Boutique fitness gets new muscle

More than 300 people ride exercise bikes in a club in Kunming, Yunnan province. Photos Provided to China Daily

Increasingly specialized exercise centers cater to time-pressed urban elite

Live DJs, disco lights and screaming crowds make it seem as if it's a wild nightclub. The exercise bikes betray the illusion. They reveal it's actually a spinning club - a manifestation of the trend in which a proliferation of boutique establishments focus on only one fitness activity.

Such specialized exercise centers' popularity is growing, even though memberships can cost five times as much as gyms'.

They're typically concentrated in the most vibrant downtown neighborhoods of such metropolises as Beijing and Shanghai. Their elite clients include bankers, lawyers and financial consultants, who live life in the fast lane.

"People come for self-improvement and stress relief," said Cameroonian fitness trainer and DJ, Verlin Momo, who works at the Beijing spinning club, Space Cycle.

"When I was young I used to sit in a record shop and take 90 minutes to create one single vinyl. But nowadays it takes 1 second to copy and paste using the computer. Just like metropolitan life, it moves stressfully - too fast."

It is about speed, indeed. The club's new Fast and Furious classes were fully booked weeks before the first course, despite a five-digit membership fee.

Working out provides a sense of achievement outside routine, he believed.

"We have crucial motivational talks and inspiring music to affect them spiritually and encourage them to push their limits," he said.

"Forget about the stress from work, study or family. You just ask yourself why you come here - because you want to be a better self. When I'm stressed out, I go for a hardcore workout for two hours nonstop and get all sweaty. I look at what I have accomplished, and I will feel much better."

The sound system blasts at over 180 beats per minute, while heartbeats hover around 120, enabling guests to burn over 700 calories in 45 minutes. This appeals to people with high-octane schedules.