An Exercise Passport

At $75 a year, the New York Fitness Access PassBook — a collection of coupons offering entry to dozens of gyms, martial arts studios, swimming pools, health clubs, and dance studios — seems to be just about the biggest bargain in city fitness. It is a bargain, but one that needs to be used strategically.To begin with, in the tumultuous world of small business, many fitness facilities close up shop in any given year. Others modify their missions, schedules, or clienteles, severely limiting PassBook access. Many advertise more generous services than they offer, and some are just plain rude when you try to use a coupon from the PassBook, which since 1996 has been put out by the American Health and Fitness Alliance — an umbrella organization of exercise facilities.Nonetheless, if you approach the PassBook military-style — laying out your campaign carefully, homing in on the strong candidates while eliminating the weak — you will find yourself well rewarded. I began by sorting through the more than 600 coupons, discarding those for places I knew weren’t for me (too grungy or too specialized), and building a small pile of 20 or so great-looking opportunities. Working the phone and my computer simultaneously, I learned that more than half were out of business. Bummer! But, as it turned out, I still had a fistful of nuggets.Here are the nuggets I found — all in Manhattan. (The PassBook also covers the other four boroughs.) Staffers at the following places were exceedingly nice and offered excellent service.FITNESS EXPRESS Situated on the lower level of a commercial building, Fitness Express is in a pretty, soothing, very clean, cream-painted space that is perfectly designed for women, its exclusive market. The facility offers an efficient workout: 30 minutes that start with a choice of cardio machines, followed by a series of exercises that switch every 45 seconds (no machine hogs here), as members move among stations. When asked if some members dislike — and therefore refuse to do — some exercises, owner Sylvia Clement says it’s never a problem. “Even if there’s an exercise you don’t like, you can do just about anything for 45 seconds.”Coupon provides: One-on-one training session. 142 W. 72nd St., between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, 212-873-3377, fitnessexpressmanhattan.com.ISADORA DUNCAN DANCE Yes, it’s true that the very words “Isadora Duncan” conjure up a vaguely pagan, definitely retro picture of flowing robes, bare feet, and long hair, but, boy, do her moves make the body feel wonderful. The president of the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation, Lori Belilove, offers classes in different locations, uptown and downtown. I took an early afternoon floor class at the McBurney Y on West 14th Street. It comprised stretches and lengthening moves that finished with about 10 minutes of fluid standing work. About one-third of the class members were highly proficient, one-third were getting there, and the rest were, like me, total beginners. And yes, the Duncan use of images — Greek statuary, for example — can seem pretentious, but it’s effective.Coupon provides: Two classes. Various locations, 212-691-5040, isadoraduncan.org.PARIS HEALTH CLUB This old-time health club on the West Side, founded long before we started calling it the Upper West Side, offers a thorough range of classes, pretty good machines, a 50-foot swimming pool, a hot tub, and a sauna. The club is popular with graying hippies, and the ambiance is comforting and noncompetitive.Coupon provides: One-week membership. Contact info: 752 West End Ave. at 96th Street, 212-749-3500, parishealthclub.com.FRED ASTAIRE DANCE STUDIO If you’re a little shy but have always wanted to learn traditional ballroom dance, you might very much like this exceptionally pleasant Fred Astaire franchise. Over the decades, the Fred Astaire company has developed an efficient, methodical system for learning the classics: foxtrot, waltz, swing, tango, and others. Many of the instructors come from countries in the former Soviet bloc, where they seem to have held onto our pre-World War II ballroom, even as we were abandoning it in the West. Now it’s all been rediscovered, thanks in part to shows such as “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Dancing With the Stars.” They can show you how.Coupon provides: Three visits for you and a guest, including two private 30-minute lessons. 174 W. 72nd St. at Amsterdam Avenue, 2nd floor, 212-595-3200, fredastaire.com.CHIRO-FIT This welcoming, storefront chiropractic facility in the East Village uses non-invasive methods to treat fitness-related issues. After having me lie face-down on a massage table, the chiropractor, Darka Genza, applied hot rocks to my back and small bricks beneath my pelvis to help me align properly. Then she began her search for “trigger points,” hard nodes that can develop from muscular injuries, strains, or structural imbalances. Finding several, she vigorously massaged them into semi-submission. She worked me through a few interesting stretches before taking some digital photographs of my spine, yielding a slightly scary, computer-based analysis of my alignment.Coupon provides: One chiropractic session, and one personal training session. 434 E. 9th St., between First Street and Avenue A, 212-420-1895, chirofitwellness.com.The New York Fitness PassBook ($75 plus $4 shipping) can be ordered by phone (212-808-0765), or at health-fitness.org.

An Exercise Passport

An Exercise Passport

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