Exercise Control

Las Vegas is the land of endless temptations, where the practical aspects of life often get left back home with the pets-like your workout routine. Even if you've resolved to hit the treadmill first thing in the morning, there are dozens of mind-changing distractions-from the smell of hot breakfast coming from the café to the sounds of jackpots calling your name-on the way from your room to the resort's fitness center. With all due respect to the allure of spa treatments with names such as The Pamper Plan, more and more visitors come here determined to at least get in a 30-minute workout before getting down to the business of Las Vegas. Lucky them, Las Vegas also happens to be the land of accommodations.

Two prime examples on the Strip are the MGM Grand Spa and the Spa Mirage, where you can continue whatever routine you were on back home-from free weights to pilates-without missing a rep.

The Spa Mirage, located among the chic shops near the pool area, has a fitness center filled with state-of-the-art equipment which comes complete with the knowledge of how to use it. The certified fitness trainer on duty will spend as much time as you need, not only showing you how to run the Star Trac treadmill-a machine only found at the country's top health clubs-but how to tune into one of the 80 cable channels in its DMX entertainment system.

You can also watch one of the new flat-screen televisions on the wall while making strides on the PreCor elliptical trainer (a high-tech, full-body workout) or climb to the beat of piped-in tunes on the latest StairMaster. "People come here for an average of three days and, between the plane ride and the buffets, do a lot of sitting, eating and drinking," says Spa Mirage Director Chuck Oliverio, a former bodybuilder from Buffalo, New York, "and so they want a cardio-intensive workout before they go back out there and have all that great food with all those great cocktails."

Around the entire perimeter of the white-and-gold room are options for weight training, too. While there are free weights for the serious lifter, the main attraction here is the Cybex circuit, comprised of various weight stations that'll hit every muscle you use at your neighborhood gym.

Therein lies a key point when it comes to working out in Las Vegas: these fitness centers are designed, staffed and equipped to sustain your regimen. "People don't come to our spa looking for a lifestyle change," says MGM Grand Spa Director Rachel Knapp. "Everybody's already on some kind of program."

And the MGM Grand Spa & Fitness Center is still very much in tune with the latest routines. The facility accommodates everything from pilates to yoga, including areas where you can use fitness balls for stretches and core exercises, and mats for your "sunrise salutations."

"We try to go mainstream," says Knapp, a bit of a yoga buff herself, "but we still incorporate many of today's mind-body ideas."

After your workout, you can relax your "buff self" in the sauna, hot tub or steam bath, or, better yet, give into that Pamper Plan-you deserve it!