A fitness studio that quietly opened near The Boro in Tysons during the COVID-19 pandemic will finally get an official welcome this week.
P20 EMS Fitness Experts will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Tysons studio this Friday (May 19) — more than two years after the location opened inside OneLife Fitness at 8250 Greensboro Drive.
Supported by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, the ribbon-cutting is also intended to mark the company’s rebranding to P20 from its previous name of Personal 20, according to co-founder and owner Connie Ruiz.
“Realizing our clients have been referring to us as P20 for years, we decided it was a good time to rebrand and refresh with a new name and a new logo,” Ruiz said. “We changed our tag line as well to reflect that we are EMS Fitness Experts.”
EMS stands for electronic muscle stimulation, which involves devices that send electric impulses to mimic muscle contractions. Used in physical therapy as well as workouts, EMS devices can help strengthen or tone muscles but, by themselves, don’t result in a major change in physical appearance, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The Tysons studio is P20’s second location.
A native of McLean, Ruiz and her husband Pedro discovered EMS in Portugal and wanted to bring the concept to the U.S. With their daughter Carmen, the couple launched Personal 20 in January 2017 with a studio in Herndon.
The business claims to offer “a 20-minute workout with all the benefits of a 90-minute workout.”
“We love what we do, helping our clients get stronger, healthier and happier with P20,” Ruiz said. ” …We are not only the first to bring EMS to [Northern Virginia], but we are confident that our quality-controlled program and continuous education for our trainers has us on the right path to success for our clients.”
A cocktail reception to celebrate the rebranding will be held from 4-6 p.m. at the studio on Friday, with the ribbon-cutting taking place at 5 p.m.
Gym-goers will soon expect a change of scene at Gold’s Gym in Reston.
The Plaza America location is expected to close sometime this summer and relocate to 11830 Sunrise Valley Drive, according to the company.
While the company’s media department did not return multiple requests for comment, a store employee told FFXnow that an exact date for the closure of the Plaza America location has not yet been determined.
The Sunrise Valley Drive location is expected to open in the summer, according to the company’s website.
VIDA Fitness is slated to open its flagship facility in Reston in the second quarter of next year, a company spokesperson tells FFXnow.
The facility will open at Reston Row, Reston Station’s newest district near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station. The facility encompasses 50,000 square feet across three levels of an office tower at 1845 Reston Row Plaza.
The company’s Reston location will include an oxygen treatment and recovery strength, a day spa that offers facials, massages, body scrubs, cupping, and CBD oil treatments, a fuel bar and a salon. Other features include locker rooms and sauna rooms.
Reston Row is currently under construction and includes a JW Marriott hotel.
The company has six other locations in the D.C. area.
Hotworx, a fitness studio that offers 24/7 infrared workouts, has opened in Woodland Crossing in the Herndon area.
Located at 2310 Woodland Crossing Drive in Suite G, the business gives customers access to workouts in a sauna-like room.
Customers can sign up for half-hour isometric workouts and 15-minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts. Patrons also have around-the-clock access to infrared sauna workouts that are virtually instructed.
Jannik Echenrode, the Herndon location’s general manager, said a grand opening is expected in about 45 days.
The Herndon location held its soft opening last Thursday (Jan. 26). It’s currently open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 6 pm. on Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
Area locations include Leesburg, Ashburn, and Aldie. Another gym is expected to open in Dunn Loring this spring.
Residents of the Avalon and Halstead Square apartments near the Dunn Loring Metro station will soon have a new way to meet any fitness-related New Year’s resolutions.
Hotworx, a boutique gym that offers workouts in infrared-heated saunas, will open a studio in Suite C of the apartment buildings at 2750 Gallows Road in Merrifield, franchise owner Raja Khan confirmed to FFXnow.
The studio recently launched membership pre-sales and is on track to open in early April, pending the completion of construction and permitting.
“The most I’m looking for is to help the community there, help give them a good option where they can improve their health,” Khan said.
Khan and his wife own an information technology business together, but this is their first venture into the fitness world.
They tried an introductory session to Hotworx last March after a friend recommended it. Khan found that the heated environment makes it easier to get warmed up and can result in an intense workout in just 15 to 30 minutes, he says.
He also liked its emphasis on customization. Led by virtual instructors, the workouts get refreshed every three months and range from lighter options like isometric stretches and yoga to high-intensity interval training.
When he decided to pursue a franchise, Khan saw the Vienna and Merrifield area as an ideal place for the company to expand, since it already has locations to the west in Herndon and Sterling.
“It’s a very prime location,” Khan said. “There are a lot of other different kind of gyms, so people are exercise-oriented there, and it’s kind of central…We offer a lot, which none of the other gyms offer: isometrics, Pilates, Pure Barre kind of exercise, yoga.”
Started by entrepreneur Stephen Smith, who also founded the spa company Planet Beach, the first Hotworx studio opened in 2017 in New Orleans. It has quickly expanded since then to over 400 locations, including its first franchise in New York City.
The Merrifield studio will be between 1,200 and 1,800 square feet in size with eight saunas, which can accommodate up to three people at a time. The saunas will be open 24 hours a day, though the studio won’t always be staffed.
As part of its pre-opening sales push, the studio is offering unlimited sessions for $59 per month with a $5 enrollment fee — a discount compared to the usual $79-per-month dues and $99 enrollment fee.
That offer is available to the first 50 people who sign up. After that, the price will slowly increase until it reaches $79 per month with a $49 fee once the gym opens.
Gold’s Gym has a new resolution for the upcoming year in Reston.
The gym, which is currently at 11674 Plaza America, will relocate early next year, a gym employee told FFXnow.
It’s expected to move to space at 11830 Sunrise Valley Drive.
The company did not immediately return a request for comment on why the business is relocating.
The 165,000-square-foot plaza includes tenants like Whole Foods Market, Michael’s, and Total Wine.
The South American street food restaurant Maizal was expected to open at Plaza America on Halloween, but it’s still listed as “coming soon” on both its website and the mall directory.
The property’s retail broker lists three available, vacant spaces. The Gold’s Gym space, located between Five Guys and CVS, isn’t among them.
Hat tip to Adam Rubenstein; photo via Gold’s Gym/Facebook
Praline Bakery is no longer serving up cake, macarons and other pastries in the Mosaic District.
The bakery closed for good this fall after its lease ran out, according to a farewell message posted to the door at 2987 District Avenue, Suite 160.
“We have so appreciated your business these last five years,” the Praline Mosaic team wrote in the message. “Your support has meant the world to us. We have loved getting to know you, petting your pooches, and watching your kids grow up. We hope that we provided a little bit of sweetness to your lives.”
Specializing in French baked goods, Praline came to the Merrifield neighborhood in 2016 as the first expansion of Praline Bakery & Bistro, a Bethesda, Maryland-based business started in 2006 by former White House pastry chefs Susan Limb and Patrick Musel.
Praline’s original Bethesda store in The Shops at Sumner Place shopping center and a location at The Wharf in D.C. remain open.
While the Mosaic location is permanently closed, the closure letter suggested the team may have another venture in the works.
“While the shop won’t be open anymore, there are still cookies to be baked! If you would like to reach out and learn about what we are doing next, email info@bookgirlbakes.com or ally@bookgirlbakes.com,” the letter said.
FFXnow attempted to contact Praline by email and phone but hasn’t heard back, as of press time. However, a Shopify store called Book Girl Bakes appears to be coming soon.
In other Mosaic District developments, BASH Boxing is now open at 2905 District Ave, Suite 195. The Arlington-based company officially opened the doors of its newest gym on Sept. 23 and will have an opening party event on Oct. 27, according to its Instagram.
BASH didn’t return FFXnow’s requests for comment.
H/t to Adam Rubinstein
A new fitness center is coming soon to Great Falls’ Seneca Square.
Orangetheory Fitness, a national fitness boutique that focused on training endurance and strength building, has signed a lease for 4,726 square feet of space at 1025 Seneca Road in the commercial plaza.
According to the company’s website, the location is expected to open soon. A company representative did not immediately return a request for comment.
The company has locations throughout the country, including several in the area. Local locations include Ashburn, Reston and Potomac Falls.
Photo via Google Maps
Like any cliff worth ascending, bringing the first indoor rock climbing gym to Tysons required perseverance, patience and a little faith in the process.
Once expected to launch in December, Vertical Rock Climbing and Fitness Center had a soft opening this weekend. After 10 months of supply chain and permitting delays, it welcomed founding members only on Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 8-9) before expanding to all patrons yesterday (Monday).
“It’s definitely exciting that we’ve been able to do this,” Ethan Ford, Vertical Rock’s operations director, told FFXnow. “It’s come a long way from the furniture store that used to be here, and we’re hoping it does bring something great to this area.”
A smaller, bouldering-focused expansion of the company’s flagship center in Manassas, Vertical Rock Tysons occupies two floors in the back of a shopping strip at 8461 Leesburg Pike anchored by Best Buy and The Container Store.
Consolidated on the top floor, the gym contains 9,000 square feet of bouldering walls with 14-inch-high safety padding on the floor as well as weights and exercise equipment. A Kilter Board with holds that light up based on a route that users can choose with an app is available for training.
The bottom floor is devoted to Basecamp Coffee Roasters, a 2,000-square-foot cafe open to both gym members and the general public. Unique to the Tysons location, the coffee shop reflects the area’s more urban environment and is intended to foster a sense of community, Vertical Rock co-owner and CEO Ian Colton previously told FFXnow’s sister site Tysons Reporter.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to make one in Manassas,” Ford said. “Right now, this is the first one, so we are kind of hoping to bring that same community feeling we have at Manassas over here.”
After following truncated hours for its soft opening, Vertical Rock will operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. A grand opening date will likely be set this week, Ford said.
The gym offers individual, family, student and military/police memberships, along with camps and youth teams.
Started in 2012, Vertical Rock is part of a wave of indoor rock climbing gyms that has already taken hold of nearby Arlington County and Alexandria City. However, this is first such facility in Fairfax County, which has been exploring ways to boost sports tourism in recent years.
“There’s gyms popping up everywhere, so being able to bring the first gym to this area is something really special,” Ford said. “I think that it’s going to make a great fit for this area.”
(Updated at 9:15 a.m. on 9/1/2022) A new gym has opened in the Town of Vienna.
The Australian fitness company F45 celebrated the grand opening of its latest franchise at 322 Maple Avenue West on Saturday (Aug. 27). The event was considered a success, according to an Instagram post.
Businesses local to the D.C. area like Greenheart Juice Shop and Vegetable and Butcher participated in the event, which featured massages, food, live music, and vitamin injections.
F45 Vienna says classes are at 5:45 a.m., 6:45 a.m., 8 a.m., and 9:15 a.m. as well as in the evenings. The website says the gym offers cardio, resistance, hybrid and recovery workouts on different days of the week.
The gym is located next to the forthcoming YamaChen Sushi, which has now been under construction for almost a year. An employee at the restaurant’s Fairfax location said she doesn’t know when the Vienna one will open.
Known for its high intensity interval training workouts, F45 has grown rapidly in Fairfax County since 2019, adding franchises in Tysons, the Mosaic District, Fairfax Corner, Fairfax Circle, and Reston. The company says it’s the fastest-growing gym franchise in the world.
Yet another studio is in the works at Springfield Plaza. That location is on track for an opening in November or December, a pre-sales representative for the franchise told FFXnow.
