Sport: The new disciplines to stay in shape

The current trend is towards “hybrid” locations. You don’t just go and buy a dress or a pair of pants anymore, but in the same place, you buy a cup of coffee, a cup of tea or a “healthy” lunch, of course. The same applies to sports halls, which become an event space, an exhibition and/or coworking venue with an integrated restaurant or café. La Montgolfière in the 10th arrondissement, a sublime gym set up in what was a former balloon factory in the 19th century, regularly rents part of this 2,000 m2 under an 18-metre-high glass roof, for professional meetings, organizes exhibitions and offers catering after or before classes in a lounge area. On the first floor, there are two free training gyms and three other ultra-bright gyms dedicated to cycling, boxing, strength training and cardiotraining.

Coaches provide Bootcamp classes, various yoga variants (vinyasa, flawless, yin, classic, hatha, yoga for runners), cross training, boxing, kettlebell (a kind of cannon ball with which one makes pendulum movements, excellent to solicit coordination, balance, cardiovascular while involving an important work of cladding) or lessons in the more exotic name as animal move or instability. After the effort, comfort with a rest room and another where to be massaged or book a session with an osteopath. Moreover, we are no longer talking about the gym but about the Social Club. Same claim for the German fitness brand John Reed who has just inaugurated its first French venue at the So Ouest shopping center in Levallois Perret. Another opening is planned in Paris intra muros in the year. Here, the sport is combined with relaxation, well-being and culture and not only physical.

In addition to the 3,500 m2 dedicated to fitness, John Reed offers 500 m2 of wellness with two saunas, two jacuzzis and one, real, large pool. What’s different is the mind. At the entrance, the visual universe hits the visitor with a wall made by the street artist Zoulli Art where he sublimates the maneki-neko (Japanese sculpture of a cat that lifts its paw in stores to attract fortune), emblem of the John Reed club. These maneki-neko, designed by many personalities and manufactured in resin by Leblon Delienne, will even be sold on site. Each space is dedicated to an artist: walls with a multicolored fresco painted in a pop art style by Zoulli Art, a cardio space sublimated by a collage of Japanese inspiration made by Madame Lokal or the lounge and its calligraphy wall decoration of the artist Yat to name but a few. Another special feature of the music: John Reed sees music as a link between his members in clubs that display a nightclub atmosphere and regularly organizes sessions with Djs. You almost forget that you come here to sweat, to work out, to train…. Here again, special attention is paid to follow-up and personalization by coaches who are constantly present and, in addition to group classes (Spinning, HIIT Training, Body Shaping, Yoga, Pilates or Barre), offer personal coaching on request.

Retailers, such as L’Usine, are also surfing in a special, high-end atmosphere and are seeing new competition here. L’Usine concentrates more on the sporting side even if the design of the premises is very careful, as the last one opened in Saint-Lazare in an atypical space of 1,800 m2 on two levels while following the arches of the station and its large bay windows. Sauna, hammam, spacious and comfortable changing rooms are there for the relaxation side. Here, we focus on sport with top-notch equipment and a very rich program. No less than 75 hours of sessions per week… and original classes like Dancing Yoga, for example. What to find his happiness in addition to his personal training on equipment always at the forefront of the latest technical innovations. Among all the hype clubs in Paris in addition to Brach and Ken in the 16th, or Blanche in the 9th, the famous Klay in the 2nd innovates with, since February, his first Masterclass: Color Sculpt®. An all-new signature ultra-complete discipline that invigorates the silhouette, reboots the body and rebalances emotions. Klay sought the expertise of Julie Pujols-Benoit to create this holistic method that mixes fitness, Pilates and chromotherapy. Try as fast as you can.

A little collective, a lot of individual

Two new activities in the Parisian world are eager for group sports: Roundnet and Urban Soccer, two sports that should be known. The Roundnet, a mix of volleyball and tennis, is practiced two on two with a rubber ball and a net on the ground, for the rebound. The very first French venue opened at the beginning of the year in the Pleyel district in Saint-Denis on 700 m2 in a former workshop lit by a glass roof. A very popular sport in the United States, Jean-Romain Sintes, at the initiative of this project, intends to develop it in France. A federation was even created just a year ago and there would be no fewer than 75,000 casual or regular players in the Paris region and 200,000 throughout the country. And a French championship is on the agenda. This will give the project of Jean-Romain Sintes and his associates a “rebound” to open other places where, in addition to indoor Roundnet, we also share a game of table football, an arcade game, board games. In short, a space of conviviality where you can exercise physically because this sport requires dynamism, breath and endurance…

Older, Urban Soccer (five-a-side football) is played on artificial turf in the gym. The pitch is reduced and the rules adapted. The plus? Whether it is selling, raining or the mercury is at its lowest, players are indifferent, sheltered in a closed room. To debrief, they meet at the club house where they can even watch their performances on video! What to think of as pros… before watching the big European Cup matches live or taking part in quizzes, prognostic competitions and winning prizes offered by Urban Soccer partners. There are about thirty Urban Soccer in France, many of them at the gates of Paris, for example, in La Défense. The adrenaline is not at the top yet. To defy the laws of physics and not stay both feet on the floor of cows, nothing is better than climbing. While waiting for the good season to go to the Fontainebleau forest – which is the only climbing site where Google gets lost in SEO as there are so many sites and blogs – before facing this must-see place for any climber, we go to practice in an Arkose center. Arkose Nation has installed more than 200 permanently renewed climbing blocks on 1,000 m2 to provide different routes for regular fans. Two areas are reserved for adults (Fosse and Halle Eiffel) and two for children. Learn how to do the right things safely before going outdoors on the rock faces of “real” mountains. The centre adds a restaurant, a bar, a sauna, an area where you can rest or even work, and an exhibition area for artists… Same spirit for Arkose Didot, but this time in the basement. Between the gates of Orléans and Vanves, this 830 m² blocpark, with walls decorated by the artist Liard in a tropical way, offers a climbing space of 91 linear meters. Enough to satisfy all climbers, beginners or experienced.

Too much energy? A solution, boxing. While many clubs offer kick boxing classes, Punch Boxing, which opened its first venue in December 2019, a fateful period just before the Covid era, offers a concept, straight from the United States, that mixes boxing and bootcamp. For 50 minutes, one comes to sweat and suffer on an alternation of boxing combos and muscle building exercises, all in music in rooms with the appearance of discos with dimmed and blue lights. Regularly the Punch Boxing studio offers themed courses with custom-made playlists for “ambiancer”, fashionable neologism, and to let off steam. In the 1st district, rue de Richelieu, this chic and refined place even grants partnerships with trendy cosmetic brands, such as a sports session at Punch and a moment of relaxation in the infrared sauna of the nearby flagship Oh My Cream, rue Montmartre. This initiative, which lasted only a few weeks, shows that sport and well-being are good and beautiful. And it works because a second address on rue de Berri in the 8th opened in February. This latest Punch Boxing, bigger than the previous one, has been enriched with a shop where to buy the best outfits to boxer, in all elegance, and a Punch Café.

As for Villa M, this atypical place of 8,000 m2 created in October 2021 in the 15th which, in addition, a hotel and a restaurant offers a dedicated structure “at the service of the health of people and professionals by pushing the limits of inventiveness in precursor programs”, it will propose on March 7 a Club Boxe&Fitness Villa M, of 250 m2 – sponsored by the champion of boxing weights-heavy Tony Yoka and designed by Philippe Starck –, where to be initiated, to improve English boxing, foot-fist or cardio-boxing. In addition to developing self-control, we come to “mitigate negative emotions and gain performance” according to our designers. It’s about music for the brand new MVMT Club unveiled to the public in February. The concept: the party fitness, to make the ABS class or the festive and lively sheathing session. The founders announced a program based on an “ultra pop mix of music, dance, muscle building, cardio… and meditation” to take up their explanations, all in a clubbing atmosphere “vibrant with positive energies”. A place to discover as soon as possible.

Music at the heart of sport

Music and sensuality, this is what DanceFloor Paris puts forward for its Heels Dance class (dance on heel), a mix of jazz and street on glamorous music of course. Orianne Duchesne, ex of the Crazy Horse who teaches classes, explains: Yes, we highlight a certain sensuality in the way of moving your body, wearing heels immediately gives a different look. But above all, it gives a certain awareness of her body, of her femininity and brings a new support that helps to restore self-confidence. I notice it in my classes, where I will “confront” the timid in the background. After a few sessions, they acquire an insurance that reflects on their way of being, that’s what I’m trying to bring with this course». If the idea of wearing heels (if possible needles, as recommended for this course) doesn’t motivate you, you can turn to Afro-Oriental and its feminine dances, the Pop Star Dance – where the choreographies are inspired by the most popular clips from Britney to Beyoncé, not to mention those of Dirty Dancing – or even the unmistakable Ballet classes. We end with a break at the tiny but pleasant sauna in the basement before having a drink and munching on a cereal bar or a gourmet dessert at the café at the entrance of this room located rue du Chemin Vert in the 11th.

It cannot be a question of well-being or fitness, without being interested in yoga. Circle Yoga, an eco-responsible brand of sportswear hosted by La Caserne near the Gare du Nord, this famous incubator unique in Europe of responsible fashion, offers each week a free yoga class, by reservation, in one of the large rooms of this new space. A way to promote this practice by inviting each time a renowned teacher in a particular technique of yoga while promoting the brand Circle Yoga. The success is there and the courses stormed. Yoga Room, already present in Brussels, Lisbon or Lyon, has just opened a space on rue Meissonier in the 17th. Among all the yogas that exist, one can initiate or improve oneself in Hot Yoga, a series of 26 positions and two breathing exercises performed in a 40° heated room or in Warm Yin where the lower part of the body is worked through a series of passive and long-lasting ground poses. Ideal for peace of mind…

Very close to the Champs-Elysées, Yuj Yoga Studio has just installed on March 1st, its fifth address in Paris intra muros, rue Magellan. Specificity? In an almost dark atmosphere lit by candles, the rooms are equipped with infrared lights. These by reaching the muscle tissues, generate a consequent heating within the muscles and internal organs, causing a significant sweating, beneficial for letting go and removing toxins from the body. The focus here is on Yoga Flow where the postures are punctuated by playlists with inspiring vibrations. Then, head to California in the two new addresses of Snake & Twist in the 9th and 16th to discover the Lagree Fitness method. Still confidential in France but adored by the Americans, this program combines strength, cardio, balance, endurance, resistance and flexibility in a single session. All this using the famous Megaformer machines. The Snake & Twist on rue Rodier has ten to train under the guidance of experienced coaches and in a bluish atmosphere, to the sound of a playlist with Californian accents.