Who's Ready For Bathing Suit Season?

Let’s face it, we all put on a few pounds this winter. Well, some of us did, but now it’s getting warmer and soon it will be bathing suit season.

The good news is that if you’re not quite ready to step into that favorite bikini, there are plenty of serviceable gyms around town to help you get back in shape.

Kellie Fargason has owned Radiance Medspa at 2810 Paces Ferry Road for five years, but she recently expanded her business in the same Vinings building to include Oni Fitness Studio for pilates, yoga and kettlebells.

“They just go together,” Fargason said. “We want to give our clients a little extra something that they can do. If they’re working on their skin, a lot of people are working on their pigmentation or wrinkles. They’re trying to make themselves look better. So we thought what a perfect match, you know, they can go next-door and work on their body and get the full package. It just went well together.”

Fargason’s whole-body wellness philosophy attracts a diverse clientele to Oni.

“It really ranges anywhere from teenagers and 20-year-olds, and then we have clients in their 60s,” she said. “Mostly women, but we’ve had quite a few men as well. I’m kind of shocked, but we’ve had a good older crowd, which is really nice.’’

Oni offers between four and five pilates, yoga and kettlebell classes each day and the instructors also offer personal training sessions. Fargason thinks the personal attention her instructors deliver to clients is what sets them apart from other area gyms.

“We’re kind of like a boutique studio,” she said. “We’re not a big gym and we only have one class going on at a time. If it’s yoga, it’s just a yoga class. You’re not overwhelmed by other things. You don’t have a monthly membership; it’s per classes. So I would say that’s the biggest difference, we’re very personalized. It’s one-on-one; we know all of our clients. Once they start coming in we know them by name and the instructors get to know them.”

Prices range from $15 for yoga classes to $30 for a Pilates Reformer class. Clients have the option to pay per class, and they can also purchase five classes upfront for a 10 percent discount or 10 classes upfront for a 20 percent discount.

Other gyms and fitness studios around town know about our bathing suit blues and want to help, too.

• in Smyrna is offering 50 percent off its beginners’ workshop, a two-week six-session crash course in the CrossFit method of fitness. Look for the coupon in Savvy Shopper.

• in Vinings is waiving its service fee for new members who bring a bag of non-perishable groceries to donate to in Smyrna.

• in Vinings offers a month-to-month membership for $29.99. A pre-paid two-year membership upfront gets you get a third year free.

• offers month-to-month gym memberships for $14.99 bi-weekly. Just set your mind to it and you’ll have your body beach-ready in no time.