Four out of five San Franciscans claim they workout at least once a week, with almost half doing so as part of formal or informal group classes. A number of facilities offer a diversity of opportunities to “move it” in Dogpatch and South-of-Market (SoMa); a few are described below.
Dogpatch Pilates is a new addition to the neighborhood, opening last month. Proprietor Andrea Bonfante has been teaching Pilates for 15 years, relocating her studio to Third Street after several years operating in West Portal.
“I did my original training to become a Pilates instructor at Sanchez Street Studios in Noe Valley,” she said.
In 2015, she completed a master’s certificate from the Pilates Center in Boulder, Colorado, and her instructor certification, a 400-hour teacher training program, the same year.
Bonfante’s studio is outfitted for one-on-one workouts or duets; two students at a time. She’s setting up a third station to offer classes for three students simultaneously. She’s a fan of the Pilates chair, which provides a range of upper- and lower-body resistance exercises that can be incorporated into a routine.
Each reformer machine in Bonfante’s studio can be set up as a “tower” with spring adjustments for different height, weight, and strength levels. The tower can be used to isolate arms, legs, and other areas, while still engaging the core. Bonfante has a unique piece of equipment, the Cadillac, which can be operated for trapeze-inspired strength exercises. She plans to install a ladder barrel for backbend and spinal extension movements, and Ped-O-Pull for foot and ankle motion workouts.
Pilates was designed to be broadly age and lifestyle inclusive, Bonfante said. She often tailors exercises for clients with limited mobility, flexibility, or who are recovering from an injury.
“My oldest client is 87, and I have taught people in their teens,” she said. “It can definitely be useful for anybody, any gender, anything.”
According to Bonfante, some clients work to build and strengthen their bodies and muscles; others want to address injuries or reduce pain. She offers three-packs of 55-minute individual sessions for $325.
Orangetheory Fitness, on King Street, attracts clients from SoMa and the Financial District, according to Coach Adrian Fernandez. The facility offers 60-minute, high-intensity, cardio circuit classes. The brand was founded in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2010 by fitness guru Ellen Latham, a spinoff from her successful Pilates gym, Ellen’s Ultimate Workout. It’s now a franchise and can be found throughout the country.
The concept behind Orangetheory Fitness and its trainer-led workouts is reaching a heart rate that’s in the “orange zone” for one’s height, weight, and physicality, maintaining it for a set amount of time. The orange zone helps maximize metabolism and keep energy levels optimal to benefit muscle groups, heart, and cardiovascular system, according to the company’s website.
According to Jeremy Townsend, Ph.D. a kinesiologist at Lipscomb University who has studied post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), as quoted in Inverse, the idea behind EPOC is that high-intensity workouts create an “oxygen debt” that requires effort to repay, even after the training is over. This, potentially, is the fitness holy grail; free aerobic gains while lying on the couch. The longer the intensity, the more this “afterburn” seems to last, up to 36 hours, according to Orangetheory’s website.
“Orangetheory’s training zones are based off percentages of maximum heart rate, so if an exercising individual wants to maximize EPOC, it would be suggested that they try to enter…a higher intensity and longer EPOC,” said Townsend.
Orange Basic memberships start at $69 a month, rising to $159 for unlimited classes at most locations. There are additional costs to purchase a heart rate monitor. Free 30-minute at-home workout videos are available online.
Club Pilates is tucked into a nondescript apartment building in a quieter part of SoMa. The facility offers Pilates workouts on the reformer, featuring a patented, total-body workout machine with pulleys and weights, created to strengthen the body’s core – abdominal muscles and lower back – and major muscle groups.
The studio is part of a franchise, with more than 600 in operation. Club Pilates On-demand is available for $9.99 a month, offering videos for households with a reformer machine. Free half-hour introductory classes are available most days. A basic, in-person membership providing four monthly course credits per guest is $129 a month, after a $99 initiation fee.
3rd Street Boxing Gym is located near the Muni T-train stop at 23rd and Third streets, where passersby can hear the thumping of gloved fists slamming solid mass or witness the rhythmic action of boxers dancing around bags. The facility offers boxing, kickboxing, and body conditioning.
Part of the iLoveKickboxing family of gymnasia, which share similarly designed classes and a shared philosophy of total body fitness, 3rd Street Boxing Gym has been operating in Dogpatch since 2003. The fitness center features one-on-one workouts, boot camps, nutrition coaching, and drills for conditioning, endurance, balance, strength and flexibility. Coaching is tailored to experience level, according to the website. The facility offers cardio machines, weights, and TRX, a wall-mounted resistance system with handles and bands, meant to isolate the upper body.
A basic monthly membership costs $125. Unlimited boxing, strength and Muay Thai classes cost $185 a month. To become part of the academy, which features personalized training and sparring, is $215 per month.