7 Olympic-Inspired Workout Classes to Unleash Your Inner Athlete

Did you catch the Simone Biles bug? Same. If you have a sudden urge to revisit or explore a love for gymnastics, Acrosports in San Francisco is a good place to start. “The Olympics are always a great motivator for adult athletes to return to sports they used to play,” says Jessica Huntington, operations and social events manager. “The Games foster drive to start a new discipline or improve their skills and dedicate more time to their chosen sport.” All of the gym’s classes are designed to improve fitness and increase knowledge of a specific sport. In terms of gymnastics, the gym offers classes in everything from tumbling and hand balancing to trapeze and stretching. And that’s just a handful of the classes offered year-round.

Fancy yourself a fencer? Manhattan Fencing has prepared more saber Olympians than any other club in the U.S. (three of their athletes competed in Rio this year) and you could actually be next. The club offers classes ranging from complete beginner to elite so you can fence your way to Daryl Homer status in no time. “Our classes teach discipline, good sportsmanship, confidence, mental acuity, coordination, and the ability to take a loss and not give up,” says executive director Julia Gelman. The studio offers classes all year-round and free intro classes in Bryant Park in N.Y.C. every spring and fall. On guard!

Designed by pro athlete Andia Winslow and literally named for the Olympic games. This class, offered at Crunch locations in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, combines Olympic-style strength, power, speed, and agility. Team and individual competitions keep the competitive spirit of the games alive and the promise of prizes helps push you to the next level to go for the (metaphorical) gold.

“At Atlas we are focused on changing the way people approach fitness by appealing to their inner athlete,” says Teresa Valley Parry, office manager at Atlas. Sounds pretty perfect for anyone channeling the Olympian within. In addition to a full menu of sports performance and metabolic conditioning classes, Atlas offers Gymnastics and Olympic Weightlifting classes all year-round. “Classes teach our athletes to push themselves harder than they ever have before, allowing for a degree of positive change they’ve never experienced,” she adds.

At this running studio, you can literally train like an Olympian with Olympic coaches. Olympians John Henwood and John Trautmann lead indoor classes, as well as spearhead the outdoor marathon training program offered by the studio. If the name didn’t give it away, the classes focus on expertly curated running workouts that challenge the body beyond simply running a few miles. With structured intervals and treadmill-centric training, the classes are suitable for runners of any and all levels. Someone tell Allyson Felix we’re gaining on her!

This boutique studio specializes specifically in, you guessed it, rowing and riding, otherwise known as cycling. The classes offered year-round pair the high impact, full body workouts to make your training sessions pretty close to Olympic caliber. So, if you’ve been watching the rowing and cycling races in Rio or you just really want to finally learn how to actually use the rowing machine (real name: erg), Row & Ride, which features colored lights, a disco ball, and a massive projector that displays Olympic rowing and cycling scenes, needs to be your first top in Beantown.

If you prefer to skip the high intensity interval training type workouts and go for something a little more core-focused, train like an Olympian Pilates-style at N.Y.C's. Studio 26. Founder and Pilates and Movement specialist, Jared Kaplan, has modeled his newest training series after Olympic athletes, so it’s designed for Pilates fans looking to switch up their routine in honor of the Games. In addition, there are a slew of Pilates exercises reminiscent of Olympic sports like gymnastics, diving, swimming, and more. You’ll feel more agile and athletic in no time—and did we mention the studio is basically a wellness oasis?