Your sweaty neighborhood gym has nothing on these beautifully designed fitness facilities full of multi-story climbing walls, skybridge pools, dramatic boxing rings, nightclub-style lighting and cool typographic murals. It looks like the architects and designers had as much fun dreaming up these beautiful modern fitness centers as clients get to have using them. Do yoga in a glass box overlooking Manhattan, lift heavy in a former communist monument, test your arm strength in the world’s largest bouldering gym or kickbox in a room that looks like a sci-fi movie set.

Wellness Sky in Belgrade, Serbia by 4of7

‘Wellness Sky’ is a pretty good name for a glassy triangular building cantilevered over a river and pedestrian esplanade in Belgrade. The building began as a communist monument known as the ‘Danube Flower,’ but lay abandoned throughout the 1990s during the Yugoslav wars. Today, its exterior looks much the same, but the interiors by firm 4of7 are transformed, with the backlit, faceted semi-translucent Barrisol stretched ceiling brightening up a fitness facility.

Brooklyn Boulders Coworking Space in Somerville, Massachusetts

Doesn’t this look like fun? Graffiti from local artists encourages you to find your strength at the Brooklyn Boulders facility in Somerville, Massachusetts – which is actually an unusual take on the co-working environment, seeking a balance between work and play. The facility hosts the usual work tables, but they’re a pretty minor feature compared to the 40,000-square-foot rock climbing wall that reaches all the way to the ceiling.

American Copper Gym in NYC by ShOp

What’s inside the skybridge connecting America’s tallest copper towers? A double-height fitness center with enviable views of New York City. This skybridge at SHoP’s residential towers, known as the American Copper Buildings, contains a 75-foot lap pool overlooking the East River, a climbing wall and a fitness center as well as a hot tub, bar and lounge.

The Burrow: Boxing Gym in Kuwait by Lab 100

Sabhan, Kuwait gets its first commercial boxing gym in the form of ‘The Burrow’ by Lab 100, a beautifully designed facility full of semi-private workout halls, a huge boxing room and an elevated crossfire area. “While designing the space, the key factor was in emphasizing a natural flow of movement and the element of surprise,” say the architects. “In order to reach the workout area, members have to take a narrow corridor, passing by the locker area and into the main workout hall. In contrast to the corridor, the spacious workout area embraces an elevated boxing ring in its center. The boxing ring is dramatically lit with nine pendant lights to highlight its importance in the facility.”

Rock Gym in Polur, Iran by New Wave Architecture

The striking exterior of this facility in Iran sort of looks like a rock cracked open to reveal a geode inside, a fitting aesthetic choice for a huge climbing gym with boulder-like interior walls. New Wave Architecture found inspiration in the large-scale movements and tectonic forces of the earth’s crust for the design, which also enables climbing up the exterior.

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Beautiful Modern Gyms And Fitness Facilities

Well, here’s one way to get some exercise and simultaneously enjoy views of a beautiful city without getting rained on or dealing with traffic.  Gliding along the surface of the Seine in Paris, past such landmarks as the Notre Dame Cathedral, ‘The Paris Navigating Gym’ gets most of its power from the humans operating the stationary bicycles inside. Supplemented by rooftop solar panels, the boat is designed to be a mobile exercise facility and relaxing tour of the city all at once, separated from the noise and chaos of the streets.

Architect Carlo Ratti collaborated with fitness manufacturing company Technogym, non-profit Terreform ONE and urban generation institute URBEM to develop the project. Director of the MIT Senseable City Lab, which describes itself as ‘urban imagination and social innovation through design & science,’ Ratti aims to explore the potential of power generation through the movement of human bodies.

The boat itself is pretty cool, accommodating up to 45 people on the bikes and other fitness equipment made by Technogym. As they work out, they can keep track of how much energy they’re producing as well as their fitness progress. An inverter converts the pedal power into utility grade electricity, powering the electronic elements of the equipment and propelling the boat. Excess energy is fed into the grid.

The design of the boat is based on that of Bateaux Mouches, ferry boats for tourists that have dotted the Seine for nearly a century. The panoramic glass facades looking out onto the water sure beat the views of parking lots and televisions at most local gyms.

Gotta be at the gym in 26 minutes? Don’t get bent outta shape but no amount of blood, sweat or tears can rejuvenate these abandoned gyms & fitness centers.

Weight Of The World

The long-abandoned European Health Spa in Westchester, New York has seen better days but on the bright side, the statuesque Atlas out front must enjoy having the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders. One wonders, though, who would – or COULD – make off with a massive metal globe? Obviously the gym worked miracles for someone before it shut its doors for good. A tip of the hat to Urban Landscaped for capturing the images above on a crisp, frosty day in December of 2010.

Aww, Phuket

When its American owner abandoned the Chalong Gym on Chao Fa East Road in Phuket, Thailand, members with pre-paid memberships likely cursed up a storm. Luckily for those eager to keep their bronzed bods buff for the beach, the gym re-opened under new management in July of 2009. All of this isn’t especially noteworthy but hey… check out the ridiculous amount of overhead wiring in the image above!

Ultimate FAIL

Ultimate Fitness, formerly located at 1603 Broad River Road in Columbia, SC, advertised “24 HOUR ACCESS TO OUR FACILITY”. Sounds legit. According to Columbia Closings, “This 24 hour gym was in Boozer Shopping Center on the Bush River Road side just a few slots down from Dunkin’ Robbins.” Yeah, they never stood a chance.

Unfitness Center

Florian from Abandoned Kansai must have worked up one heck of a sweat exploring the abandoned Asahi Sports Center in the depths of an oppressively humid (aka typical) Japanese summer. No doubt the complex’s putrid green outdoor pool provided billions of mosquitoes – not to mention the odd, possibly rabid bat – that made his task that much more miserable. The things urban (and rural, in this case) explorers go through to make your net browsing experience so enjoyable!

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No Sweat 10 Abandoned Gyms Deserted Fitness Centers