American glutes, biceps and bellies are fueling a $22 billion industry centered on keeping U.S. bodies fit. In Oakland alone there's yoga, Pilates, CrossFit, endurance racing, boxing, aerobics, weight training and running, plus multiple variations of each of those.

Keeping up with the competition requires offering as many services under one roof as possible, said Kewesi Simon, owner of Kinesthetic Exercise Sciences fitness studio in West Oakland.

"You want to be a one-stop shop," he said.

Simon said he was able to "niche out" by offering boot camps, muay thai martial arts, women's self-defense and yoga, with a dance fitness class planned.

"That's how you make it in the industry at this time," he said.

Owners like Simon also have to keep up with the latest exercise fads as well as variations within the staples.

Take Pilates for example. The body conditioning system once occupied a specialized and somewhat exotic domain in the world of step aerobics and stationary bicycles. Now places like Pilates ProWorks on Lakeshore Avenue offer, among several other variations, a bumped-up version that looks to the outsider like a mix between yoga and weight training.

"You want to think of this as Pilates on steroids," instructor Skipp Swoope said. Upstairs, a series of black straps hang from the ceiling for TRX suspension conditioning classes.

Even boxing gyms have varieties, from the classic King's Boxing Gym on 35th Avenue to Boxing for Health on Santa Clara Avenue. Then there are kickboxing, martial arts and mixed martial arts.

On the other end of the spectrum, Hipline on Lakeshore Avenue promises to set "all buns blazing" with classes like Shimmy Pop ("We are gonna move like a pack of wild horses"); Power Pop; and Shimmy Meow ("Get fierce!").

Read more from the original source:
More choices than ever in Oakland for getting fit in 2014