Urban Active: Buckhead

Health.com ranks Urban Active as the #3 healthiest gym in America, primarily thanks to the company's many green initiatives. Atlanta's own Buckhead now joins the growing list of Urban Active locations. It's convenient location is nestled right by Target, Filene's Basement, and Buffalo Wild Wings. Shopping, working out, and beer all in the same shopping center? Yes please!

I was fortunate enough to attend a little sneak peak event at Urban Active in Buckhead. The 40,000 square foot facility was absolutely gorgeous. Huge windows brought in lots of natural light, and each piece of cardio equipment sported a beautiful flatscreen TV.

One thing I really liked about this particular gym was the Dynamic Training Area. I'm a physical therapist, so I'm always trying to recreate functional situations for my patients in order to optimize their retraining. A strip of astroturf is a nice touch for athletes to run drills, or for us mortals to do some plyometrics.

The physical therapist in me also loved the variety of options available for a good workout. After all, muscle confusion can be one of the most effective strategies in strengthening. The Buckhead location offers a spin room, as well as an aerobics room for Zumba, yoga, and kickboxing. Additional equipment ranged from free weights to weight machines, from medicine balls to punching bags.

Not only was it really fun to see the gym prior to its grand opening, Skyy vodka hosted the event, so it was a party!

In addition, I got to walk my very first red carpet. I felt very out of my element, but I tried my best to play along.

{photo on right from Urban Active's Facebook page}

The only thing I wasn't particularly fond of was the tanning center.

...and that's nothing against Urban Active. Most gyms offer tanning services. But why? It has nothing to do with health or fitness, and if it's purely aesthetic, then I would much prefer a nail or hair salon. This way, people of Irish descent could also participate :)

Where do you usually work out? What features do you look for in a gym?