Readers' Choice: Meet the Top Fitness Centers in the Cranberry Area

People in the Cranberry area certainly feel passionate about their gyms, as evidenced by the 3,805 votes we received for —the most votes we’ve ever had cast for any topic.

Reaching out to its network of fitness devotees, Oh My You’re Gorgeous in Adams Township was the top vote getter with 2,268 votes.

“My fan base literally expands all over the world,” said Stephanie Babines, owner of the studio that, among its specialties, holds pole dance fitness classes.

We also received lots of votes for No Excuses Fitness by Kelly in Zelienople—which had 901 votes—and You Rock Fitness in Wexford, which received 528 votes.

Because fans of the fitness centers were so impassioned about their choices— including numerous votes and opinions in the comment section of our (unscientific!) and fun poll—we decided to honor all three of the top gyms for this week’s Readers’ Choice wrap up. Read on to learn more about the studios recommended by readers.

Oh My You’re Gorgeous

After a yearlong battle with Adams Township that made national headlines regarding the opening of her studio, Babines, a Cranberry native, is getting ready to celebrate the three-year anniversary of Oh My You’re Gorgeous.

“There’s a lot of stuff here that’s really unique to the area,” she said.

That stuff includes fitness classes that range from the standard Zumba and salsa dance workouts to more unusual fare such as pole-dancing, hula-hooping and burlesque dances. There’s even a “Stiletto Strut” where women work out in their high heels.

Babines said the unique classes draw people from Cranberry as well as from across the Pittsburgh area. There even is a woman who Babines said travels from Buffalo, NY once a month just to take classes.

“We have the only certified pole fitness instructors in Pennsylvania,” she added.

Oh My You’re Gorgeous also holds ladies night out, bachelorette and birthday parties at the studio Babines describes as having a lounge-like feel. Located on Mars-Valencia Road, Oh My Your Gorgeous has comfy couches, a mirrored-stage and five “vertical ballet poles” on its cardio floor.

A computer programmer by day who teachers classes in the studio at night, Babines said she herself lost close to 60 pounds after discovering pole dance fitness classes seven years ago.

“I used to go to the gym and get discouraged,” she said. “Then I found pole dancing and I didn’t even realize how much my body was changing.”

Preregistration is required for the workouts, which Babines said allows her to keep the classes small so she can give individualized attention to the attendees. In addition to their challenging workouts, the women who attend the classes also have a great time, Babines said.

“They get an awesome workout and because it's so much fun, they’ll stay for two classes a night, ” she said.

No Excuses Fitness by Kelly

After working in the fitness industry for more than 20 years—and tired of teaching at other studios—Kelly Riddle opened on Route 19 in Zelienople a little more than two years ago.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said.

Riddle said her goal was to create a studio that would be fun and welcoming to people of all shapes, sizes and ages. She also takes special care to instruct people on the right way to work out.

“I wanted it to be a place where people could come and not worry about how they look and not worry about what everyone else is doing,” she said.

No Excuses was the first studio in the area to offer suspension training, which features a system of ropes and webbing hanging from the ceiling that allows users to work against their own body weight.

In addition to personal training and massage therapy sessions, No Excuses offers a variety of classes, including step and sculpt, yoga and cardio kickboxing. There’s frequently a full house for the Zumba classes led by Riddle, a high-energy dance expert, and the owner said the medball and cycling classes also are popular.

Riddle said she was flattered so many people voted for her studio in the Readers’ Choice poll.

“I just think it’s really nice that so many people love where they’re going and they love what they’re doing,” she said. “I think that’s more important than anything else to me.”

You Rock Fitness

A project manager and mother of two, Amy Moreland opened You Rock Fitness in Wexford with her husband, Tadd, last July.

“We started because I just wanted a place where families could come and have a place where fitness could be fun,” she said.

Moreland said she wanted to offer classes that couldn’t be found at other gyms around the Wexford area, including the nearby Oxford Athletic Club. To that end, Moreland offers classes in Zumba, kettleball—which used cast iron weights—and piloxing, a combination of Pilates and boxing.

Moreland said her daughters, Ashley, 10 and Abby, 8, came up for the name for the studio. Back when Moreland was just taking classes instead of teaching them, the girls constantly would tell their mom that she rocked—and the name stuck. 

“It became this thing they always said after class,” she said.

Moreland said the Ashley and Abby—who she calls her “managers”—often accompany her to the family-friendly studio, which features a play area for children.

She was thrilled her fitness fans voted her one of the top studios in the area.

“I have so much support,” she said. “Before I opened my studio, I taught in many different places and they followed me from one place to the other. They were very loyal to me. That’s what keeps me going.”