Don't call it a gym: Life Time opens pools, pickleball courts and full salon in Middletown

MIDDLETOWN – Life Time, which opens on Half Mile Road Monday, is not just about workout machines, health and beauty spa, and fitness classes.

It is, as general manager Alex Armiento puts it, an “athletic country club.” Don’t just call it a gym or even a fitness center.

“Everything revolves around health and fitness and living a healthy way of life,” said Armiento, an Aberdeen resident. “So whether it’s stopping into our cafe for a healthy meal, getting a spa service, doing a training session on our fitness floor, we have so many different amenities and classes around health and wellness.”

Built on the site of a former office building, Life TIme’s $40 million three-story building is 120,423 square feet. Next door is a garage deck with more than 500 parking spaces for members.

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The monthly fee? $279 for single membership with $100 for one additional family member, followed by $70 and $60 for additional members beyond that. Junior memberships, for kids 3 months old to 13 years old, are $60. There is no contract but there is a $300 initiation fee, paid once whether for a single or family membership. Opening today, Feb. 26, at 9 a.m., hours are 4 a.m. to 12 a.m. weekdays and 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekends.

Other Life Time clubs are in Florham Park, Berkeley Heights, Bridgewater, Hackensack, Montvale, Mount Laurel and Plainsboro. Middletown and Bridgewater also have Life Time Work, a coworking space. Middletown’s is at One River Centre, across Newman Springs Road from the main facility.

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Fitness equipment at Life Time, a 120,000-square-foot athletic country club opening in Middletown.

The club is now on a waiting list. “In terms of our membership, so far we’ve already exceeded our goals,” Armiento said. “I would say this community has been waiting for something like this for a very long time.”

Life Time’s amenities includes:

• Seven dedicated spaces and studios for its portfolio of Barre, boxing and kickboxing, cardio, cycle, dance, strength, Pilates and yoga classes.
• Space for small group training classes including Alpha, GTX, Ultra Fit and MB 360.
• Programs and social events designed for active agers.
• More than 400 pieces of cardiovascular and resistance training equipment.
• Six indoor pickleball courts designed for social, competitive play, clinics and tournaments.
• Indoor and outdoor leisure, lap and whirlpools, and slides and resort-style seating with an outdoor bistro and full bar.
• Kids Academy offering 2.5 hours of programming and fun for kids ages 3 months to 11 years.
• Life Cafe, a fast-casual cafe with a full menu, meals to go and grab and go assortments, as well as Peet’s coffee and proprietary nutritional supplements. Across the entranceway, Life Time Lounge has a full bar.
• Life Spa, a full service salon and spa for hair, body, skin and nails.
• Dressing rooms featuring cold plunge pools, whirlpools, saunas, and steam rooms.

Pickleball courts at Life Time, a 120,000-square-foot athletic country club opening in Middletown.

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“The real difference is the community we create here at Life Time,” Armiento said.

“Your perception of a gym is you go and you get a workout and you go home,” he said. “Here we create a community where you can get your workout in, but then get to meet like minded people, get a healthy meal and then also get to entertain yourself whether it’s at one of our pools (or) in the spa.”

David P. Willis, an award-winning business writer, has covered business, retail, real estate and consumer news at the Asbury Park Press for more than 25 years. He writes APP.com’s What’s Going There column and can be reached at [email protected]. Please sign up for his weekly newsletter and join his What’s Going There page on Facebook for updates.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Don’t call it a gym: Life Time opens pools, pickleball courts and full salon in Middletown