On a crisp November morning, Amanda Wood steps out of the infrared sauna glowing — cheeks flushed, hair damp, mood unmistakably lifted. Two months earlier, she hadn’t worked out at all. Now she schedules her life around Hotworx West Bloomfield (hotworx.net/studio/westbloomfieldtownship).
“I started at twice a week,” she says. “Now I’m up to three. It’s quick and private, and I walk out feeling amazing.”
Ask any member why they come, and the answers sound similar: the privacy, the heat, the 24/7 freedom to slip in whenever life allows. But beneath those themes lies something deeper — Hotworx has become, for many, a relationship with themselves they didn’t know they needed.
For longtime member Lisa Welshans, the contrast to traditional gyms is stark.
“I love that it’s 24 hours and I never have to wait,” she says. “No crowds, no staring, no pressure. I get in my sauna and it’s my world.”
Hotworx is a 24/7 infrared fitness sanctuary with small, private sauna pods offering video-guided Pilates, yoga, cycling and more. Members can work out alone or with one or two others — each session designed to elevate strength, recovery and overall wellbeing.
For working mother Rachael Laming, the access is life-changing.
“I travel, I work, I have kids — and most gyms don’t fit into real life,” she says. “Here, I can walk in at 5 a.m. or 9:30 at night and get exactly what I need.”
Laming also loves that her teenage daughter can join her. “Most gyms won’t allow young people. Hotworx does.”
Nearly every member mentions the heat — the way it loosens tight muscles and seems to melt stress on contact.
“I lost 35 pounds from Hotworx,” says Assistant Manager Maddie Chipman, who started with Hotworx as a member. “The infrared works deep into the muscles. You burn more calories and keep burning after you leave. And you feel better. You really do.”
Members notice the difference, too.
“My favorite exercise is Hot Blast,” Wood says of the quick, high-intensity elliptical session. “Fifteen minutes and I’m drenched — in the best way.”
Welshans swears by sauna cycling. Tanya Sierra loves Pilates. Laming does them all.
“I haven’t found a class I didn’t like,” she says. “Inside the sauna, it’s you, the instructor and your goals. No distractions.”
Hotworx is built on privacy, yet friendships form naturally.
“I’ve worked out with a few women I met here,” says Sierra. “But if I want solitude, I get it. If I feel social, I can do that too.”
And while women fill many of the sessions, men are part of the community as well — drawn to the same privacy, intensity and efficiency.
Members credit the staff for the atmosphere — especially manager Kayla Brewer, whom Welshans calls “the sweetest, most attentive person,” always ready with a greeting or a bottle of water.
Brewer says she never gets tired of cheering on members. “They tell me they sleep better, their skin is clearer, they’ve lost weight or just feel stronger and more confident.”
The secret? The infrared environment makes workouts more effective in less time. “You come in anytime, pick your session and get results without spending hours in the gym,” she says. “There’s nothing like it.”
As the stories overlap, one theme rises above the rest: Hotworx is deeply personal.
“It’s really about your relationship with yourself,” Laming says. “It’s my time to focus on my wellness.”
In a world full of noise, deadlines and crowded gyms, Hotworx West Bloomfield offers something distinctly luxurious — a clean, quiet space where members strengthen their bodies, reset their minds and rediscover themselves. One infrared session at a time.
“I love that Hotworx is open 24 hours and I never have to wait. No crowds, no staring, no pressure. I get in my sauna and it’s my world.” – Member Lisa Welshans