Community Corner

Free Summer Fitness Classes Offered in Boston

Activities will be held at City Hall Plaza, Faneuil Hall, the North End and the Martini Memorial Shell Park in Hyde Park.

By Sara Jacobi

If pricey gym memberships have been keeping you from getting in shape so this summer, skip them. The city of Boston is offering an expanded series of free fitness classes for Bostonians in several locations in July and August, including City Hall Plaza, the North End and the Waterfront. 

The new program, dubbed "Fitness in the City," is a part of Mayor Thomas Menino's Boston Moves for Health initiative. The program features bootcamp classes sponsored by Beantown Bootcamp, Boston Sports Club, Ultimate Bootcamp, and the Hyde Park YMCA, Zumba classes sponsored by the Z Spot Zumba and the East Boston YMCA, and a Pilates class sponsored by the East Boston YMCA.  

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The free workout sessions, which will run through August, will be offered in the mornings, lunchtime, and in the evenings, depending on the class. More classes are expected to roll out over the course of the summer. No advanced sign-up is necessary, and drop-ins are welcome.

Last year, a similar program attracted more than 2,400 participants. 

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“Our Fitness on the Plaza classes were more popular than we expected last summer, and we want to build on that success by offering even more options in more places this year,” Menino said. “Getting people out and active adds to the vitality of our city, and it’s a great way to promote healthy habits. We know that a lot of the participants in last year’s classes found out about them just by walking by, so we want to keep encouraging folks to let the city be their gym.

Upcoming classes include Pilates in the North End on July 9, a Boston Sports Club bootcamp on July 10 on the Greenway at Rowe's Wharf on July 11 and Zumba at Dewey Square on July 17.  

“Thanks to all of our partners for their support in this fantastic program,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission. “We hope that the classes attract people of all ages and abilities to help show off how healthy Boston is. It’s a great time to exercise outside, and we think people will have a lot of fun with these options.”

View the complete Fitness in the City schedule at BostonMovesForHealth.org.


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