Katie Cerulle

Want to jump-start your health and wellness? A good place to begin is by joining one of these top-notch NYC gyms. Finding the perfect fitness center that won’t cost you an arm and a leg can feel like a huge feat, but we prefer you save your precious energy for the gym, so we’ve sweated through the city’s best and most budget-friendly health clubs across all five boroughs to ease your search. Here’s our essential list of our favorite places to get our blood pumping, which offer daily passes and monthly memberships among other perks like high-end amenities (hello heated pools!) and new fitness classes (and some non-traditional, weird fitness classes, too). Good luck with all your wellness goals, and after you dive in, go treat yourself to the best bagels in the city. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to fitness in NYC

There are a few things you can always rely on New York City to provide: 100-degree subway stations in the summertime, the best baconeggandcheese of your life (yes, it’s one word in my book) and a concert of any shape, size or genre you desire. From sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden to backroom bars filled with your favorite Bushwick neighbors, there’s something for everyone this season. If you need help narrowing it down, we’ve got you covered. Here are our top picks for the best artists coming to the five boroughs this fall. RECOMMENDED: Things to do in the fall in NYC

Opened in April 2024 alongside a new apartment complex, Brooklyn’s second Life Time location combines luxury and fitness for the ultimate workout experience. Deemed an athletic country club, the 37,000-square-foot space has three floors of machines and free weights, group fitness studios, coworking space and recovery equipment like saunas and Normatec recovery boots (these use air compression to massage your legs and increase circulation). Members have access to classes like yoga, Pilates and boxing, plus signature formats like GTX, a bootcamp-style class switching between lifting and treadmill, as well as Alpha, a lifting class that resembles CrossFit. Access to multiple locations will cost $329 a month, but if you’re under 26 or over 65, you can choose one location and pay $299 a month. 

Are you looking for a way to combine your love of dance with a great workout? Look no further, DanceBody is here. The flagship location in Nomad offers multiple types of dance-based workouts, including three types of sculpt classes that use weights and three cardio classes featuring hip-hop hits and HIIT, which combines cardio and sculpt. New to dancing? No problem! Classes are designed for all levels of experience. Private training is also available, with in-person, at-home, or virtual options.  A single class drop-in is $42, but the studio offers a three-pack for $126 or a six-pack for $240. There are also monthly options that include various discounts on equipment, apparel and DanceBody LIVE, an online platform to take classes at home. For monthly memberships, eight classes per month is $304, 12 per month is $432 and an unlimited monthly membership is $650.

Beach volleyball isn’t just for the summer anymore. At QBK Sports in Long Island City, Queens, you can play beach volleyball indoors all year round. The facility offers adult and youth classes, leagues and even birthday parties or corporate rentals. The space includes three full-size courts, a party space with cornhole, Ping-Pong and games, and a full bar with food available to order. If you’re new to beach volleyball, you can book a free trial class catered towards beginners, then join the intro classes weekly. For more experienced players, classes are available in four levels with sessions at various times throughout the week, so there’s an option for everyone. To join a league, choose between intermediate or all abilities, pick a day of the week and time, and get ready for eight weeks of gameplay, new friends and fun! A single class with no commitment is $52, a five-pack of classes at any level is $230, a 10-pack is $410 and unlimited classes (with a year commitment) is $230 a month.