Top PH workouts in 2024: From gymnastics to pickleball
Carlos Yulo’s historic double-gold triumph at the Paris Olympics in August sparked a significant interest in gymnastics, both for competitive and recreational purposes. This was the observation of Venus Talingting, general manager of Club Gymnastica in Pasig City, and Teresa Dee, owner of Athletica Gymnastics in Quezon City.
Talingting noted, in a phone interview with Lifestyle, that Club Gymnastica enjoyed an increase in enrollees in the last quarter of 2024. Many of the new students were boys, she said, adding that there’s a growing appreciation for the sport traditionally dominated by girls. She also noticed that more parents are starting to realize that their children don’t have to study in private schools to have access to gymnastics.
Dee pointed out, also via phone interview, that the upsurge in inquiries received by Athletica Gymnastics returned to normal levels two months after Yulo’s twin wins. But she remains optimistic about achieving steady growth almost two years after reopening her establishment that ceased operations during the pandemic.
While quite a number of fitness and wellness centers permanently closed during that time, many others reopened, while new ones were established.
“We did classes online during the pandemic,” said Richie Donnelly, a yoga teacher and coowner of Community Fitness Studio in Pasig City. “Now we are back to prepandemic capacity.”
Donnelly noted that the popular classes at the seven-year-old studio are yoga focused on Vinyasa Flow.
More places to get fit
PxA Dance Studio, which opened in April in Antipolo City, is doing well enough to be holding its first recital for its students of pole, aerial arts, and dance in May 2025.
“Whether young or young-at-heart, our community keeps growing and reaching new levels of fun,” studio coowner and teacher Ronn Lloyd Lagdameo said via online messaging.
Established studios brought the experience closer to more people in 2024. Elite Aerial Arts in Quezon City held fitness activities at the garden area of the nearby Ayala Malls Vertis North, and then to the surfing town of San Juan in La Union. It has also partnered with newly established Defy Gravity Pole and Aerial Studios, based in Bulacan, for a pole and aerial retreat to be held in March 2025 in La Union.
Experienced aerialists, meanwhile, trooped to Bacolod City for the aerial silks drops workshop at the MCP Mandala Centering Place. The people behind the workshop are also organizing the annual Coach A Cup aerial silks competition, which will take place in February 2025 in Makati City.
The fitness activity that took a lot of attention in 2024 was pickleball, which has elements of tennis and table tennis. Pickleball courts set up in major malls like One Ayala in Makati City got people curious. The One Ayala Pickleball Club is open to all players as long as they like and follow its official Facebook page, accomplish the form posted there, and then join its members’ group page.
Interest in pickleball grew so fast that in October, the pioneering ball machine-assisted self-training and hitting center called Center Cage opened in Marikina City. As stated on its Instagram account, the facility offers personal training cages that allow players of either pickleball or tennis of all levels to “train in their own space at their own pace.”
The personal training cages are mini-versions of half-courts. Each cage is equipped with a ball machine and a catching net system in front of the players. In the future, the facility will offer classes and coaching services. Meantime, crew members are there to assist the players.
Still running
Running remains popular, especially among women. Nicole Dela Cruz, chief executive officer of Women’s Run PH and vice president of Run Rio, saw a sharp increase in female participants in their races. From a total of 1,000 in 2023, when she started the women-only racing events, it jumped to 6,000 in 2024.
“I created Women’s Run PH to empower women through running,” she said at a women empowerment event. “A lot of women reached out because they felt intimidated by the race categories. So I thought of creating something friendlier and inclusive for women in every category and stage of fitness.”
Dela Cruz also aimed to bring the races outside Metro Manila, starting in Iloilo City in November. For 2025, Women’s Run PH will have one of its major events in Davao City.
Cycling is another go-to fitness activity, but doing it indoors has become a better option for many enthusiasts. They cite convenience, time efficiency, and safety as top reasons for their choice. There are several indoor cycling gyms in the metropolis. Saddle Row and Cycle House are both located in Makati City. Ride Revolution has a branch each in Makati City and Mandaluyong City, while Electric Studio is found in three locations: Bonifacio Global City, The Podium, and Alabang.
Safety while cycling along Ayala Avenue in Makati City is also not an issue every Sunday, from 6 to 10 a.m. That’s the time the approximately 2-km thoroughfare becomes car-free, so citizens can freely do their fitness activities. They can run, cycle, roller skate, skateboard, and a lot more. Around 19,000 people enjoy Ayala’s Car-Free Sundays.
Similar initiatives have been adopted in other cities, including Intramuros in Manila, Greenfield District in Mandaluyong, People’s Street in Pasig, and Filinvest City in Muntinlupa.
