Get in shape for summer at Kyiv’s fitness clubs.
As always, the popularity of fitness clubs and gyms grows with the coming of spring and summer. The reasons for this are quite obvious: both women and men want to look their best when the time comes to strip off their clothes at a sunny beach. Besides, the hot weather implies wearing short sleeves, short skirts and an overall minimum of clothing, and all those wanting to show off beautifully-built bodies rush to sports clubs to do shaping, weight lifting, swimming, or whatever it takes to shed some extra pounds and tone muscles.
Sport chic
Sport Studio fitness club is an elite and very expensive fitness club intended for those ready to spend in order to stay in shape. Among the patrons of the club are celebrities like singer Alyona Vinnytska, Masha Yefrosinina and Oleksandr Sidorenko, who is a member of Tanok Na Maydani Kongo band, also known as Fozzi. And it is not surprising, since the club offers a large assortment of services: a gym, more than 40 different kinds of aerobics classes, yoga, head-to-head fight trainings, a ground for playing light ball, small swimming pool and two saunas. When hungry, you can have “workout” food and Japanese cuisine at the bar. Sport Studio Club also offers massage and has a solarium and club doctor. Monthly payments vary depending on the hours you want to visit the club. For Hr 1,135 you can visit Sport Studio Fitness Club every day till 2 p.m. and for Hr 1,465 you will be able to train there any time.
Favorite Premium company is one of the oldest companies in Ukraine providing fitness services. It is a member of the international fitness clubs association IHRSA and was awarded four times as the best fitness club of the year at the international contest “The Choice of the Year.” The club owns new training simulators constructed by Technogym Company and fitness simulators by Kinesis. Favorite Premium Club offers aerobics, fitness and yoga classes. There are more than 20 fashionable workout courses offered at the club, such as pilates, which is very popular among Hollywood celebrities, and is directed at uniting your body and senses. Favorite Club also has a spa called Spa Boutique, where you can try different massage treatments, like the Stone Therapy treatment, which uses stones as massage devices. One of the most interesting services provided by Favorite club is its Image Studio, where you can get manicures, dye your hair, or get professional advice on how to dress your best from a fashion consultant.
Sport Express is Kyiv’s first fitness club for business people – at least that is how the club is advertised. Sport Express is supplied with high-quality fitness equipment, including treadmills, cross-training simulators and a row simulator. It has a gym, relax zone and a cardio zone that is considered to be one of the biggest in Kyiv. Sport express has two clubs: one is situated near Lukyanivska metro station and the other is not far from Petrivka. Gyms at both clubs are supplied with equipment from Vasyl Gym. Both gyms are divided into three parts for visitors of different calisthenics levels. The first part, or the so-called fitness alley, is meant for beginners and is equipped with special simulators. The second part is called zone of free weights and is intended for professional and highly-experienced sportsmen. The third part of the gym is supplied with unique simulators, which are used to train separate groups of muscles. Sport Express provides classes on more than 20 kinds of activities, including dancing, cycle racing simulation, aerobics and many others.
The relax zone offers various massage treatments, a solarium, and bar that serves fresh cocktails and different kinds of tea. To attend the club you need to buy a three-month season membership that costs Hr 615 to Hr 1,320 depending on which days and times you want to train.
Sport Studio Fitness Club (45-49 Turhenivska, 569-3297). www.sportstudio.com.ua.
Open Mon-Fri 7 a.m. till 11 p.m., weekends 9 a.m. till 10 p.m.
Favorite Premium Club (6 Muzeyniy Lane, 278-3338). www.favourite.kiev.ua.
Open daily 7 a.m. till 11 p.m.
Sport Express (13 Pymonenka, 484-1594; 9 Moskovskiy Prospect, 494-0767). www.sportexpress.com.ua.
Open Mon-Fri 7 a.m. till 11 p.m., weekends 9 a.m. till 9 p.m.
Fitness for everyone
Puma Sport Club houses a gym, fitness hall, game hall, table tennis room, sauna, massage room and sport cafe. It is possible to train at their gym with a professional trainer (Hr 580 for eight trainings and Hr 780 for 12 trainings) or on your own. Beginners can work with a personal trainer who will write up a personalized training program. Classes on different kinds of dances, including hip-hop and Latin dances, aerobics, yoga and martial arts take place in the fitness hall. To take aerobics classes you will have to pay Hr 280 for eight trainings per month and Hr 360 for 12 trainings per month.
At Akvilon Sport club you can train in the club’s gym, attend one of six kinds of aerobics classes, or take yoga. To visit their aerobics hall three times a week it will cost Hr 210 to Hr 250 (depending on time you want to train). One aerobics class costs Hr 30. Attending three classes a week at the gym will cost you Hr 230 to Hr 280 per month. One visit to the gym costs Hr 30 to Hr 35. There is also a special club offer: for Hr 350 you may come as many times a week as you want except for Sunday. Yoga trainings are held three times a week at 11 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and cost Hr 250 per month. One yoga class costs Hr 30. Akvilon Sport club also provides massage services. One session of massage costs Hr 40 to Hr 80. The price depends on which part of your body you wish to be massaged (your legs, back, neck or the full body massage). The club also has a system of discounts which allows you to pay much less if you pay for several months in advance.
The professional coaches at Cyber Gym will help you get rid of excess weight and tone your muscles. For Hr 80 per training, Coach Yuriy Spasokukotskiy, who is the winner of four body building tournaments, promises to make you look like a Superman. The coach will help you to work out a personal diet regiment and training schedule. One training without a coach costs Hr 60 and one month costs Hr 450. There is also an option which will better suit women: it is a program that combines fitness and aerobics training for Hr 550 per month. Cybergym also has a protein-juice bar.
Puma Sport Club (12G Heroyiv Stalingradu, 426-8284). www.skpuma.narod.ru. Open daily 8 a.m. till 11 p.m.
Akvilon Sport (10/10 Pidvysotskoho, 239-1822). www.akvilon-sport.com.ua. Open Mon-Sat 9 a.m. till 9 p.m.
Cyber Gym (50V Bohdana Khmelnytskoho, 465-3171). www.cybergym.kiev.ua.
Open Mon-Fri 9 a.m. till 10 p.m., Sat 9 a.m. till 8 p.m., Sun noon till 6 p.m.
Swim it off
Fitness, yoga and body building are good for you, but there is one kind of sport that helps tone all muscle groups at the same time and quickly helps get rid of excess weight – swimming. Kyiv has several public swimming pools. When going to a swimming pool, don’t forget to get a spravka, which is a health certificate issued by a local doctor. Otherwise you will not be allowed to swim in the pool.
A gym, available at any fitness club, is a great option for those who need to train certain groups of muscles and tone their overall shape. (Oleksiy Boyko)
Vodnik swimming pool is 25 meters long and has six lanes. 45 minutes of swimming in Vodnik cost Hr 28 for adults and Hr 15 for children aged six to 14. This swimming pool also has a training gym. The pool is housed in an old building that hasn’t been renovated for awhile, but if swimming is what matters most to you, then it should suit you fine.
If, however, you prefer something in better shape than Vodnik, you should try the Yunist pools. Yunist has a 50m open-air pool and 25m covered pool. But to be allowed to swim here, you will need a record of pre-payment from a bank. 45 minutes costs Hr 30 but instead of having to pre-pay every time, you can pre-pay for four hours and then visit the pools whenever you like. Yunist also offers aqua-aerobics, which cost Hr 35 for one hour and takes place Monday thru Friday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. There is also a training gym which costs Hr 20 per hour.
Palats Pidvodnoho Plavannya (Palace of Underwater Swimming) is a big 50m-long swimming pool with 10 lanes. To be admitted to swim it is necessary to have a spravka, swimming cap and a lock for the wardrobe locker in the dressing room. 45 minutes of swimming costs Hr 30 for adults and Hr 20 for children. A month membership costs Hr 330 for adults and Hr 210 for children. In addition to regular swimming, you can attend aqua-aerobics. They also have three saunas, two training gyms, a hall for shaping, two cafes, a diving club called Vodolaz (Diver) and a store that sells bathing suits and aquatic sports equipment. There is also a swimming school where children can learn to swim, dive, and play pentathlon and water polo.
Delfin swimming pool has six lanes 25m-long. 45 minutes of swimming costs Hr 22, but for Hr 140 (Hr 130 for students and Hr 100 for children), you can attend the pool eight times, so it is cheaper to buy a season membership. Delfin swimming pool doesn’t have aqua-aerobics, but it has a gym, sauna and solarium.
Vodnik (62 Voloska, 428-8620). Open daily 8 a.m. till 9 p.m.
Yunist (7 Bastionna, 285-2122). Open daily 6 a.m. till 10 p.m.
Palats Pidvodnoho Plavannya (2/3 Serhienko, 502-5483). Open Mon-Sat 7 a.m. till 10 p.m., Sun 9 a.m. till 5 p.m.
Delfin (120V Sorokarichcha Zhovtnya, 258-3307). Open daily 8 a.m. till 8 p.m.
