thursday, august 21, 2003
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classes that primarily target abs, hips and thighs. Yoga and pilates classes are also an option.
The enrollment fee is $40 plus $25 a month, and it tries to work with members who are financially challenged, Leis says. During the first three visits, members work with personal trainers and fitness specialists to assess and test them physically.
Females looking to stay in shape without the experience of testosterone over-kill, have two options: Curves for Women, 2104 W. Second St, and Body Boutique, 925 Iowa St. As the names imply, they cater solely to those with menstrual cycles.
Curves for Women is unique to Lawrence because it offers no classes, but instead features a nowait, individual circuit training program with a personal fitness instructor.
Pam Hird, Curves for Women owner, says the 30-minute, nine-machine and 18-station program is designed according to each individual.
"We're not a spandex crowd," Hird says. "We have people of all
Curves offers a student discount rate of $99 a semester.
shapes and sizes and everybody feels welcome."
Lawrence's other ladies-only fitness center, Body Boutique, has more flexible hours than Curves and is more of your typical fitness center.
Body Boutique features basic gym equipment: treadmills, bikes, stair-steppers, ellipticals, weight machines and free weights. The building contains two mirrored rooms for aerobics, kickboxing, pilates and yoga classes.
The facility houses a pool, hot tub, sauna and tanning beds. For those with kids in tow, childcare is also available for an added fee.
The gym only offers yearlong memberships with a student discount of $25 a month plus a $49 enrollment fee with sales tax.
If looking to exercise the mind and spirit as well as the body, Lawrence has amazing options for yoga fanatics.
Yoga Center, 920 Massachusetts St., Suite 4, features the practice of Iyengar yoga, a balance between strength and flexibility.
"The method is safe and orderly," says Margaret Carr, codirector. "Students are taught a progressive series of postures in each of the different level classes."
The center offers hour-long classes that cost $10 a class for drop-ins and $7 a class for enrolled students. Ninety-minute classes cost $12 per class for drop-ins and $9 per class for those enrolled .
At Bikram's Yoga College of India, 711 W.23rd St., Suite 13 owner Elizabeth Marshall teaches 18 low-impact, high-intensity sweat-drenching Bikram yoga classes a week.
In the 105-degree concreteblocked room, decorated only by a mirrored wall, Marshall leads students through 26 Bikram postures in a 90-minute session. Each posture strengthens specific muscles, ligaments and joints needed for the next posture.
Bikram Yoga College offers onemonth, three-month and yearlongrates. A single class is $10. A new student special — two weeks unlimited for $35 — is availableand one "everyone should take advantage of," Marshall said.
Courtney Kuhlen/Kansan
Peter Bryant, Topeka graduate student, works out his triceps at Lawrence Athletic Club, 2108 W. 27th St., Suite C. He said it was a nice place with a good price.