The pen is mightier than the sword, but that’s only because the pen spends three nights per week bench-pressing paper clips. Stay in tip-top, sharp-object-dodging shape with today’s Groupon: for $19, you get a one-month membership (a $60 value) and one 45-minute personal-training session (a $50 value) at Ames Racquet & Fitness Center, with three locations in Ames (a $110 total value).

Ames Racquet & Fitness Center helps shrink beer bellies and wine waists with a convoy of cardio machines, strength-training equipment, expert trainers, and group classes. Bright, open reception areas welcome doomed calories, which cower in fear of the lineup of treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes, and noodle-like biceps morph into bulging bastions of brawn on free-weight systems. The one-month membership also gives fitnessmongers access to a full-length pool at the North location, which accommodates fat-banishing underwater three-legged races, as well as tennis courts at the South location. Additionally, patrons get access to more than 90 weekly group classes. Brightly lit, mirrored studios play host during the core-sculpting Butts & Guts and the calming yoga-Pilates fusion Group Centergy, while Power Aqua breaks sweats without aggravating joints in the pool.

Because motivation, like the memory of kindergarten swing-les mixers, often fades over time, Ames boasts a staff of certified, regularly educated trainers to aid in the continued building of bodies. During the 45-minute personal-training session, clients learn how to get a solid start and keep the workout wheels turning. Parents can take advantage of on-site childcare, available for an additional charge at all three facilities.

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