Editor's Note: When I'm not living and breathing all things Urban List, I'm a Personal Trainer. The gyms on this list have been featured because they're welcoming, inclusive spaces led by expert trainers who make fitness fun so you can find the joy in movement.
It's the time of year when we resolve to go harder, to be better, to move faster, and to get stronger—no wait, that might just be Daft Punk. But if you have, in fact, resolved to move more this year, chances are you're on the hunt for your new stomping (and sweating) ground.
But finding a gym, a workout style and an instructor can be really tough and heading along to one that feels mismatched can break your motivation. So we've spun, sweat, run, hit, swung, lifted, panted, slid and left it all on the studio floor to bring to you the ultimate Urban List edit of all the best places to work out in Auckland no matter if you're just starting out, returning after a hiatus or identify as Gym Bunny.
Here are Auckland's best gyms.
Studio Box
17 Crowhurst Street, Newmarket, Auckland | $55 per week or Classpass
Image credit: Studio Box | Instagram
There are lots of things in this life to bring us down—the state of the world, a particularly venomous email, being left on read—but even if your day’s been A Day we’re pretty sure smashing a bag into the next century will make you feel a helluva lot better. In fact, we know that’s the case. How do you think we stay so zen and chill all the time? Boxing, baby. Specifically, Studio Box.
Auckland’s best gym for letting it all out while boosting strength and cardio while you’re at it, go for the neon-lit rage release and stay for the expertly-programmed workouts, the motivational trainers and the sense that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Plus, they’ve got a pup. Cute.
Insider intel:
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Best class for beginners: their OG full body class (45 minutes)
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If a live DJ class pops up on the timetable, snag a spot—it's vibes incarnate
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These workouts feature flashing lights so if you’re light-sensitive, this might not be the gym for you
Lift Club
24 Minnie Street, Eden Terrace, Auckland | $50-60 per week or Classpass
Image credit: Lift Club | Instagram
Many gyms claim to offer group fitness sessions that feel like personal training but Lift Club, with its tagline ‘elite training for normal people’ actually delivers, every damn time. Run by personal trainers Jaxton Burton and Ella Webster, Lift Club offers four types of classes: ‘build’ which encompasses barbell, strength training, bodybuilding and functional lifts, ‘capacity’ which is your sweaty cardio sessions, ‘hybrid’ which is a bit of both making for one helluva strength and conditioning hit and Saturday ‘club’ sessions for your weekly electric energy team-based workout fix.
It’s the best gym in Auckland for when you’re keen to get fitter but your bank says hard no to shelling out for a PT.
Insider intel:
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Best class for beginners: Build (55 minutes)
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Fun fact: Both Jax and Ella are vegan or as Ella puts it "delicious, nutritious and non-vicious"
Mode
202 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby, Auckland | $75 per week or Classpass
Image credit: Mode | supplied
The first thing that’ll happen when you step foot into Mode is you’ll think you’ve arrived at a wellness retreat rather than a gym. Far from the industry’s signature bright lights and thumping beats, Mode is something else entirely and it slays. And forget what you thought you knew about Ponsonby’s vibe—this spot’s down-to-earth, warm and supportive plus the trainers’ clear instructions and attentiveness to safety and exercise technique means you’ll feel confident and empowered.
Part treadmill-based cardio and part strength/resistance training, Mode’s classes are similar to the global sensation Barry’s (formerly Barry’s Bootcamp) minus the red neon and massive class size. Better still is Restore Mode, the most beautiful ice bath and infrared sauna set up we’ve ever seen. It’s no wonder it’s made our best gyms in Auckland list. Give studio dog, Theo, a pat from us.
Insider intel:
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Best class for beginners: Foundation Mode (50 minutes)
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Stock up on activewear at Clique Fitness, a 3-minute walk from the gym
Sala
48 Brown Street, Ponsonby, Auckland | $76.25 per week or Classpass
Image credit: Sala | Instagram
Manifested into existence by Sarah Lindsay back in 2019, Sala is an ever-evolving heavy hitter in Tāmaki’s boutique fitness scene. Easily one of Auckland’s best gyms, especially if you appreciate a creative flair, every offering has been designed to help you find a new relationship to movement while staying true to its ethos that you’re already enough.
At Sala you’ll find various flavours of yoga, mat and reformer pilates, sound healing and their newest addition: Chroma HIIT led by Nicky Birch (who you’ll be a fan of if you ever went to Westward Cycle) which unexpectedly blends weight training and treadmill intervals with colour therapy.
Insider intel:
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Best classes for beginners: Any except Yogasana, Dynamic Yoga, Reformer Strength and Reformer Cardio (45 minutes)
STRONG Pilates
Newmarket, Victoria Park & St Johns | $70 per week or Classpass
Image credit: STRONG Pilates | supplied
Auckland’s best gym for hyper-effective, low-impact workouts (or if you want to enter your pilates girlie era), STRONG sports an ever-evolving setup that you’re guaranteed to have never set eyes on before. Think: rower or bike stuck on the end of a reformer plus cables, gym-sized weights, stretchy bands and even a weighted bar. These workouts are a contemporary spin on traditional reformer with cardio bursts and weighted strength training interspersed between pilates-inspired blocks. You might feel a bit overwhelmed during your first couple of classes while you’re getting used to the reformer and the moves but it’s absolutely worth sticking at it—you’ll be a pro in no time and stronger than ever before. Check out more of Auckland’s best pilates studios here.
Insider intel:
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Best class for beginners: the beginner-specific versions of their Body, Sweat and Loaded-style classes (45 minutes)
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Arriving 20 minutes early to your first class is a must (even if you’ve done reformer pilates before) so your trainer has enough time to run you through how to use everything
Fitness All Together
Corner Beaumont Street and Jellicoe, Jellicoe Street, Auckland | $32 per week or Classpass
Image credit: Fitness All Together | Instagram
The first time we met Fitness All Together (FAT) founder, Kevin Pichot, it was at a Marc Rebillet concert at The Powerstation and he was dressed in a bath robe. At the time we didn’t know it but turns out that’s exactly the essence of Fitness All Together—go hard but keep it fun. Auckland’s best fitness community for workouts that go beyond the sweat (think: coffee dates and parties, too), try out FAT, stat. Their signature FAT Workout moves from a mobility focused warm up through two circuit rounds and an endorphin-boosting challenge before hitting your core and cooling down.
Insider intel:
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Best class for beginners: any (30-45 minutes)
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FAT happens rain or shine with strong community vibes which will get you out of bed even if you’ve struggled with consistency in the past
The Cobalt Club
96 New North Road, Eden Terrace, Auckland | $55 per week or Classpass
Image credit: The Cobalt Club | Instagram
If circuits really get you going, you might like to make a beeline for the blue neon glow of The Cobalt Club. Classes include upper or lower body exercises with a slow and controlled strength-building focus or a spicier ‘sprint’ cardio-focused edit, ‘shred’ is even more cardio-focused and ‘booty’ is a special women-only class specifically designed to build your perfect peach, plus they offer a bunch of online classes too. If you went to RnV last year and got your sweat on at the Red Bull Shred Shed, you’ll be familiar with TCC’s vibe—the pop up was run by co-founders Amber and Willis Alatini. After a ‘fit to match the vibe? Amber just launched Röem, an activewear range all about making people feel snatched and sexy.
Insider intel:
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Best class for beginners: Any (50-60 minutes)
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Cobalt Club regularly runs weightloss challenges with nutrition components. If you feel this may be triggering, this isn’t the gym for you
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This spot’s one of the only gyms to still offer free trials, snag a 7-day one here
Les Mills
Auckland CBD, Britomart, Howick, New Lynn, Newmarket and Takapuna | about $33.50 per week
Image credit: Les Mills | Instagram
While Les Mills may cop a lot of flak for being the gym where people put on make-up before they work out but it’s not like that at all. Once the definition of baller fitness, thanks to the rise of boutique gyms (with their boutique prices), Les Mills is now one of the cheapest all-encompassing gyms in Tāmaki.
If you’re starting out, ask the staff for an orientation session so you can get the most out of the weights room and functional zones. As for the classes, our faves are their delightfully sweaty, high octane, low-impact bike-based ‘Sprint’; their boxing-meets-treadmill-meets-weights ‘Conquer’; and ‘Body Jam’ taught by the ever-entertaining dance phenom Gandalf Archer-Mills.
Insider Intel
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Best class for beginners: Anything but Grit
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Refuel at Bowler if you’re working out at their Victoria Street flagship store
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In high-intensity interval training it’s quality over quantity, switch up your routine with some lower impact classes like BodyBalance or Yoga (or just, like, take an actual break) to give yourself enough time to fully recover
Want more movement? Check out:
- NZ-Based Activewear Labels You'll Love
- Everything You Need To Know About EMS Training
- Tāmaki's Best Running Clubs You'll Leap Out Of Bed For
Main image credit: Lift Club | Elizabeth Jury.