Do you find that you have to drag yourself to the gym because you’ve become bored and tired of the same old workout? Or maybe you’re a person who loves to work out, but going to the gym feels more judgmental than your high school hallways. It’s time to ditch the gym because there is finally a place that understands you, and it’s called In the RA Fitness.

Serina Kappes, owner of In the RA Fitness, says their studio is a place where real women can work out, feel comfortable and have fun.

“Our mission is for any body type to be able to walk into one of our fitness classes and be able to workout, sweat, have fun and feel comfortable in their own skin while they work toward their personal goals,” Kappes says.

In the RA FitnessShe says this emphasis on creating a comfortable environment was a personal decision for she has struggled with insecurities herself. She began teaching Zumba at 218 pounds and is now down 67 pounds since taking her first class.

Kappes says she has always been into fitness, but once she started up her own marketing business, she just lost touch. It wasn’t until she accidentally walked into a Zumba class that realized she could still have fun and dance no matter what her size.

Kappes says that she continued to fall in love with the class and decided she wanted to teach it someday, after she lost the weight. But after discussing it with friends, they managed to change her mind, reasoning that she could probably touch and inspire a lot of people at her current size.

“And I did,” Kappes says. “I have women come up to me and say, ‘We just love that you’re a real person who is sweating along with us and that the workout even looks hard for you sometimes. We see you losing weight and all of this really makes us feel more comfortable coming to your class.”

While creating the classes offered at In the RA Fitness, Kappes says her No. 1 goal was fun. Some of the classes offered include Zumba, Flirty Girl Fitness, Tut Your Butt, RealRyder Indoor Cycling, Yoga, line dancing and Pilates fusions.

Although most of the classes do incorporate a fun dance element, she says she focuses more on the fitness aspects of the workouts.

“Our classes are fitness first,” Kappes says. “It’s all about burning the calories, making it fun and keeping it simple. We do a lot of repetitive things. It’s not a dance class; it’s a fitness class with really good music and fun dance moves.”

She says it was important to her to have the atmosphere to go along with the class. In the RA Fitness has a state of the art sound system and incorporates club lighting during all classes.In the RA Fitness

“I wanted to make sure that we really did have a club feel to make it more of a party atmosphere,” Kappes says. “So when you get off of work and you’ve had the worst day ever, you step into here, and by the end of the class you forgot about the stress and are smiling. You’re just there, present and having fun. The lights really do make a difference.”

This atmosphere also exists in the RealRyder Indoor Cycling classes. In the RA Fitness is the first studio or gym in Arizona to carry the RealRyder bikes that function more like a real bike than traditional stationary bikes; the bikes lean, tilt and turn 20 degrees to the left and right. Kappes says this gives you much more of a full-body workout, and you will also burn 20 percent more calories.

She says this class can also be a workout for all skill sets because of the resistance on the bike. She says an advanced rider may pump up the resistance three turns opposed to a beginner who may only turn it a half turn.

And here’s a fun fact for you. In the RA Fitness is named after the Egyptian god RA who represents power, health and breath. She says she thought it was very fitting and everyone is encouraged to pull out their inner god or goddess during their workout.

“Overall, at In the RA Fitness we want you to ‘divine’ your health, your fitness and yourself,” Kappes adds.

For more information about In the RA Fitness, visit intherafitness.com.