We’re The Athletic Club on the other side of the river, the northern cousins who the rest of the family suspects are probably having way too much fun. North Little Rock, Sherwood, Jacksonville, Cabot, and even some Little Rock residents come to the club daily for fitness and fellowship with the NLRAC fam. We have many of the same amenities as Little Rock Athletic Club and Little Rock Racquet Club, but we’re a little more down-to-earth over here. We’re straightforward and happy to see each other, because we become a family over here. We’re eager to meet whatever new faces come through our doors because you’re probably going to stick around and be part of the fam, too. That’s just what happens at this club.
501 CrossFit is at the core of our community. We have a 501Kids version for the young ones and a Legends version for our seniors. We’ve had members in our Legends class working out--and hard--well into their 90s! The 501 CrossFit community is tight-knit and hard-muscled, though we didn’t all start out that way. We come together, challenge each other, do the WoD, and learn just how much our bodies can do when we train them right. The latest spin-off from 501 CrossFit is our Olympic Lifting class. We train hard, often and well, and celebrate each other’s accomplishments as well as our own. We have the biggest functional fitness area of all The Athletic Clubs. It’s spacious but full of opportunities to prove ourselves. We friggin’ love it.
At the center of the club are our basketball courts, where pick-up games are pretty much constantly happening, whether by kids or adults or all the above. Grab a ball and start shooting some hoops. A fantastic indoor track encircles the courts and 501 CrossFit area. It’s always in use, whether from retiree couples doing their daily power walking or athletes working on lunges, or runners doing their laps on a cold and rainy day.
We have two pools, including The Athletic Clubs only fully-indoor pool, a 25-yarder for laps and lessons and AquaFit and swim play year-round. It gets a lot of use! Right outside that pool is our summer rec pool, a lovely oasis privacy-fenced off from the outside world with a slide on the deep end and a lovely cascading fountain on the shallow end. It’s our favorite spot on summer days. It’s smaller than some of the pools, but lovely and usually quiet (except for those excited happy kid squeals). Families love it, and sunbathers soak up the rays on the surrounding pool deck. Everyone’s excited when our outdoor pool opens for the summer! We have some great parties out here, too. We all end up knowing each other, and it’s fun to get together and make friends.
We teach swimming for all ages, from tots to 100. Private and semi-private (up to 3 people) lessons are available anytime, or join a group class when it’s offered. We teach all skill levels. No previous experience required. We can turn you into a strong swimmer, no matter where you start!
Our locker rooms each have a beautiful hot tub, plus separate sauna and steam rooms, showers and toilets. Our massage therapy rooms also connect to the locker rooms--and those massages are the best.
We have upstairs workout floors at both ends of the club. One side has our Cardio Theater, the other has additional cardio equipment including a group cycling spin section. The workout floors below have all the free weights, bench lifting and strength-training machines you could want. Honestly, we have more cardio and resistance training equipment than anywhere else in North Little Rock. People get stronger here! We have excellent personal trainers with tons of expertise to get you in shape for whatever goal you set.
We have a group fitness classroom where many of our classes are held, including Step, Yoga, Booty Barre, Sculpt, Circuit Training, Dynamic Mobility, Hip Hop Cardio, Kickboxing, Step Fusion, Pilates Express, L1FT and SH1FT, Movers and Shakers, and others.
We also have a nursery, a kids’ activity room and an exciting Kids Galaxy indoor playground filled with special “soft playground” equipment, video games, television and foosball. Our staff offers tons of children’s programming all year from after-school care to day camps during summer and school breaks. Kids’ Nights Outs are fun, and we’re known as one of the best birthday party spots this side of the river.
Our Senior Sneakers program is robust and our seniors are every bit as much of the club as anyone else. There’s a lot of socializing that happens at the club, particularly around the Leiva’s Coffee (NLR’s own!) area.
There’s always positive growth happening at NLRAC, and we’re always here cheering you on. A lot of things change, but never that.