Body Beautiful: Gyms on MLK Boulevard.

You may have heard that 24 Hour Fitness was negotiating with the city’s Development Commission to build a gym on the corner of Alberta and MLK, in an expanded Vanport Square development.   The corporation decided to scale back its expansion earlier this year and it looks as though there will be no 24HF built on the boulevard.

The possibility of a 24HF on MLK hasn’t stopped other gyms from opening during the last couple of years, however. A total of six gyms have sprung up along the boulevard in Northeast Portland, all relatively near one another.

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The gym I signed up with is It’s About Me Fitness, which is in the newly-rehabbed building at Alberta and MLK, across the street from the empty lot that was to hold a 24HF.

The gym is pretty much a ‘regular’ gym, although on a smallish scale. There are yoga and fitness classes, and possibly the best aspect of the gym is that it’s open twenty four hours a day. Also, at night the view of Vanport Square and the boulevard is really quite pretty.

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There are two crossfit gyms on the street now. Crossfit MLK is in the former American State Bank building at 2737 NE MLK:

The second crossfit gym is CrossFit H.E.L. (Human Evolution Labs), at 4830 NE MLK:

What I know of crossfit comes from a former roommate of mine, who signed up for a training program at CrossFit H.E.L. He described it as “boot camp” and attempted to combine the program with a cold-turkey stepping away from a long-term daily drunkenness, none of which worked out for him (predictably, I suppose).

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A gym opened up about a year ago in the Fremont Building at Fremont & MLK, called Portland Team Fitness. Its classes include women-only training classes, as well as a “Wall of Power:”

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A new gym opened just a couple of months ago, in the recently rehabbed Heritage Building, 3934 NE MLK.  Here’s a shot of the Heritage Building:

One interesting thing about Fulcrum Fitness is that their power lunch workout includes a boxed lunch from the Ned Ludd restaurant, across the street on MLK.

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Finally, a sixth gym on the boulevard is Therapeutic Associates P.A.C.E, or Portland PACE, the Portland Athletic Center of Excellence.  From its website:

Our staff consists of physical therapists, massage therapists, personal trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, nutritionists and exercise physiologists, all dedicated to providing you with elite level service to help you accomplish all of your athletic goals. Our 3,500 square foot performance gym allows plenty of space for you to do all of your off-season and supplemental training throughout the year.

The PACE facility is at 4829 NE MLK:

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I’ll also note that both the Straight Blast boxing gym and the Olympus Gym have moved off the boulevard in the last year and relocated further east in Portland.

If you have experiences with any of the MLK gyms, please comment!