Nobody said working out in Beijing was easy. It's not the most hospitable city for an outdoor job - and unless you're running circles in a park, you'll get some odd stares. Gyms, unless they are basic, tend to run on the expensive side. So for the same price or even less than joining a Western gym (expect to fork over around 4,000 yuan, or $646, a year for some of the nicer facilities in expat areas like Sanlitun and Guomao), why not sign yourself up for something cheaper and more creative?

For boot camp intensity: Muay Thai

Muay Thai, although widely known as a full-contact and vicious fighting sport, is also one of the most complete body conditioning and fitness systems. It works every part of the human body.

Vince Soberano, founder of Black Tiger Fight and Fitness Club in Beijing, provides personal training and small group classes. Each training session comes personalized and caters to an individual's fitness goals and needs. The Black Tiger Muay Thai primarily focuses on fitness and conditioning.

Soberano, as both owner and hardcore head coach, uses a combination of unique, metabolic body-weight circuit exercises and realistic, technical fighting drills. Black Tiger Muay Thai training sessions are 60 minutes long, filled with high intensity exercise that leaves students sweating hard, breathing hard and with hundreds of calories burned.

His gym swears by the motto, "You don't sweat, you don't go home!'

For sexy sweating: Pussycat Dance Studio

Though best known for its pole dancing, this intimate, ladies only space on the 35th floor at Jianwai Soho also offers classes in hip-hop, belly dancing and sexy jazz.

"If you're looking for quick weight loss, pole dancing works out the entire body," said Larisse Liu, manager at Pussycat Dance. "Women come here of all shapes and sizes. Some have just given birth, and they do pole dancing as a way to get back in shape. Some of the other classes, like jazz, give more of a targeted workout, like if you're trying to tighten your abs." 

Liu says these classes are also a great way for women to gain confidence and composure. No worries on having to bare it all - women can be seen scantily clad or completely covered at the class.

For chuckle-filled conditioning: Heyrobics and HeyRunning

Picture this scene: an instructor, donned in bright, happy colors, (often pink shorts) bopping about with flailing arms, with loads of people following suit. This is Heyrobics, a happy, harmonious hour of great workout masked in the form of fun dancing. Heyrobics, an "updated version of the classic Swedish exercise" (called Jympa), takes place just about anywhere in Beijing, from parks to rooftops in Sanlitun to Tiananmen Square.

There is also HeyRunning, which is Heyrobics on the move. Classes are held outside and scaled down in accordance to the air quality index of PM2.5; if it reaches or goes over 400, classes are cancelled.

If you envision exercising to be an enjoyable, collaborative activity where you can poke fun at friends caught in compromising poses, this is the workout for you. Classes are held everyday and spread across the city.

If none of these catch your fancy, consider other alternative, inexpensive options like ballroom dancing, rock climbing, or drinking and running at the same time with the Hash House Harriers.