Have We Reached Peak Boutique Fitness Studio?

All photos provided.

In just the last few years, here in Boston, more than a dozen indoor cycling studios have opened around the area (and more are on the way). Barre studios are practically on every corner—and fighting for space (and customers). Small group fitness and personal training studios are plentiful.

Boston is not alone in the boutique boom. Over the past decade, all across the country—or so it seemed—the trend was that large gyms were on the way out. Even Town Sports International (the owners and operators of Boston Sports Clubs) stepped away from their big box reputation and opened up a new concept of high-end boutique studios.

However, all that saturation may have burst the bubble.

Enter Lifetime Athletic, a luxe, three-story, 128,000-square-foot spot that cost more than $28 million to build. By comparison, other “big box” gyms near Boston like Equinox and Healthworks are in the 30,000-square-foot range. There are 117 of these gyms throughout the U.S. and Canada, but the new mega-gym that just opened in Westwood is the company’s first foray into Massachusetts. It’s so big that it could double as country club. Have we entered the next phase of fitness? Should we be welcoming the era of the super ginormous gym?

The mega gym offers two pools (indoor and outdoor, complete with a waterslide!), five dedicated group exercise rooms, Pilates and yoga studios, 400 pieces of brand new equipment, two full-sized indoor basketball courts, a spa offering full-service hair, nail, skin, and massage services, a cafe serving healthy food and beverages, a kids club, and spa-quality locker rooms with towel service.

Whether you are team boutique or team big box, one thing is for sure: This is the kind of gym where you could spend the whole day.

Below, check out some images of the new space:

44 Harvard St., Westwood, 781-381-7100, lifetimefitness.com/westwood, open seven days a week, 4 a.m. to midnight. Pricing for singles, couples, and families available from $144 to $344 a month.