WHY BALANCE GYM? RESULTS THAT'S WHY.

Why is Balance the Best Gym in DC? If you haven’t read the story about our Founder, Mark Crick, we highly recommend it.  Mark is a professional rugby player from Australia, who immigrated from Australia, played in the World Cup for the USA, and started one of the best gym facilities within Washington DC that has grown to three locations.

…and have fun while doing it…

The vision behind Balance’s success was born long before the CrossFit explosion, and something Mark Crick, our founder, had dreamed of prior to immigrating to the USA.  Mark used his life-long experience of training and sports to create one of the most innovative gym concepts.

His recipe of athletic workouts, group motivation, seasoned staff, sustainable programs, and a large dash of fun, is still served today, changing his member’s lives, and building a community of like minded individuals, striving to be fit, social, and better people.

As Balance Gym grew, so did our facilities, amenities, and offerings, allowing our members to  take full advantage of our sporting events, parties, challenges, and work outs of the day.

At Balance Gym, we inspire people to create balance within their lives by demonstrating how fitness can be fun and sustainable. We know there’s more to staying fit than just getting ‘regular’ exercise.

Balance Gym is a DC-born and bred business with humble beginnings: Balance began as a boot-camp space off a basketball court in Kalorama, where our founder Mark Crick dreamed of opening a gym to house the city’s very best trainers and a no-BS attitude toward fitness. Fifteen years later, Balance has three award-winning gyms in the Thomas Circle, Foggy Bottom, and Capitol Hill neighborhoods, and three award-winning CrossFit boxes. Our Capitol Hill location is also home to Balance Lagree – one of only two Lagree fitness studios in DC, and the only one to feature the Megaformer MS3.

One thing hasn’t changed: our commitment to “train for sport, train for life.”

Our three locations, Thomas Circle, Foggy Bottom, and Capitol Hill, have their own unique assets and features, but all maintain a fun vibe and provide a quality place to train hard–whatever your goals may be. In each location, Balance is proud of our exceptional personal trainers, most of whom have had a competitive sporting background and specialize in all aspects of the fitness industry.

Balance offers more than 100 classes per week, including our signature Balance Bootcamp (which we take outside to the surrounding neighborhoods or our roof deck when the weather allows), Balance Body, and Balance Ride classes; traditional classes like yoga, barre, and Zumba; and more unique offerings like pole dancing and PILOXING. In addition, CrossFit Balance, led by Danielle Dionne, sent teams to the CrossFit Games in 2017 and 2018 – and the team brought home sixth place in 2018.

What is particularly close to our hearts is our community. Throughout the year, Balance hosts hikes, rooftop parties, scavenger hunts, farm weekends, and many fitness events for our members. No matter where you are in their fitness journey, we know you’ll feel welcome here at Balance. Coaches and members become friends, trainers and clients attend sporting events and concerts, and we pride ourselves on our involvement in the local community through annual support of many charities and local sports teams, such as the DC Eagles rugby team and the DC Strokes rowing club. In addition, Balance has been a leading supporter of both Bike to the Beach and Cupid’s Undie Run for more than a decade, is an annual participant in the Capital Pride Parade, and for the last two years has partnered with the Women’s Strength Coalition to host the second annual Pull for Pride Deadlift Competition in support of Casa Ruby.

Balance is proud to have been recognized as a top gym in Washington, DC. Our awards and accolades include:

• Best Gym, Washington Post Express (2011, 2012, 2016)
• Best Gym, Washington City Paper (2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021*)
• Best Personal Training Gym, Washington City Paper (2020, 2021*)
• Best CrossFit Gym, Washington Post Express (2013)
• Best CrossFit Gym, Washington City Paper (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
• Best Place to Get Ripped, Washington Post Express (2015)
• Best Gym That Doesn’t Intimidate You, Washington Post Express (2015)
• Best Gym, Washingtonian Magazine (2015, 2016)

*3^RD Place Winner

We’re Not Making This Up…People REALLY do Love Us!

Balance Functional Fitness

4.4

Based on 361 reviews

Balance Gym Thomas Circle

4.1

Based on 116 reviews

Rose O.

1713986880

Update: Balance did refund me the money owed after leaving the below review. I only wish they had done so 8 weeks ago so I didn’t have to resort to Google Reviews to get them to pay attention. I’ll keep my membership because the gym is nearby and... well-equipped but the customer service chain of command is really unclear.——-Extremely frustrating customer service, which is a shame because I really like the gym itself and the front desk staff are always friendly. I have been waiting almost 2 months now for Balance to refund me a double charge for the month of March 2024 and no amount of cajoling, emailing, clarifying, or in-person visits to the front desk have resolved the issue.Reminding them to fix their mistake has been a thorn in what otherwise would be a positive gym experience.read more

Monica D.

1711553854

Found my new home, wish I walked in their door years ago. The gym itself has a great vibe—we do hard work there, but the trainers and staff create a welcoming, encouraging, judgment-free-zone, all with a good chunk of fun. Never thought I’d actually... look forward to gym days, but now I truly do.I have been training with Josh Russell for a few months now, and in short, he’s the best. He shows up every day—listens to me, pushes me, encourages me, respects me. Josh has made me faster, better, stronger—boosting my confidence and fitness through the roof. Couldn’t recommend Josh, the crew, and the gym more—see you there!read more