The 6 Best Gym Memberships for Travelers
When the hotel gym doesn’t cut it, these gym memberships will.
Finding a place to train the way you like can be tricky when you're away from home.
For frequent travelers, having the right gym membership, like Planet Fitness, could make all the difference.
Think about it. If you have a membership with a popular commercial gym that you love to use, you could potentially have access to a gym that you know you like, wherever you happen to be.
These are the 6 best gym memberships for travelers:
LA Fitness
CrossFit
24 Hour Fitness
Equinox
Anytime Fitness
Planet Fitness
Let’s take a closer look at what each one of these commercial gym chains offers its members and how it can be a good option for traveling.
LA Fitness
LA Fitness has over 700 gyms in the U.S. and Canada. For around $40 a month, members can get access to any LA Fitness in the United States.
In some cases, you may have to pay an additional fee, especially if you are visiting an LA Fitness in a different state than your own.
The great thing about LA Fitness is that they are essentially everywhere. When you land in a new city, you can be reasonably confident that there's an LA fitness nearby.
We should note that three major cities in the U.S. that do not have an LA Fitness are San Francisco, Denver, and Las Vegas.
CrossFit
CrossFit is a training regimen that consists of constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity.
All CrossFit workouts are based on functional movements, and these movements reflect the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing, and more.
CrossFit has been one of the fastest-growing fitness trends of the past decade and gyms, aka boxes, can be found worldwide. There are around 15,000 CrossFit-affiliated gyms around the world, making it incredibly travel-friendly.
Most CrossFit boxes allow visitors to "drop in" - you'll pay a fee to work out (usually between $10 and $20) and maybe walk away with a free t-shirt from that gym. Many boxes will waive the drop-in fee if you buy a t-shirt.
Locating the nearest CrossFit gym to where you are is made even easier with this CrossFit Affiliate Map.
24 Hour Fitness
Busy travelers tend to need access to gyms at odd times and 24 Hour Fitness might be the perfect gym membership for someone in finds themselves looking for an open gym after landing in Miami at two in the morning.
24 Hour Fitness has over 400 clubs in 18 states in the U.S. - making it one of the largest gym chains in the United States.
Membership dues are reasonably priced and range between $30 and $60 a month. Choose “all-club” access to go to any 24 Hour Fitness in the US.
Additionally, 24 Hour Fitness has teamed up with GoodLife Fitness and Energie Cardio to give their members access to over 300 gyms while traveling in Canada.
Equinox
Equinox Fitness has some of the biggest and most luxurious gyms in the world and is considered by many to be the best athletic club to join.
There are Equinox clubs in many major U.S. cities, as well as Toronto and Vancouver. Membership prices vary from location to location, but here's a look at what it might cost you (it's expensive).
For around $250 a month, you can have access to all Equinox clubs in the United States, including all classes and amenities.
For a $300 destination membership (plus a $500 initiation fee), you'll get access to nearly all Equinox Fitness and Sports Club locations worldwide.
Anytime Fitness
Anytime Fitness gyms are open 24 hours a day and there are more than 4,700 locations around the world, including all 50 U.S. states.
Countries with Anytime Fitness gyms include Canada, Mexico, Australia, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
Anytime Fitness has been called the "most convenient gym on the planet" and this makes it the best choice for anyone who travels a lot.
With a membership that costs around $40 a month, you will have access to the thousands of Anytime Fitness gyms worldwide after 30 days of membership.
Planet Fitness
Run a search for the “best gyms near me” or “cheapest gyms near me” and there’s a good chance a Planet Fitness is going to be nearby.
Planet Fitness is one of the fastest-growing gym chains, arguably the biggest gym in the US, and is a friendly environment for fitness beginners.
There are over 2,000 locations worldwide, including every state in the US, and each one is well-equipped with cardio machines, weight machines, free weights, locker rooms with showers, and personal training.
The PF Black Card costs only $25 a month and allows you access to any Planet Fitness (2000+ gyms) without an additional charge. Note: you can only visit a non-home gym 10 times a month.
The Black Card also has some travel perks, including special deals on hotels, resorts, cruises, flights, and car rentals.
Finding a Gym While Traveling
You can't go wrong with Google for finding good gyms in the area you’ll be staying. A simple search will show you nearby gyms and give you all the info you’ll need.
When it comes to getting access to gyms, consider ClassPass, which has a monthly membership that allows users to access more than 8,000 fitness studios across the country.
You can take as many classes per month as you like and visit the same studio up to three times each month.
ClassPass is available in 50 cities across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, with plans to expand.
Then there’s TrainAway - an online marketplace for gym day passes.
Search your location on the map in the TrainAway app and choose from one of their 1,200 partner gyms. Select your pass type, complete your purchase, and show the prepaid pass on your phone to the gym staff.
When are these gyms crowded? The busiest, or peak, times for any commercial gym are in the early morning and in the late evening. The best time to go is usually in the early afternoon.
Stay connected while traveling with eSIM compatible phones that allow you to activate plans right from your phone.
Bottom Line
Finding a place to get a good workout doesn't have to be a chore when you're traveling.
If you don't like hotel gyms or you're picky about where you work out, having the right gym membership can go a long way in helping you always have a reliable place to keep up your fitness routine while on the road.
The gym is just one part of keeping fit and healthy while you're traveling, though.
If you want to make sure you're always on top of your game, make sure you're taking the right supplements for yourself. BodyNutrition.org has some great info about this.
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