Jax area fitness centers, Pilates, Yoga? (Jacksonville, Neptune Beach: home, YMCA, living)

[jeanniepep]

I have googled fitness centers for Jacksonville but it can be hard to tell what kind of group classes they offer (some don't have group classes at all). I teach Pilates & Yoga and am ACE-certified for group fitness, but currently freezing my ass off in Michigan, lol. It'll still be at least a year before I'm able to move to Jax, but I'm curious what kind of opportunities there might be!

And don't worry, I'm not relying on it to make a living! My husband has a good job and may be able to relocate to Jax (office in the Southside area, from what I can tell, I'm hoping we can live in San Marco). Teaching group fitness hardly brings home enough money for a beer run, but it sure is fun!

Thanks in advance! The weather in MI is gray and cold and windy and rainy and tomorrow we may get snow. Dreaming of the day we'll move south is the only thing keeping me barely sane at the moment.

[lokahi]

Check out Sportsplex in Neptune Beach, FL for group fitness along with Cobalt Moon in Neptune Beach, FL for Yoga and Pilates. There are alot of Bailey's Gyms here, but not too many chains such as Bally's, etc. There's also a World Gym off of Beach Blvd. These are pretty far away from San Marco, but they might be able to point you in the right direction...good luck!

[jeanniepep]

Thank you so much, I'll look those up! I usually don't mind driving a bit if the situation is right (currently I drive 45 minutes each way to work in MI - not fun in the snow!). Hopefully one or two of those places will need a sub when I get there!

[FLPL75]

you might also want to check into the new YMCA they opened on the southside
it use to be brooks fitness and really nice high end club they have tons of classes
I haven't gone since they converted it to the Y but my friend still goes and she said all the classes are still there

[riveree]

Also take a look at the Jewish Community Center. It is in San Jose (San Marco and San Jose border each other - very close). The JCC has a well-established upscale fitness center:

JCA of Jacksonville

[jeanniepep]

Thanks so much you guys! I checked the websites, and the JCA and Brooks YMCA look like exactly the type of situations I've really enjoyed working in up north. I'm so thankful to have this information before I'm actually moving; it gives me some time to put in more work & training time up here - sharpen up my resume y'know.

Thanks again, reputations boosts for all of ya!

J

[Pcpilot128]

I go to the Brooks/YMCA, its great, not sure if they have Yoga classes, but they have everything else under the sun. Also, I have a friend who practices Bikram. She said that there is only one Bikram studio in town and it's off of Atlantic right over the intracoastal bridge across from Pier 1.

[jeanniepep]

YMCA's can really be terrific. I worked at one in Battle Creek (MI) that farmed out teachers to other businesses - I wound up working full-time in the Kelloggs corporate fitness center, pretty much the most fun job ever. Of course not all YMCA's are created equal, but this Brooks one sounds great.

I'm also very glad to know about the yoga options around Jax! I love to take classes too! Cobalt Moon sounds like my kinda place. I'm not a Bikram person right now, but before I moved here I wasn't an Ashtanga person either. Now that I live near a wonderful studio, I love it. I'm still not tough enough to get through the whole series but I have fun.

[riveree]

Power Yoga in San Marco has won awards as "The Best" yoga studio in Jax:

Yoga Power (http://yoga-power.com/sites/web/index.cfm - broken link)