GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — FitFest will take over downtown Grand Rapids for the second year, with nearly 50 events and workshops popping up throughout the city.

“It’s basically four days of jam-packed fitness classes all over Grand Rapids where we partner with the gyms and studios here in GR and put on awesome classes,” said Zach Skogheim, co-owner of SweatNET GR. 

Last year, the festival was 10 days long, but it will be shorter this year to make coordination easier for everyone involved. Skogheim said the event’s goal is to connect people with fitness facilities in the area and discover new and fun activities. 

“We’ve got everything from yoga, CrossFit, we’ve got cycling at 555 Park, we’ve got rooftop HIIT classes, sunset yoga… we’ve got everything,” he said.

For gyms like Title Boxing, which participated in the event last year, it helped them get their name out there.

“The FitFest event was cool because people came and checked us out that normally maybe wouldn’t have heard of us before,” said Aaron Amato, owner of Title Boxing Clubs Grand Rapids and Grandville. 

The dozens of different gyms and studios give people a chance to try out various workout styles before committing to a membership.

“Coming to like one of our events with FitFest just gives you like a little taste of it — the shadow boxing — so you can learn your form and technique before you’re actually hitting the bag,” Amato said. 

Several of the businesses also offer deals for festival attendees. Title Boxing will be offering two free weeks of unlimited boxing classes for new members and a free pair of hand wraps. 

A FitFest unlimited pass gives you access to all the events taking place from Thursday, May 19 to Sunday, May 22. There is also an option to book individual classes. The full schedule of events can be found online.