So I was looking for a place to work out in Copacabana and I tried smart fit first. The system…read morethere doesn't allow foreigners without a Brazilian social security number to join and nobody there spoke English. I made my way over to Body tech and they were much friendlier and spoke English. I had no problem joining for a month with just my drivers license. The place is very clean and has very up to date equipment. I highly recommend this place for anybody.

Great gym. Cost 65 US dollars per week to join. Some of the staff speak English. If you are a…read moregym rat, this place will keep you happy while you are on vacation.

I'm an expat who's been living in Rio for the past year. I tried out several gyms before joining…read moreone and I believe this is the nicest gym in the zona sul (although you pay for it! It's not cheap). They have a wide range of classes and I regularly go to spinning, functional training, and some of the many abs/glutes focused classes. The only one I haven't liked is yoga because I thought it was boring. I also use the pool which is clean - only complaint is it's a little small (2 wide lanes) and the hours for open swim are limited due to classes going on. Another nice feature is that there are always trainers in the weights areas who you can meet with in the beginning without extra cost to get started on a training plan, and ask advice from anytime about your form or new exercises. I pre-paid for a year membership since I knew I was staying, but the gym also offers shorter-term options if you're only in Rio for a little while, and they're willing to negotiate on those.

I've been a member at this gym since age 12 - needless to say, I'm a big fan. Though I now live…read moreabroad, Bodytech is one of the places I love to go to the most when I'm back in Rio. It is very well equipped (the best, according to personal experience), and the instructors are all very well qualified. Most importantly, both staff and members are overall very nice and helpful. It's just a great place to stay fit, and stay happy.

This gym is much smaller on the inside than it looks on the outside. This is because about half of…read moreit is dedicated to group workout areas. If you're looking to do a group activity like cycling, you might like it. If you're looking to lift weights, prepare for disappointment. The free-weight area is exceptionally small, maybe 20' by 10'. Maybe. The machines are not many, about one or two per muscle group and are almost always full on weeknights. Normal gym etiquette is ignored here, so you can expect to see people just sitting on machines checking facebook or WhatsApp on their cell phones rather than working out. They aren't in any rush either, apparently every hour there is social media hour. Nobody wipes down equipment after use either, partially, I think, because there isn't really anything provided to wipe the equipment down with. There are workers who clean the machines. You might see one doing it once every 5 visits. The other problem is that this gym is full of personal trainers. Not all of them seem to have clients, so they kind of hover around waiting to give tips to people, probably in the hopes of getting a new client. Or maybe they're waiting for clients to show up, I don't know. I just know they're everywhere - I'm talking like 10 at a time. If the cost of this gym wasn't so high it would've been rated with three stars. Frankly it's not worth the value. There are two other gyms you can use if you're a member of this one - including one which has a pool. I don't know if they're full or not, but if I had a Magic 8 Ball it would probably tell me that I can rely on it.

For those of us not looking to shell out a month's salary for a gym membership, there's the…read moreaffordable and decent Smart Fit. Located all throughout the city, and country, this local chain is where I get my run on. While every location offers a little something different, this particular Leblon outpost is pretty tiny, so if you go during the morning or after-work rush, you may find yourself waiting for a cardio or weight machine. What I do like is the new and high quality equipment that you'll find. The upstairs area is where the weights and loads of people are located. It's usually pretty hard to find even a small area for stretching and you'll have to jump in between reps if you want to get on a machine. Then again, if you can go during off hours, you'll likely have a better experience. Because of convenience and cost (just R$69 a month), I choose this gym.

It's a pretty good place to work off the beers and caipirinhas you drank last night. The front desk…read moreis very helpful getting you a day pass for something like 19 reis (you could go to body tek and pay 150!)The inside is small but the equipment works. They have nice big lockers so bring a lock. While equipment worked most was outdated. The water fountain inside shoots out so slow, so I found myself dehydrated after long workout and people waiting to drink. But like I said the price is right

This place is a joke…read more Had 30 minutes and went in to this place for a quick work out. 20R for a day pass and it looked good from the street. But the kiosk where you get a day membership wasn't working. So ask the guy at the front desk if I can give him cash/credit card/ etc. He calls over some trainer who says "no you can't come in...the machine is broken. Go to another one of our gyms." LOL. May I suggest replacing the staff with individuals who take money... or maybe replace them with turnstyles? What a messed up place.

I've been searching for a studio to practice pilates and Phyx has everything I need. The first…read moreclass I took was free and I loved it. Within the loft studio, you can find all the apparatuses used in the pilates method: the reformer, trapeze, cadillac, tower, barrel, etc. Each class has a maximum of 5 students and so the time you get with the instructor is very individualized. The classes book up quickly and there isn't a ton of available slots, so if you can manage a time with Jean I highly recommend him. He's super attentive, very focused and high energy during the 1-hour class and specializes the exercises based on your needs. If you're looking to strengthen, straighten, gain flexibility or rehabilitate, pilates is the best way to improve your posture, lean out your torso and give you flat abs ;) Go to Phyx!