Kyiv’s gyms have come a long way from Soviet times — grimy, ill-lit halls filled with free weights and a few ramshackle machines, mainly used by younger men, have been transformed into bright, clean, modern fitness centers that are welcoming to all.
This has come at a cost, however — Kyiv’s gyms and fitness clubs today feel more like private members’ clubs, complete with plenty of frills. Modern clubs offer their clients a huge range of workouts and classes adapted for everyone regardless of age and previous experience. They fully personalized workouts for individual needs. But prices run to thousands of hryvnias a month — well beyond the budgets of many Ukrainians.
But for those with the funds to invest in fitness, the Kyiv Post has picked out a list of fitness clubs, gyms, and hubs that suits all tastes — from those who like outdoor running with professionals, or an intense workout session with a personal coach, to those who prefer a calm yoga class with their kids.
Smartass
Smartass has a wide range of high-quality services at reasonable prices, including a beauty salon, restaurant and bar. Classes are held in a stylish studio with flashing lights and energetic music on in the background.
CEO Kate Kuzmenko and Dmitry Dubilet (the co-founder of Monobank) were inspired by the smart gyms they saw in London, England, they dreamed of creating a similar sports center in Kyiv, where people can do sports, eat healthy food, as well as work and communicate with each other.
Workouts are held in small groups. Smartass has an unusual layout, with elongated halls split into various zones. It’s therefore easy to switch from one zone to another whenever clients wish to change activity.
There is large choice of classes for different tastes from ballet and pilates, to climbing, cycling, boxing, yoga, stretching, and TRX.
Smartass offers its clients training sessions with experienced professional trainers, and classes with international coaches, such as London-based trainer Carl Van Heerden.
Smartass also has its own Kitchen & Bar, where coaches or nutritionists will design individual diets for clients. The Smartass Kitchen & Bar serves meals prepared according to healthy recipes, with no sugar or processed ingredients. Grape oil is used for salad dressings, cooking, frying, and baking.
The restaurant offers tasty buckwheat muffins with poached egg and salmon, pancakes, carrot pie, and coffee with soya milk.
Furthermore, Myroslava Uliana from TV show Zvazheni ta Shchaslyvi , the Ukrainian version of The Biggest Loser, offers her services in Smartass as a nutritionist. Her service costs Hr 1,700 for one consulting session, and Hr 6,000 for an individual nutritional plan.
Clients can book and pay for classes with a couple of clicks on the Smartass website or with a payment app. Towels and boxing gloves are included in the payment, as is unlimited drinking water.
Prices: 50 visits — Hr 14,000, 25 visits — Hr 7,500, 10 visits — Hr 3,200, 5 visits — Hr 1,700, one visit — Hr 350
Smartass. 41A Zhylianska Street. Mon. — Fri.: 7 a. m. — 9:30 p. m., Sat. — Sun.: 10 a. m. — 15:45 p. m. +38 095 186 1576
Ebsh
After six years of working as a company lawyer, Yulia Shum decided to turn her fitness hobby into a business, opening Ebsh fitness centers in Kyiv and Odesa.
Ebsh provides a motivating training experience and lets their clients to train side-by-side with real professional athletes, including Ukrainian sports champions. They also offer intro workouts in Thai boxing and TRX (suspension training, where a person uses their own body weight rather than weights) absolutely free.
Ebsh has a bar with healthy food from the Mira cafe, various kinds of smoothies with fruits, as well drinks with nuts and yogurt. They also stock nutritional supplements, amino acids, pre-workout foods, protein cocktails based on milk or water (Hr 50) and protein bars. In addition, clients have the opportunity to try Ukrainian cheesecake or Ukrainian Syrniki curd pancakes baked by Shum’s mother.
Clients can buy a multi-use training pass, as well as paying individually for classes. Payments can be made via the Ebsh website or a Telegram bot online.
The club also offers the option to freeze a training pass for five days if a client can’t come to classes for some reason.
Prices: pass for a month — from Hr 1,600 to Hr 2,800; pass for 3 months — from Hr 4,560 to Hr 7,200, for 6 months — from Hr 8,640 to Hr 13,200; for 12 months — from Hr 16,320 to Hr 24,000; one individual training — Hr 600, 8 trainings from Hr 4,300
Ebsh. 38 Vozdvyzhenska St. 7 a. m. — 10 p. m. +38093 383 8381,
Nike Kyiv
Legendary U. S. shoe company Nike has more than 38 of its own fitness clubs around the world, and a couple of years ago Nike also launched a Nike club in the capital of Ukraine. They offer high-quality trainers and workouts in great surroundings.
On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays all fitness enthusiasts can work out while enjoying a picturesque view of NSC Olimpiyskiy stadium, the capital’s multifunctional sporting arena. Anyone can join in at any time, and at absolutely no cost.
Nike organizes several other activities, such as the Nike+ Run Club, NTC — Nike training club, and NRC Talks.
The Nike+ Run Club promotes the city’s urban running culture. All running enthusiasts can join the club and find here encouragement, guidance, and a local crew of like-minded runners. They offer running sessions around the stadiums NSC Olimpiyskiy and Athlete, as well as training sessions around the city.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays at around 7 p. m. club enthusiasts gather not far from the Nike store on Khreshchatyk Street, Kyiv’s main street, and then run in the direction of old city center.
The Nike+ Training Club includes fitness and yoga workouts. NRC Talks is a community in which everyone can talk with a huge range of professionals, including nutritionists, athletes, and experienced runners. Coaches will provide guidance on how to run half-marathons or marathons.
Nike+ Kyiv. 55 Velyka Vasylkivska St. Mon – 8 p. m. — Running + NTC Functional, Tue – 6:30 p. m. — NTC: Yoga, on Fri – 7 p. m. — NTC: Yoga or NTC: Functional
Nike+ Kyiv. 7 Laboratornyi Alley. Athlete stadium. Wed. 7 pm — Speed Run or NTC: Functional
Fitness With Baby
This is primarily a community of moms and their children. Fitness with baby supports every stage of motherhood — from pregnancy through postpartum and beyond, focusing on the rehabilitation of the mother’s body. The aim is to prove that getting a pre-baby body back is not a nightmare for new moms.
Fitness with baby encourages clients to bring their children to classes and do some workouts together. The programs aim to tone mothers’ bodies, while the babies have fun too.
The fitness studio has a range of classes including Tabata, TRX, yoga with kids, fitness for pregnant women, body-toning classes, and programs for moms in the early postpartum period.
Maryna Ilhovska joined the studio last year: “I wanted to get a normal life back and restart my training, but my child was only three months only.
Thankfully, Fitness with baby offers you come with children and even do exercises with them together, holding them in your arms. These workouts are good for both for moms and kids.”
The studio also provides a babysitting service during workouts, with nannies to look after children and play with them.
They have launched a course for moms in the early postpartum period, who want to get into shape. The program includes consulting with a trainer, nutritionist, family psychologist, gynecologist, and a pediatrician.
Clients can pay in various ways, including through online payment systems.
Prices: one group training — Hr 150, one individual training — Hr 350, training pass for eight classes — Hr 800, unlimited package — Hr 1,250
Fitness With Baby. 2A Dontsa Street. Mon —Wed.: 10 a. m. — 9 p. m., Tue —Thu.: 9 a. m. — 8 p. m. Sat — 10 a. m. — 12 p. m. +38063 476 8412
Fizmat
Fizmat is a network of sports clubs with high-quality services. Fizmat has two-sports hubs in Kyiv — one located in the busy business quarter of Kyiv, in the Toronto Business Center, facing the marvelous St. Nicholas Catholic cathedral, while the other is located in the Protasov business center. Both, are stylishly designed, have relaxed atmospheres and experienced trainers, and offer their clients spacious areas for workouts.
Fizmat Toronto and Fizmat Protasov put on dozens of classes every week with a range of activities to choose from and adapt their sessions for everyone, from experienced clients to newcomers.
They offer group classes, personal training, corporate training, and a huge range of challenges — including intense workouts to lose weight fast. The intensive programs include cardio and static exercises, stretching, and nutrition plan.
The hub offers yoga, several kinds of TRX suspension workouts, and functional workouts at various levels — beginner, medium and pro — as well as acrobatics classes for adults and kids. They also offer Khadu gymnastics — an unusual type of gymnastics that helps a person’s body recover from trauma and trains unusual zones such as the eyes, neck, and face. For those who like team-building activities, Fizmat offers corporate training (up to 10 persons — Hr 1,200 for one-and-a-half hours, and for 11–14 persons Hr 1,500). These sessions encourage members to work together.
They also offer healthy food and coffee, unlimited drinking water and towels, an infra-red sauna and sports massages.
Prices: one group training — Hr 350, five individual trainings — from Hr 2,375, unlimited package — Hr 15,000 for a year, one individual training — from Hr 500, and 10 individual trainings — from Hr 4,500
Fizmat. Protasov Business Center. 2/1 Mykoly Hrinchenka St. Mon — Fri: 7 a. m. — 9:30 p. m., Sat — 9 a. m. — 6 p. m. Sun — 10 a. m. — 6 p. m. +38 067 142 5172
Fizmat. Toronto Business Center. 100 Velyka Vasylkivska St. Mon — Fri: 7 a. m. — 10 p. m., Sat — 9 a. m. — 6 p. m. Sun — 10 a. m. — 6 p. m. +38094 823 8009
