All fitness equipment seems to have been designed to answer the question: “What do humans most hate to do?”

Sure, “sweat” would be one answer. “Breathe hard and get red-faced” is another. Ditto “run long distances.” And “lift heavy objects” would certainly be on that list, as well. If I were to be completely honest, I’d have to add “tie my own shoes” to the list.

Technology has made doing things we don’t want to do entertaining. As it has with everything else, technology has changed fitness centers — especially in Las Vegas. What may pass for “state of the art” elsewhere is just the starting point in Sin City.

Oh, sure, the weights and lift benches are still there, but alongside those heavy things you’re avoiding are rows of exercise cycles with video monitors on them so that you can so you can pedal your way up Italian mountains or across long stretches of desert sands. Or watch CNN/Fox News. You can pedal yourself to fitness while the news channels peddle whatever “investment opportunity of the century” happens to be hot at the moment.

Ditto running machines. You can jump on one of the treadmills and trot, canter, or otherwise do things only horses are really built to do well, all the while watching your “feet” pound the path through various scenes on the machine’s monitor.

Meanwhile, your heart rate, speed, and probably your SAT scores are being carefully monitored by the internet of things. Yes, that Peloton you’re pedaling through “the French countryside” can talk to your Fitbit, because it’s important that you (and the Cloud) know your physical condition at all times.

Just about every hotel in Vegas (and everywhere else, for that matter) has a workout center, although in some cases, it’s just a weight rack and a bench, with maybe a couple of exercycles and a treadmill here and there thrown in as an afterthought.

But many of the Las Vegas fitness centers in resorts and hotels are truly impressive monuments to the eternal quest to improve the human form.

Let’s take a look at the best fitness centers Las Vegas hotels have to offer.

Aria

Just about every way of making you sweat, breathe hard, and curse under your breath is featured at the Fitness Center at Aria. Attached to the spa, the fitness center has everything for the serious workout, from the latest in internet-ready biometric monitoring on a wide range of Technogym equipment (ellipticals, treadmills, cycles, etc.) to personal trainers to help you get the most from that equipment.

They even have a rock-climbing wall if you’re looking to try something you can’t get at your everyday local gym.

And they also offer spin classes, yoga sessions, and even “combat cardio” sessions (I thought that’s what the treadmill was for, but I was wrong).

While the various trainers and group classes are a la carte (cha-ching!), access to the workout center’s equipment is included in the resort fee that all Aria hotel guests pay when they check in. The Aria Fitness Center is open daily from 5am to 7pm. For a rundown on the Center, check out their webpage.

Bellagio

The fitness center at Bellagio is exactly what you would expect from a world-class destination hotel. All the latest tech, all the whistles, and all the bells.

To all that equipment, Bellagio adds a menu of various spin classes, yoga sessions, and two separate versions of Pilates. They even have something called Bellagio Bootcamp, which they describe as “a full body workout […] that is different with each class.” The Navy ran me through something similar for 16 weeks, and I gotta say: not a fan. But YMMV.

As with most other resort fitness centers in Las Vegas, access to Bellagio’s is included as part of the resort fee paid by hotel guests. For more information (and to see what is immediately accessible and what requires an additional fee as well as a reservation), visit their website.

Incidentally, the Bellagio Fitness Center is open 5am to 7pm Monday through Friday, and 6am to 7pm Saturday and Sunday.

Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino

Like many of the resorts, the fitness center at Caesars Palace is attached to the spa, which in this case means you have 50,000 square feet of personal nirvana in which to wander about. Sure, treadmills and spin classes are fun, but there’s something to be said for working out to your heart’s content (not to mention its benefit), and then relaxing in a sauna or a laconium room (dry heat). Or you can try out their arctic cold room if for no other reason but the story. After that, you can even get a massage.

At Caesars Palace, your resort fee covers access (for two) to the fitness center, which is open daily from 6am to 8pm. Non-guests are also welcome at the fitness center for a fee ranging from $55 to $65 (depending on the day) per person.

You can check out their website for more information and a menu of the various services.

Cosmopolitan

Naturally, The Cosmopolitan has to be different. They have two fitness centers — one in the Chelsea Tower and one in the Boulevard Tower. The smaller fitness center, the Boulevard, is about 2,000 square feet full of state of the art Technogym equipment. It’s open 24 hours a day, and access is free to hotel guests.

The much larger Chelsea fitness center (over 5,000 square feet) has more of the same high-tech workout equipment and also features personal trainers and several sessions to fit your exercise needs. “Sweat60” is a full hour of demanding exercise (“appropriate for all fitness levels,” they claim), or you can opt for a “Yoga-Blend” hour that takes a more subtle approach to exercise. The Chelsea fitness center is open 5am to 8pm daily, and if you want to try any of their workout sessions (or work with a personal trainer), you’ll need to call to make reservations.

The Boulevard fitness center is accessible for free with your Cosmopolitan room key. The Chelsea fitness center is also free, as far as the weights, treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes (both upright and recumbent) are concerned, but the various yoga and other organized exercise sessions are, of course, extra. For more information on the Cosmopolitan’s fitness centers, visit their website.

The Plaza

If you enjoy working out daily (or even weakly, as I do) and you plan to stay downtown on your next visit to Sin City, your best bet is a stay at the Plaza, home of the Real Results Gym. Sure, they have the spin cycles and the treadmills, but what sets this Vegas fitness center apart is their urban approach to exercise.

Should I just say this is where Rocky would have worked out and leave it at that? Naw, that’d be no fun.

Remember the medicine ball? Real Results Gym has ‘em. Want to teach the heavy bag how punching is done back where you come from? This is your kind of place. How about hitting a huge tire with a sledgehammer? Man, I wasn’t thinking of that, but now I kinda want to try it.

Well, at the Real Results Gym at the Plaza, you can do all that. And you can even get a personal trainer to coach you through the hard stuff.

The Real Results Gym is open 7am to 7pm daily and is free (covered by the resort fee, in other words) to Plaza guests. Non-guests pay a $15 daily fee to work out there. And locals can even buy a $20 monthly membership. For more information, check out the Plaza’s website.

Venetian

The 134,000 square foot Canyon Ranch Spa serves both the Venetian and the Palazzo Tower with a wide range of interpretations of “me time.” Naturally, it’s a spa, so you’ll have every amenity known to mankind, which — lucky for us — includes a workout center that is perhaps Sin City’s most well-equipped.

In addition to the what seems like acres of high-tech exercise equipment, Canyon Ranch has a multitude of activities and classes for those who need peer pressure and personal embarrassment in order to actually exercise (I’m not mentioning any names).

Incidentally, Canyon Ranch Spa has a 40-foot indoor rock wall. They’ll even provide you with shoes and a helmet. They also have a variety of exercise classes, including one they refer to as “boot camp,” plus yoga and Pilates classes.

They even have vibration-plate sessions, where you can get a 60-minute workout in 25 minutes using a special piece of equipment to stimulate muscle activity — and no, it’s not a cattle prod. I asked.

Incidentally, they also have exercise physiologists on hand to design an at-home exercise regimen for you.

With all those amenities, it’s possible the Venetian and Palazzo have the best fitness center in Las Vegas.

Canyon Ranch Spa is open daily from 6am to 8pm. For more information, check out their website.

Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino

Located adjacent to the pool deck (so you can watch people enjoying themselves while you suffer), the Westgate resort’s fitness center features an array of high-tech Life Fitness cardio equipment, as well as weight machines and free weights. And just in case you came to Vegas for more than a good workout, you’ll be happy to know that the Westgate is wedged in between the Stirp and Downtown, so it’s close to a plethora of casinos.

The fitness center has a variety of cardio equipment (treadmills, exercise bikes, et al) and is adjacent to the Westgate’s Serenity Spa, so you’ll have plenty of relaxation options after your workout.

Open from 5am until 7pm daily, the Westgate’s fitness center is free to hotel guests, although there’s a charge if you want to include Serenity Spa in your routine. For more information, visit the Westgate’s website.

What Most Las Vegas Hotel Fitness Centers Have in Common

Fitness centers vary, even in Las Vegas. But there are some commonalities that you’ll find at most of the resort workout centers in Sin City.

Is Your Treadmill Reporting Directly to Skynet?

With few exceptions, you’re going to find Technogym equipment at Las Vegas hotel fitness centers. Remember all the science-fictiony stuff I was mentioning earlier? Technogym has it.

Over the past few decades, Technogym has established itself as THE provider of high-tech gym and exercise equipment. Want to get your workout stats onto your Fitbit? Technogym. Want to bicycle along the Pacific Coast Highway, or even the Great Wall of China? Technogym. Want to order a pizza? Hey — we’re tryin’ to work out here!

And it’s not just Technogym. As I mentioned earlier, Peloton has partnered with Fitbit, as well as Life Fitness, and quite a few of the other brands of exercise equipment as well. The internet of things is here to stay.

Access for Resort Guests

With very few exceptions, access to at least the exercise equipment at Las Vegas hotel workout centers is covered in the resort fee hotel guests pay each day of their stay. The resort fee usually covers access for up to two adults. If you want to take part in spin, Pilates, or yoga classes, however, you’ll need to make a reservation — and pay a fee.

Incidentally, most of the Vegas hotel fitness centers are often are part of a larger section of the hotel dedicated to physical well-being, so you’ll usually find saunas, massages, and other spa amenities close at hand.

Additionally, unless otherwise noted, the fitness centers all require patrons to be 18 years of age or older.

In All Seriousness

Exercise is important, perhaps now more than ever. These days, we often spend too much time developing our cyberspace avatars while neglecting the real body hovering over the keyboard. It’s not only surprising, it’s admirable that a great many Las Vegas resort-casinos have spent millions of dollars to assist us in our battle to overcome the inevitable results of the sedentary lifestyle our era thrusts upon us.

Should we all leap into “boot camp” fitness sessions? Maybe. But even a milder form of cardio can do wonders — if we work at it. And the fitness centers of Las Vegas provide that opportunity. Who knows? We might even live longer. Who said you can’t win in Vegas?

And if you’re looking for more to do in Sin City once your workout is over, check out what our guide to Las Vegas has to offer.