A new fitness studio has entered Ballston’s wellness scene, hosting group workout classes with elements of yoga and Pilates.
Fitness franchise FS8, which specializes in reformer Pilates, yoga and low impact training, is now open for business at 4001 9th Street N. The new studio held a grand opening over the weekend with Olympic diving medalist Kassidy Cook.
George Mason University’s Virginia Square campus is hosting a health-centered festival this weekend, with a fun run, live fitness classes and a DJ.
The celebration, called Clarendon FitFest, kicks off at 8 a.m. on Saturday at Mason Square Plaza (3351 Fairfax Drive) with a 5K run and 2-mile walk. These will be followed by a “fitness fair” with live class demonstrations and free giveaways until 12:30 p.m.
A new Pilates studio is rolling out plans to open in Crystal City.
Signs advertising “Pilates on the Mat” have appeared on the ground floor of The Grace and Reva apartments (269 19th Court S.). A website for the upcoming business advertises “a revolutionary fitness concept providing reformer-quality Pilates classes at a fraction of the price,” in addition to “corporate wellness” classes offered at offices and apartments.
A fitness studio near the Courthouse Metro has changed hands and brands.
The Xtend Barre at 2008 Wilson Blvd has rebranded to Studio B under new owners Dana Wilson and Elaine Broughan, both of whom have worked at the studio for several years.
An extreme athlete from Arlington has broken the world record for the fastest time in a series of 50K races on all seven continents.
Michael Wardian, 51, completed a seven-day string of back-to-back ultramarathons in every corner of the world on Friday morning, a spokesperson told ARLnow. His net time of 26 hours, 40 minutes and 16 seconds smashed the record of 31 hours, 25 minutes and 37 seconds that Christian Brown Johnson set during the Great World Race the previous year.
A Reddit thread has locals debating whether (and why) people in our area appear noticeably more fit than those in other parts of the country.
From a user in the Northern Virginia subreddit, in a thread titled “Why is everyone here so thin/fit?”:
Did anyone here come from deeper south and realize the disparity in the size of the average person? I looked it up and at the city level, Arlington VA was names the fittest city in the USA for eight consecutive years and DC is always second place. Now I understand places like Colorado being fit because of the mountain hiking and outdoorsy culture but this is a congested urban area with chronically busy people and career hustle culture. We also have a lot of restaurants and bars and people go out frequently, and if I’m not mistaken there are some parts of this area (DC especially) that are high poverty “food deserts” which are actually typically associated with a higher obesity rate. Does it really just come down to walkability? What’s different about here?
That original post from last week sparked what is now a nearly 400-post-long discussion. Redditors pointed to several factors that might explain why folks here are fitter than elsewhere, including:
What we’re wondering in today’s poll, however, is not what’s causing this phenomenon — but whether you’ve noticed it specifically in Arlington.
Are Arlingtonians actually fitter than people in most other parts of the country, based on your observations?
A boutique fitness studio is coming to Ballston and hosting free pop-up classes around town this fall.
The gym franchise barre3 has signed a lease at 818 N. Quincy Street in Ballston, according to a press release. In advance of the opening, the new studio is hosting pop-up community classes across Arlington over the next few weeks.
A national boxing gym franchise appears to be planning a new location on Columbia Pike.
Title Boxing Club is laying the groundwork for a possible location at Centro Arlington, in the retail bay where Orangetheory Fitness closed last year. The business applied for a commercial builders’ permit there last month.
Onelife Fitness is set to begin a $2 million expansion next week at its Ballston gym, constructing new spaces for exercise, recovery and physical therapy.
The fitness center on the third floor of Ballston Quarter will be expanding into vacant retail space below, adding about 12,000 square feet to double the center’s square footage dedicated to turf and strength training.
A boutique fitness studio is gearing up to replace a former yoga center in Clarendon.
Megaformer plans to open this winter at 1016 N. Garfield Street, in the vacant retail bay next to Pure Barre. The space was formerly held by the yoga studio Sukha Center, which closed last year.
Arlington has ranked as the fittest “city” in the country for the eighth year straight, edging out D.C. at No. 2.
According to the new 2025 Fitness Index, Arlington has the highest percentage of residents “in excellent or very good health” (67.2%), the highest percentage sleeping 7+ hours per day (76.4%) and the lowest percentage of smokers (3.3%).
An Arlington strength training gym hopes to open this summer on the ground floor of a new Virginia Square office building.
M2, a fitness studio by Method Fitness, has signed a lease at 3901 Fairfax Drive, joining the nine-story building’s growing tenant lineup, according to a release from developer Skanska. The acclaimed gym currently has one outpost on Langston Blvd.
