For some people, going to the gym is more than a walk on the treadmill. It's a pilgrimage. It's an event. It's a total sensorial experience. And for many, it's a complete body overhaul. At some of the nation's most elite gyms, you can tan, tone, eat, drink and get all made up in the most lavish of settings with top-of-the-line talent, equipment and products. See what types of frou-frou amenities some of America's elite gyms offer their clientele.

NEW YORK

The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers

According to Splendora.com, an online pampering directory, the Sports Center at New York's Chelsea Piers has the feel of summer camp. With the world's longest indoor running track, Manhattan's only indoor sand volleyball court and one of the world's largest and most challenging rock climbing walls, we'd have to agree. But as hard as their members work and play, they indulge equally as well. Facilities also include the Origins Feel-Good Spa and two large riverfront sundecks overlooking the Hudson River.

Reebok Sports Club

Further uptown on the posh Upper West Side is the Reebok Sports Club, home to the rich, the famous (Jerry Seinfeld met his wife there!) and the just plain luxury-obsessed. Colossal in scope with six floors and 140,000 square feet of fitness, that's a lot of hard bodies working out as one. Their additional amenities include an exclusive beauty salon, nutrition counseling, a members-only restaurant, physical therapy and a childcare center.

CHICAGO

East Bank Club

Moving westward we come to Chicago's unparalleled facility known as the East Bank Club. This superstar gym is right on the beach (Midwesterners consider the shores of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan above-board beaches). Their directory of services reads like a laundry list. They claim the largest spinning studio in the country, have a 24-hour racquet stringing, nine indoor tennis courts, four racquetball courts and one squash courts. Not enough for you? They also have an indoor golf driving range and offer lessons with PGA professionals. And to top it all off, they also have a full-service salon with hair, skin, nail and body treatments plus a valet laundry service for regular laundry, dry cleaning and even a shoe repair center.

LOS ANGELES

The Sports Club/LA

Saying the physical decor rivals its members in terms of physical beauty would not be an understatement of the lush and lavish Sports Club/LA. Of course, they have many celebrity clients - as everyone knows you can't throw a fit in L.A. without hitting a perfectly sculpted movie star. Among the cool offerings are 35 different exercise classes including a candlelight stretch where a live string trio provides the melodious background noise. And what would a beautiful Angelino be with pale skin? Still single. Thus, members go up to the roof deck for a little R&R and a whole lot of sun.