How to Find a Treadmill If You Don’t Have a Gym Membership
Running always seems like a cheap and easy way to work out until a rainstorm, a blizzard, or a 100-degree day. Then you start to envy people who have treadmills in their basements … and people who have gym membership. Here are some ways to make an important run when the weather just isn’t right.
Look for a public fitness center
Many cities have fitness centers that are free or cheap to residents – and often well kept secret. Look out for high schools, which sometimes offer access to their facilities on weekends or at other times when schools are closed. You may have to pay for a day pass, but it is often affordable. Check if a day pass is available at your local Y.
Use a service that allows you to pay by the minute
Both Flexit and Popin sell per-minute gym access, although so far they are only available in a few cities. (Flexit has offices in “New York, New Jersey, DC, Virginia, Maryland, Arizona, Illinois, and Florida.” It looks like Popin is only in New York.) In the Flexit app, we easily found gyms. in which you could buy as little as $ 5 per hour and as much as $ 30. If you only have to pay for an occasional run, gym prices can be cheaper than getting a membership (or your own treadmill).
In some locations, Classpass Credits may give you access to free time at the gym. Classpass is a subscription service (prices vary by location) and is primarily targeted at people who want to attend classes. But some of the “activities” are just time in the open gym – again, depending on the location. You can also opt for cardio workouts instead of running workouts. If there are several comfortable gyms near you on Classpass and if the prices work in your favor, this might be a good way to attend treadmill classes from time to time.
Look for free trials in commercial halls
We’re not talking about overusing free trials, but if your friend’s gym has a refer-a-friend program, why not go? Maybe you will like it.
Calm down and buy a membership to the cheapest gym in town.
Even if you don’t like the vibe of Planet Fitness or whatever gym your nearest mall has, many of these gyms offer cheap memberships, like $ 10 to $ 20 a month. Beware of hidden fees – but count because sometimes the low monthly rate plus additional fees are still pretty cheap.
If you don’t mind skipping a workout from time to time, you may not need a treadmill. Great, your choice. But if you’re following a plan and need to accumulate day miles, the cost of a cheap monthly fee, or a little more for a casual day pass, might actually make sense.