Hotworx, an indoor, 24-hour, infrared fitness franchise where temperatures are much hotter than the outdoors, has more than 250 locations across the country.  

The first of several planned in Southwest Florida celebrated its grand opening following four months of a soft launch at 9343 Six Mile Cypress Parkway, just south of Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.  

There are 10 sauna-like rooms with each room specializing in something different such as yoga, stretching, blast class, spin class and rowing machines. Clients can follow along with a virtual instructor who appears on a big-screen TV in each room.  

Temperatures inside the sauna rooms reach up to 130 degrees with the infrared heat. Safety and hydration are encouraged, and waivers must be signed to work out there. After a $99 initiation fee, monthly memberships start at $59 for unlimited sessions. 

The lobby and common areas of Hotworx are air conditioned, set at 74 degrees.  

Most clients tend to do the workouts in 15-minute increments, general manager Vincent Mitchell said. Everything is booked over the Hotworx phone app.  

“You can do multiple workouts, because it’s unlimited,” Mitchell said. “It’s like you have your own, private studio. Everything is virtually led.”  

Mitchell called the technology a game changer because athletes reach their optimal core body temperature immediately. A 15-minute workout at Hotworx can give one the results of a traditional, hour-long fitness center workout, he said. 

“Everyone’s always on the go now,” Mitchell said. “Our motto is, ‘more workout, less time.’”  

Ky Arth has been a Hotworx client for two weeks, and she said she’s already seeing the results.  

“The detoxification factor is huge,” Arth said. “You can really feel that. You don’t feel sore. You don’t have sore muscles. You don’t have sore joints.”  

The next Southwest Florida Hotworx is being planned for Estero, Mitchell said, although a lease has yet to be signed.  

“We have our 3-D training, where you combine the heat, the infrared and the exercise,” Mitchell said. “Which helps with your overall health and wellness. It helps with your detox, your anti-aging. Helps with your weight loss. Helps with stress, sleep, blood pressure as well.”