u201d style classes:<\/p>\n
Studio Red, a high-intensity interval training experience that features Myzone heart-rate tracking<\/p>\n
Studio Flow, an infrared yoga class that promotes mobility, recovery and mindfulness<\/p>\n
Studio LFT, a coach-led strength training class featuring power racks, benches and plyo boxes.<\/p>\n
Studio LFT, in particular, is proving to be a hit amid the explosive rise of strength training. Originally rolled out in January, Studio LFT was first offered in four pilot clubs<\/a>, where Vasa coaches led more than 3,000 classes in the first six months following the program\u2019s launch. Sessions averaged 12 to 16 participants, with more than 1,500 classes waitlisted, according to Vasa.<\/p>\n Looking ahead, Vasa has said Studio LFT will be in 11 Colorado locations by the end of this year, with new clubs opening in Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana also set to feature the program. Starting in 2026, all new Vasa locations will include Studio LFT, with additional retrofits planned in key markets.<\/p>\n Available as part of a premium, $44.99\/month membership level, Vasa\u2019s intentions and its Studio classes are clear: outcompete boutique fitness studios on price while offering a similar fitness experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cVasa members don\u2019t have to join other boutique studios to get these benefits,\u201d a company spokesperson told ATN.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crunch Fitness, long known for the quality of its group fitness offerings, is also leveling up its classes to more closely match the quality of the boutique studio experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n As part of the brand\u2019s ambitious new Crunch 3.0 gym redesign program<\/a>, new Crunch locations will feature revamped group fitness studios featuring updated color palettes, enhanced overhead lighting, backlit mirrors, a lit instructor platform and digital timers. Franchisees can even add a hot studio to their club for heated group classes including yoga, Pilates, barre, HIIT, mobility and core.<\/p>\n Crunch is also exploring adding mindfulness and meditation-focused classes to its group exercise lineup, as well as potentially adding sound bath classes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re like a mall of fitness, but in a good way,\u201d Crunch chief operating officer Molly Long has told ATN. \u201cWe have these different boutique studios under a single roof, and they\u2019re done in an incredibly high-quality way. People would have to pay hundreds of dollars (per month) at multiple boutique studios to come close to what they\u2019re getting at Crunch.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Club of Studios\u2019 Concepts Gain Ground in North America<\/p>\n Some brands are taking the cost-saving views espoused by Crunch and Vasa to the extreme, creating entire facilities around the concept of offering multiple boutique fitness modalities under one roof.\u00a0<\/p>\n Altea Active, a Canadian luxury fitness brand, recently opened a large Ottawa location that offers nine different boutique-style classes<\/a>, from reformer Pilates to hot yoga to small-group functional strength training.<\/p>\n The idea, according to CEO Jeff York, is to create \u201cmultiple boutique experiences in a big-box\u201d gym setting to save consumers money over the long run.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe boutique experience should exist, but it should exist within a big box, so you can have multiple boutiques within the big box and give your customer actual value,\u201d York, who previously grew Canadian grocery brand Farm Boy into a household name by offering lower prices than upscale supermarket chains like Whole Foods, told ATN.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some brands in the United States see a similar opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Styles Studios Fitness, an Illinois-based brand that offers multiple boutique-style classes under one roof, has launched a national franchising arm and is eyeing expansion across the country<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Founded in 2020 by industry veteran and former Health & Fitness Association (HFA) board chair Carrie Kepple, Styles Studios touts what it calls a \u201cclub of studios\u201d concept, blending the versatility of a big-box gym with the community feel of boutique fitness.<\/p>\n See Also<\/p>\n The brand\u2019s flagship location in Peoria, Illinois, offers four different boutique-style classes spanning modalities including strength and conditioning, yoga, Pilates, cycling and recovery, along with open gym access, for a single membership price.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve created a space where people can explore all aspects of fitness under one roof for one price,\u201d Kepple said. \u201cWe are the lower-cost, higher-convenience solution to the boutique fitness industry that we are dubbing \u2018LCHC.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Fitness International LLC, the parent company of LA Fitness, has similar plans for Club Studio, a concept it introduced in 2023 that combines six boutique studio rooms under one roof, with classes ranging from boxing and HIIT to reformer Pilates and yoga.<\/p>\n Fitness International has 15 Club Studio locations open across the U.S. today, and is planning to have 50 open nationwide<\/a> by the fall of 2026, its chief real estate officer, Nick Roberts, has said. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Action Black, a Colombia-based concept founded in 2015 by former reality TV star Wilder Zapata Torres, is pursuing American expansion under a similar model.<\/p>\n The brand\u2019s location in New York City\u2019s Tribeca neighborhood features several separate workout rooms<\/a>, each of which is stocked with equipment for a different group fitness class. Locations also feature the \u201cgarage,\u201d a free gym area stocked with strength training equipment like power racks, machines and free weights.<\/p>\n Oscar Toro, an Action Black investor who is helping lead the brand\u2019s U.S. expansion, echoes Kepple and York in his assessment of the market opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt most studio gyms, it\u2019s only one modality. Or they have only one space where they\u2019ll do boxing, treadmill, etc.,\u201d Toro told ATN. \u201cWe combine all of these modalities into one (location), each of which has its own individual studio. You don\u2019t have to go anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n A version of this article originally appeared in ATN\u2019s report, \u201cFitness Center Reimagined: The Evolution of Gyms, Wellness Tourism & Real Estate,\u201d which explores how gyms, health clubs, hospitality brands and boutique fitness operators are reshaping their brick-and-mortar offerings to meet shifting member expectations and lifestyle demands.\u00a0Download the free report<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Can gyms really re-create the intimate, high-energy studio feel inside of a large club and thus take market…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[28407,26359,101907,29582,6647,20339,102,56,54,55,48377,19482],"class_list":{"0":"post-242374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-atn-pro","9":"tag-boutique-fitness","10":"tag-club-studio","11":"tag-crunch-fitness","12":"tag-fitness","13":"tag-gyms","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom","18":"tag-vasa-fitness","19":"tag-zzz-a"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"exterior](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/StudioRed-1024x682.webp.webp\")
credit: VASA Fitness<\/p>\n![\"Boutique](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Altea_Fusion-Studio-Vancouver-1024x682.webp.webp\")
Boutique studio at Altea in Vancouver (credit: Altea Active)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Wodify--180x180.webp.webp\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"interior](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/styles-2-1024x615.webp.webp\")
credit: Styles Studios Fitness<\/p>\n![\"Club](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LA-Fitness-Club-Studio-news.webp.webp\")
credit: Club Studio<\/p>\n