TMPL Clubs is Not a Gym; It’s a Whole Vibe (2024)

New York City’s 4 Astor Place is jumping. An unlikely spot for this kind of chi at 6pm on a Tuesday. Its entrance is wedged next door to a Sweetgreens, but the minute you open the door the music hits you. You’re not in Kansas anymore. DJ Pumpkin is playing Fisher’s “Losing It” and a killer list of beats better than that tired playlist Spotify recommended to you. Four years at this gig, he knows how to give you the boost of energy you need when your muscles start to burn on that last rep. Trust me when I tell you, you haven’t seen a gym quite like this.

TMPL Clubs, with five locations throughout New York’s Manhattan, is serving up beats, but it has a bevy of other goodies few gyms can match, definitely, all of them at its price point. Founded in 2016, TMPL’s aim was to reimagine the gym experience beyond just aesthetics. Combining the look and feel, the use of fitness technology, the gym’s great amenities, and the cost, you simply can’t find a better deal.

Identifiable by its trademark black and yellow palette and no vowels in its name, TMPL has plenty of looks and personality. Each location is unique to the neighborhood each gym calls home, so this is not like walking into a Crunch on 42nd Street that might as well be in Fargo, North Dakota. Sorry, if you’re from Fargo, but this is New York City, The Big Apple. We’re accustomed to extravagance and have great expectations here.

TMPL has traded in fluorescent bulbs, common in nearly every tier of gym, for focused lighting that is easier on the eyes to create a more dramatic effect and to set the mood. It makes the place feel like you are there to get down to business. It turns your energy inward, which isn’t to say that it’s some kind of zen garden, but with clearly demarcated zones for different kinds of exercises, you have your pick of how deep you want to go inwardly. This kind of atmosphere is for body work. And don’t worry, you can still people watch. The clientele is also crushing it in the looks department.

The entryway in each location is its own statement piece: Astor Place, with its eclectic mix of modern interpretations of gilded furnishings, candelabra-style chandelier, and marble bust sculpture offset with a funky Keith Haring-like mural pay homage to its roots as the site of an old Barnes & Nobles Bookstore, and before that a publishing house. You might even recognize its main stairway from the movie “Zoolander,” where the film was shot. At 40,000 square feet, it’s among the largest gyms in all of Manhattan. The Hell’s Kitchen location, roughly the same in size, is going for a more industrial vibe with scaffolding and chainmail. West Village’s entryway greets you with yellow, cascading staircases as if you are Dorothy being led upwards to Oz. Avenue A is minimalist and offers a bit of mystery with strips of yellow lighting and a neon billboard leading you to a floating check-in desk on the second floor. 53rd & Lexington is at first unassuming with a nondescript entryway adorned simply with a contemporary leather couch, chandelier and an art piece, featuring Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. But when you land, finery consumes your senses with perhaps the most exquisite yet minimalistic of all the check-in stations. (All sites are wheelchair accessible.)

Internally, they’ve spared no expense or creativity decorating the place with large art pieces and cool furnishings. DJ Pumpkin’s booth is none other than Studio 54’s original disco ball. The ceiling in West Village’s second floor is entirely bejeweled in onyx-colored orbs, and ensconced on the wall is the coolest hologram art installation you’ve ever seen. It’s trippy! TMPL encourages you to create your Instagram moment. They know you get the urge in between sets, and they have the walls for it.

Walking in TMPL gyms among its finery reminds you that you are building your temple, that you are your very own work of art.

The same attention and detail paid to the finishings is reflected in the equipment. All the gyms have state-of-the-art MATRIX machines in top notch condition. There are bench presses where the holster for the weights moves out of the way once you lift them. The treadmills and stair climbers all have USB ports to plugin and charge your devices while you work out. TMPL understands the value of technology, based on what its members want and need. In fact, it’s at the core of the brand’s philosophy and what sets it apart among other gyms. TMPL considers itself at the nexus of metabolic science, nutrition and exercise to empower members to achieve their fitness goals and create the body they desire and deserve.

When you become a member of TMPL gyms, you can opt in for a health and fitness assessment. This involves a complementary InBody composition analysis that is a perk often enjoyed by celebrity clientele at exclusive fitness studios. It measures your musculature, water weight and body fat percentage, providing you with a baseline, as you start your fitness journey. They also run you through a battery of exercises to check your strength, movement, flexibility and see if you might be overcompensating in any way. For those wanting more advanced visualization, you can get a 3-D body scan on a Styku machine that can expose your problem areas and visceral fat. You have the option to work with a TMPL trainer who will tailor an exercise plan for you at a cost and routinely track your progress.

Many gyms give you the hard sell. Let’s face it, it’s another way that they make their bread, but TMPL’s staff is your biggest cheerleader. It’s why the cost structure is designed with you in mind. The staff can spot you, give you some pointers—no sweat off their backs, and if you want expert, focused attention, they’ve got yours. Personal training starts at $145/session for a single session but runs as low as $90/session if you take advantage of their tiered pricing bundles, which you can buy in sessions per week over a 3-month or 6-month period. Of course, the more sessions, the lower the rate. While not all the gyms have the space for it, some have dedicated rooms for one-on-one time, like Astor Place’s Red Room, where you can work out without any distractions or having to compete for equipment.

Whether your goals are to lose weight, gain muscle, improve cardiovascular strength, work with a physical therapist, or just focus on overall health and wellness, TMPL can match you with the right expert. Their trainers are certified with at least one of the governing certification bodies for exercise and sports medicine, including ACE, AFAA, ISSA, NASSM and many can provide specialized training or therapy, such as folks needing postpartum rehabilitation or for injury.

People come to TMPL to work out, but they also come for its sense of community. Unlike other gyms that take a traditional relationship approach with you as a customer, TMPL treats its members as teammates. This carries through in the first name-basis many of its staff have with the membership, but also how a shared love of wellness can transcend beyond the confines of the gym to the surrounding community. Recognizing this, TMPL has partnered and supported local vendors by creating greater value for its membership as a free benefit. For example, The Hell’s Kitchen location has invited Body Factory to give skincare consultations and facials to the membership. The Astor Place and West Village gyms work with Baby Brasa that prepares light snacks that are made available in their common area weekly.

As cities across the country shuttered through the coronavirus disease pandemic, many people lost their sense of place, routines and connectedness. Many even lost their lives and loved ones. In New York, TMPL has remained a convivial and safe space during such a time of great hardship.

The vibe: Folks who visit this gym are a part of the in-crowd, who like to be pampered, treat their bodies like a temple and have the muscles to show for it, but may stay out till 5 in the morning on weekends at that spot you’ve not yet heard about. If this is your home gym, consider yourself spoiled. It comes with all the goodies, including the best looking clientele.

The amenities:
• Group exercise studio

• Virtual cycle studio

• Juice bar

• 25-meter saltwater pool

• Sauna/steam room

• Boxing area

• Hydro-massage beds

• Executive locker rooms


The vibe: The West Village location is more intimate, but that’s its strength, as you will know the staff well, including Jack, the general manager, who runs a tight ship but is always eager to help you out. This is for the young professional gym-goer who doesn’t need all the bells and whistles, but who will have access to the finest fitness equipment and a team of experts who can show you how to get the most out of your workout.

The amenities:
• Group exercise studio

• Boxing area

• Executive locker rooms


The vibe: The smallest of the gyms in terms of square footage, Avenue A is a more vertical gym, which allows it more natural lighting, especially the cycling room that is bathed in it with a view even Peleton would envy. Members here aren’t the showoff types. They know what they’ve got and I wouldn’t blame them for wanting to keep it to themselves.

The amenities:
• Functional training zone

• Cycle studio

• Executive locker rooms

• Boxing area

The vibe: Astor place is the most eclectic of the gyms in terms of looks, but also its members. This is an every-person’s gym, although NYU students help to give it its edge. The space is massive with wooden flooring and large windows on the second floor that makes the space airy. It’s also where DJ Pumpkin spins on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so bring your A-game, if you want to keep up. You’re going to need it.

The amenities:
• Group fitness

• Hydro massage beds

• Sauna/steam room

• Yoga studio

• Executive locker rooms

• Disco DJ booth

• Functional training zone

The vibe: Located in Midtown East, the 53rd and Lexington Avenue location is the newest of the gyms. It is subterranean, featuring state-of-the-art equipment, with plans to include a champagne lounge and a spa. The mostly white-collar-types that come here enjoy an open-plan layout and a higher appreciation of luxury, mirroring the swagger of many of the Fortune 100 corporate office buildings in the area.

The amenities:
• Functional training zone
• Smart cardio equipment
• Executive locker rooms
• Coming soon – The Spa at TMPL
• Group exercise and cycling studios