First Look: Burnin’ By Ray Opens in the Seaport
Sit in the Bod Pod, reap the benefits of low-impact high intensity workouts, and sip on Body Tonic juice—starting September 9.
Burnin’ By Ray workout room / Photo by Tessa Yannone
Updated on September 17: The official grand opening has been moved to September 19.
How many times have you jumped on the fitness bandwagon for a few gung-ho days of intensity and tenacity only to fall off the following week? You have every intention of getting in shape but man, sitting on the couch is way easier and watching what you eat is way harder than you thought.
Meeting with Ray Peleckas, the founder and brains behind the Belmont-based fitness brand Burnin’ By Ray, means learning a lot of things in a very short amount of time about his vision for wellness, and how he wants to help people get on the bandwagon and stay on the bandwagon. His gym isn’t just a gym, he says—it’s an ungym. You’re not just going to get healthy using his methods, you’re going to stay healthy, according to him. And most of all? Forget the drudgery of dragging yourself to the gym on a cold wintry morning when you’d rather do anything but. He’s going to make the whole thing fun.
It may be a lot to promise the average fitness-seeker, but he’s seeing results: The second Burnin’ By Ray location opens September 9 in the Seaport.
The snazzy new space, nestled right on Seaport Blvd., boasts polished white chrome lockers, colorful flashing lights, brand new cardio equipment, and a live DJ, all of which conspire to make the workout feel like more than just a workout. It’s an experience. And when you’re done working hard, you can relax in the lounge area with a signature Body Tonic juice, made from hand-pressed almond milk, from the full-service juice bar.
Peleckas is starting things off in the Seaport with a bang: He’ll have a week’s worth of free class offerings to choose from. Starting September 9, drop into a free class at 10:30 a.m., then stop by throughout the week for free classes at 6:30 a.m. Monday-Friday and 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday. Monday, September 17, you can celebrate the official grand opening with free classes all day starting at 5:30 a.m. and enjoy raffles, free food, and samples from places such as HoneyGrow, Drink Maple, BloBar, and Lululemon.
The Burnin’ By Ray concept is designed around low-impact, motor-less machines, so your joints are rested enough to bang out multiple classes in a day if that’s your fancy. And if you’re new to the gym scene, you can expect more personalized instruction from the trainers as well—with video-led classes, instructors can take the time to walk around the room and give attention where it’s needed.
“We like to say education builds confidence and confidence breeds success,” Peleckas says. “Clients in Belmont have told me their quality of life has drastically improved by being apart of the UnGym. There’s nothing more satisfying to me than helping someone live a better life, for not just themselves but for the people around them.”
But they aren’t just throwing people into workouts and crossing their fingers you’ll see success. The membership includes a strategy session with an assigned trainer who will be your wellness advisor. During this strategy session, your body fat percentage, fat mass, fat free mass, resting metabolic rate, and total energy expenditure will be measured in the Bod Pod—picture an enclosed bathtub that you sit in for 40 seconds. Your Vo2 Max (how well your lungs take in oxygen) will also be tested using a specialized mask and quick bout on a treadmill, and you’ll be put through a movement screen that will test the flexibility and mobility of your ankles, hips, knees, upper back, and shoulders while doing exercises such as an overhead squat.
“We take into consideration your goals and your lifestyle and we’re pairing those two factors together with your metrics and fine tuning your habits,” Peleckas says. Every three months your wellness advisor will meet with you to measure those diagnostics again and if you see improvement and hit the Burnin’ Benchmark (different metrics based on age) on any of those three things, or record 16 workouts in three months, your membership fees go down.
Yep, the club literally rewards you for getting healthy. What more of an incentive do you need?
157 Seaport Blvd., burninbyray.com.
Lounge area / Photo by Tessa Yannone
Burnin’ By Ray workout room / Photo by Tessa Yannone
Bod Pod / Photo by Tessa Yannone
Women’s locker room / Photo by Ray Peleckas.
