Fitness Evolution — Local services in Columbus

Overall, this was exactly what I was looking for in terms of personalized, inclusive training for people nervous about gyms. Detailed pros and cons (price was the big one) for me laid out below. It was about a year ago that I left FE but i forgot to share this at the time; note that things may have changed since I left.

PRO Unlike places like Club Pilates, the waitlist works pretty well but it wasn’t difficult to regularly attend the same classes without even using waitlists. There were a few classes that worked really well with a 9-5 schedule.

CON The cost was significant for me for a place you can’t go to outside of scheduled classes. I totally get this is cheaper than one on one training and the quality is extremely high, but when friends and family asked me how much my training classes were, every single answer I gave was met with shock. While FE staff is very friendly and easy to talk to about membership, the absolute cheapest I could make work was the longest commitment. If you come from a two-income household this would be more reasonable, but as a one-income single person, it was not sustainable for me. There were weird moments for me personally, because there were specific “bring/tell your friends” promotional weeks, but all my friends are low-paid teachers and could never afford this.

When I started to have some medical expenses and more recently a new car payment, there was no way I could keep paying for this (FYI they were very kind and willing to let me out of membership early).

PRO This is a very high quality training experience with kind, personable trainers who are educated, tactful, and observant about who is in their class. For every class, the trainer prepares specific weights and routines that are personalized for every single person signed up. The equipment/space provided and sanitizing expectations are great, down to the number of weights, the individual stations, and the timers.

CON There were more (simple things!) instructors could have done to create community. While people were never rude to me, many times when I went to a class with an instructor for the first time (new class time/new instructor for me) — and this includes my very first class ever — the instructors didn’t facilitate/encourage introductions to the regulars, despite knowing I was new to that class. The class then felt very cliquey, because everyone else knew each other and had inside jokes. I’m an introvert and definitely struggled with that dynamic.

CON Though I arrived appropriately early, many times I found I still would be the last one to class — to the point where everyone else had almost finished warmups. That’s supposed to be the point of including the warmup in the class time! I would then be behind the others the entire workout. It’s not a competition, but it was difficult to not feel that way sometimes.

CON I felt that the onboarding didn’t fully click with me for the progression of the sequences in a class, or maybe that was my first class’s instructor’s fault. I did not understand at all the A then B then interval sequence back and forth, and was extremely confused as to what to do after each one for my first two-ish weeks. This rectified itself over time but I didn’t even fully understand what I didn’t understand.

PRO There are supplemental (mostly paid) opportunities to take advantage of, from special classes to nutrition help to various video content pieces.

PRO This is a small business, and the owner is very personable and easy to talk to about membership questions or concerns throughout your time there. Even though i didn’t feel intentionally welcomed by the other classgoers, the instructors themselves were all very friendly...

I've been attending Fitness Evolution for about 8 months now and am still loving it! In that time, I've grown more committed to my health and I've gained lots of skills and muscles that I didn't know I had in me.

I will be running my first half-marathon this spring, which has been a goal of mine for quite some time. I'm very thankful to Melanie and the coaches at FE helping me reach this goal, and I plan on sticking with them as I continue my distance running practice.

--- Original review --- I'm not a "gym person" and I've always struggled with consistency in my fitness. Fitness Evolution has really changed all of that for me. I now love going to the studio regularly, and I have accountability from trainers and other clients to help keep me on track.

Fitness Evolution emphasizes establishing a positive mental attitude as a stepping stone on the track towards achieving fitness goals. This is key for me as I struggle with mental health issues and need a positive and caring environment to feel safe.

I love that the classes are small, and that I am guaranteed individual attention when I need it. I can go at my own pace, and I feel more confident using equipment the correct way (without putting myself at risk of injury). Melanie and all of the trainers go above and beyond to ensure that every single client's personal training is specific to their needs and lifestyle.

Living a healthy lifestyle and maintaining physical fitness can be a struggle–especially if you're doing it all on your own, but Fitness Evolution makes it easy (and fun)! All you have to...

Six months in and I could talk for hours about the ways my life has been changed thanks to FE. The biggest change though, has got to be my joint strength and mobility. For my entire life I’ve had knee pain due to an old injury from childhood. I’ve certainly worked around it, learned to live with it, and had to change my life in ways I never wanted because of it. I’ve tried other programs, gym memberships, personal trainers, but everything always felt like a “one size fits all” method, and that did not work for my needs. Finding FE was a breath of fresh air. Not only were they thorough in my entry evaluation, asking about any hindrances I might have, or past injuries, but extremely transparent about their whole process and goals as an establishment. They really care about giving you long lasting strength and healing in the right way for YOUR body. Everything is catered to your needs. Just this week, I was still able to do a modified workout with an injury. They took great care to make sure I was able and comfortable the whole time. To say I’m grateful for what they’ve done for me is the understatement of the year. Not only do I live without pain, but I trust my body again, and for that kind of result I don’t think I could ever thank them...