Drive Custom Fit

Let me preface this by stating. This is NOT a «gym» or «workout club». Drive is a community. A home where every member is welcoming and helpful. The front desk staff are always smiling and the trainers/​instructors are learning. Yes, learning… Imagine going to workout. You decide to take a class. You walk in and hide in the back as the newbie. Ahhh. Your safe zone. But before you get to the back of that class you’re quickly being introduced to the class instructor/​trainer or a seasoned member. «hi I’m „j“ how are you?» Wait, what? Someone is talking to me. Yes. This is drive. Where the members welcome you, the trainers/​instructors, train you (oh and not by you following them but they actually teach and correct form during class all while taking a mental note of your abilities/​strengths/​weaknesses). Drive is a community of people who love what they do and share what they love. I’m not going to lie, the classes are definitely intense, but there is definitely no judgement here. A perfect balance of fitness training, yoga and nutritional counseling. Go. Go and get your DRIVE!

I’m not sure what you call Drive. A gym is the place you enthusiastically strut to on the first of every January for a few weeks towards an hour long elliptical routine, and then only attend sporadically during the year to check-​in so your Facebook friends can be jealous that you are «working out» and they are at home on Facebook.
Drive is not a gym. Drive is family. Drive is community, coming together for the common goal of living healthier lives in my opinion.
My husband Frank and I have been members for over a year after being referred by a friend (thank you Karen!) and previously waisting money on countless gyms throughout our lives. We are both highly motivated people living busy lives who made time for the gym, but that was only half the battle. We needed a place that would set us up for success and push us to our limits on day 1, and drive us past them on day 2.
While you can certainly come and workout on the cardio machines alone, nearly everyone takes full advantage of the classes which is what makes this place so special. We’ve done hot yoga, power yoga, deep stretch and a few of the many other yoga classes. We’ve taken classes with Jake, Becky and Taylor and they are fantastic. As newbies, it was great having instructors that tailor classes to support newbies as well as all-​stars. They remind you that there is no perfect way of doing yoga, it’s a practice and you have to do what feels right for your body.
The other classes each have a unique focus. Whether you want to build muscle, focus on core areas, or burn calories and fat. Synergy and Fuel with Matt and Tony are two of my favorite since you often do 40 or so exercises (and then you do them all over again). So when you feel like you can’t do another rep, you are onto the next exercise that focuses on another muscle group allowing you to workout harder than I personally ever thought I could. They offer classes as early as 4:30am and into the evening which helps meet everyone’s different schedules. Though personally, hell will probably freeze over before you catch me at a 4:30am.
As someone who is notoriously terrible at remembering names, I’m mesmerized at the ability of all the trainers and staff to know everyone’s name. I’ve even see people brand new to the gym who all the team members already call by name from day one. It makes such a difference, since when you’re in class in your zone, and you hear a trainer call out your name with direction and guidance or a personable hello or goodbye from Joan and the rest of the staff.
If your budget allows, I recommend trying out their personal trainers, whether small group or one-​on-​one. In particular, I highly recommend Matt, who my husband and I and friends have loved working out with. He’s supportive of your goals, and holds your accountable to meet those goals. Before Matt, I settled for the idea, that I would never be able to do certain exercises or lift certain amounts of weights. He has pushed me farther than I thought possible and the classes are a great compliment to holistic training.
The owner’s are incredibly personable and welcoming. Tony and Jake are very active in the local community as well as the fitness community. From training high school sports teams to Salem’s Fire Department, they are becoming and integral member of the community. Along with running the successful business and giving back to the community, they somehow also find time to teach countless classes throughout the week without breaking a sweat. Well, strike that, we all break a massive sweat at Drive, but it adds to the ambiance. Tony has been known for saying, «It doesn’t get easier, you get stronger.» It may sound like lip service, until that day in class when you find yourself saying, «Wow, this is finally getting easier,» but then you look at the number of weights and realize it’s actually getting harder, and you are getting stronger.
They have a brand new location is unbelievable. The last location was good, and overall we could have worked out anywhere because it was the trainers and fellow Drivers who made it so successful. Everyone made the best of it, though it became clearer that while we were being worked out to our extremes the location was also limiting potential, space wise.
While I think we all would have been happy with just minor improvements, Drive instead built a brand new location that feels like it belongs in Boston. But fortunately you don’t have to worry about the typical snooty people that fill up some high end Boston gyms, because at Drive in my experience everyone who steps in there is there to work, and far too busy to have an attitude. Also, where most gyms are full of strangers, since Drive is more like a family, I find people treat each other more like one, since they know they will be seeing those same people day and in and out.
Whether you call it a gym, a wellness center, or jokingly a cult, all I can say is, call it, because your body and soul deserves it.

Unbelievable staff. Great atmosphere. I’m closing in on 40 and I’m in the best shape of my life. Looking forward to moving into Drive Fit’s new location in Salem.

I emailed the gym for membership information. The owner who replied did not seem to be customer friendly. He simply wrote to contact that person at that number without saying thank you for replying to his website. Doesn’t he know the information of membership costs and how to have customer service friendliness??? He needs to develop and to improve customer friendly service.

Such a beautiful gym! VERY Clean, great customer service, amazing trainers, breathe-​taking classes & open 24 hours, 7 days a week!!! How can you beat that? BEST GYM AROUND by far!

Drive is probably the ONLY gym you ever want to be a member of… but only if you want to get in shape & have fun doing it!
Since I joined DRIVE, I’ve been fortunate enough to have taken part in almost all DRIVE offers… fitness & yoga classes, personal one-​on-​one training with Tony, meal plan consultation and using the cardio machines and/​or floor on my own time.
The classes that DRIVE offers are hands down second to none. True Story!
Tony has not only spent a lot of time developing various SIGNATURE fitness classes that are only offered at DRIVE but he’s constantly switching the classes and schedule up to not only keep it fresh but provide you the best opportunity to transform your body!
The classes at DRIVE are achievable & challenging for any fitness level… male or female & are set in a positive judgment-​free environment. Everyone works together to assist & help each other throughout the workout & the trainers keep them fun & safe!
I had never taken a yoga class before I walked through the doors of DRIVE. Tony strongly encouraged me to try it. I am so thankful I did & happily regularly unroll my mat each week now! From ashtanga, vinyasa, power, deep stretch & more — there is an offering for all. Tony & DRIVE opened up an entire new fitness passion for me that I can guarantee I wouldn’t have explored otherwise. Learning to connect my breath to my workouts has been at times challenging but so rewarding too!
Over the years, I’ve worked with a handful of trainers. Tony’s approach was totally different. He pretty much tried to talk me out of it at first so he could monitor my strengths/​weaknesses in class. I appreciated that… we later sat down & discussed my goals & his observations. Tony developed a training plan for me that was focused solely on my goals, abilities, strengths/​weaknesses.
During training, Tony spent a lot of time with me correcting years of bad form. This was probably the single most important thing we worked on together — talk about immediate results… when I took this knowledge & applied proper technique in the classes, I started burning 100 – 200 more calories a class!!!
Tony is great at reading you — there were times I couldn’t mentally check out to check in & he’d toss the program he planned for the day out & adapt.
We also covered nutrition & how it directly correlates to the workouts. When things weren’t progressing properly Tony would attack what was happening during mealtime. For maximum results, the process is 100% dedication to diet & workout and… it’s a lot easier than you would think!
I’ve heard so many people ask me how I find the time… I’m married with 2 kids & work… well DRIVE makes that easy because it’s open 24 hours, has kids club hours & if you can’t make a class… you can take advantage of the cardio equipment and/​or weight room floor.
So…what are you waiting for… get in & check it out!!! You won’t regret it!