Business Travel and Gyms

[jtncarter]

I hope no one minds me posting to the 35+ group but I thought I would get better answers. My job is pulling me more and more on the road and the fees are killing me. I just got back from Wisconsin and spent $35 a day just to work out. Does anyone who travels have any tips or ideas and also I have done some research online and cannot find any national gyms that offer national memberships. You would think as many people travel today that this would be a hot ticket.

I hav found plenty of ?work out in your room? crap but I want to stay in the gym. I?m not going to get anywhere doing dips on a chair.
Any help would be great.

[paolo59]

24 Hour Fitness has a membership where you can workout in any gym in the country if I'm not mistaken. I got a special summer discount recently, a month by month fee, around $34.00. You show up with your membership card and simply check in. Of course there may not be a 24 Hour Fitness club where you happen to be traveling.

[taf1968]

I belong to 24 Hr. Fitness . . . my membership is good at any of the clubs around the country. So I can usually find one where I travel.

But you can usually find another gym in town that will let you buy a pass for a few days at a discount. The best bets are the "local gyms" if you can find one . . . not national chains but something owned and operated privately. But I think Gold's does a pass that you can buy. You should be able to get something for less than $35/day. You just have to do some research and make some phone calls ahead of your trip so you know where to go when you get there.

[djflex]

I used to reavel quite a bit. My strategy was to look onmline for gyms near the area I would be staying. Golds ,worlds powerhouse all have the search by zip feature. Sometimes the hotel would have an agreement with a local gym for a small fee , if not I would go in and talk to the manager and try to negotiate a weekly pass. they were almost always happy to do it and several times gave me a free week or guest pass. I used to travel to the same place for awhile and the guy gave me a deal where I paid for one month and each time I came to town he intialed my card and after 30 visits I would have to join again.

[paolo59]

I was in Mexico City several years back, and a local gym, privately owned, close to where I was located let me workout for free!

[egoatdoor]

Golds Gym allows you to train free at any gym more than 25 miles away as long as you have a travel pass. Its free with a membership. Just ask the club to give you one. I have mine and whenever I am away, I go to the nearest Golds. With the pass and ID, I can work out for free.

Ballys is a rat hole, but you can train at any Ballys nationwide with a membership there.

Last resort is to call gyms in the area and ask if they have a weekly pass rate. If you are going to train more than a couple of times, that may be cheaper than paying a daily rate.

[labradarep]

Originally Posted by djflex

I used to reavel quite a bit. My strategy was to look onmline for gyms near the area I would be staying. Golds ,worlds powerhouse all have the search by zip feature. Sometimes the hotel would have an agreement with a local gym for a small fee , if not I would go in and talk to the manager and try to negotiate a weekly pass. they were almost always happy to do it and several times gave me a free week or guest pass. I used to travel to the same place for awhile and the guy gave me a deal where I paid for one month and each time I came to town he intialed my card and after 30 visits I would have to join again.

X2. I have done the same thing. Just ask for a deal or discount.

[DNG]

I travel every week. (Note the "Road Warrior" notation in my profile.)

24-Hour Fitness isn't bad - but the YMCA is the way to go. I've tried both.

Originally Posted by egoatdoor

Golds Gym allows you to train free at any gym more than 25 miles away as long as you have a travel pass. Its free with a membership. Just ask the club to give you one. I have mine and whenever I am away, I go to the nearest Golds. With the pass and ID, I can work out for free.

I also have a Gold's membership, and their system is fine for the occasional traveler. But if you travel frequently, it won't work because there's a limit to the number of travel passes they'll give per year.



Good luck - and welcome to the "road warrior" lifestyle!

[Zingaritano]

This may help. Most decent gyms are members, including both large chains and individual gyms.

http://www.healthclubs.com/passport

[egoatdoor]

Originally Posted by DNG

I also have a Gold's membership, and their system is fine for the occasional traveler. But if you travel frequently, it won't work because there's a limit to the number of travel passes they'll give per year.

Is that the number of passes or the number of visits elsewhere? My pass is good for six months and when it expires, I just ask for another one and they give it to me. I generally use it out of town about 12-15 times a year and the only limitation on my card is that it is good at one other gym for only 14 consecutive days. My travels are never more than two weeks, so that is not an issue.

[Marius_Ursus]

When I traveled on business in the past, I used to hit the local Sears or sporting goods stores and use their equipment for about half an hour.

[Whiskeyjack]

Originally Posted by DNG

I travel every week. (Note the "Road Warrior" notation in my profile.)

24-Hour Fitness isn't bad - but the YMCA is the way to go. I've tried both.

I also have a Gold's membership, and their system is fine for the occasional traveler. But if you travel frequently, it won't work because there's a limit to the number of travel passes they'll give per year.

Good luck - and welcome to the "road warrior" lifestyle!

I run recruiting and hiring and spend a lot of time on the road in career fairs and conducting interviews. This happens in cycles and I can be on the road a month at a time. In my experience, DNG/Road Warrior and Charles Gaines (Pumping Iron ca. 1973) are right: Ys are still good basic gyms in most places and all those I've been. Some hotels feature gyms but they're not often geared to bodybuilding.

[Zingaritano]

Since you cannot guarantee a Golds or even a Y everywhere you travel, if you plug in your location it gives you the gyms that accept other members, their rates, and the closest ones to the address you plug in. I'll bet just about everybody's gym is a member (except those who work out at home).

http://www.healthclubs.com/passport

[CaryH]

when I was on the road 4-5 days a week I would stop at a hotel and the first question I would ask is "do you guest gym passes?" if they did not I would say thanks and go to next hotel and repeat. I would say more than 70% of the chain hotels had something set up for free or less than $5.00. Some were chains gyms but most were great old hard core types tropheys and pics on the walls. Hope this helps.

[widebody195]

There's usually a Bally's in every major city, and although most of them are pretty nasty, I've been to some that are quite nice and modern, with great equipment. That said, the membership will cost you, unless you have one of those old "lifetime" memberships that go for $8 a month.

[BrotherWolf]

Originally Posted by jtncarter

I hope no one minds me posting to the 35+ group but I thought I would get better answers. My job is pulling me more and more on the road and the fees are killing me. I just got back from Wisconsin and spent $35 a day just to work out. Does anyone who travels have any tips or ideas and also I have done some research online and cannot find any national gyms that offer national memberships. You would think as many people travel today that this would be a hot ticket.

I hav found plenty of ?work out in your room? crap but I want to stay in the gym. I?m not going to get anywhere doing dips on a chair.
Any help would be great.

Good question.. I was just on vacation for 2 weeks and had the same problem
I know Planet fitness does give access to all of their facilities nationwide with one of their membership ($19.95) it has a name but I forget..

well.. I ended up buying a set of rubber bands and doing lots of body weight exercises, as a result I did lose 1/2" from my arms and lost 5lbs
however I did improve on my pushups and crunches :-)
I asked at a local YMCA and even if a family member was a member there they would not give me more than 1 day for free as a guest, 1 day at $8 and then basically they kick you out... not good, I would have gladly paid $8 per day x3 days a week x2 weeks = $48 on top of that they had a bad attitude.

That was my only option as that was basically the only gym around without having to drive 20min.

[RoscoPico]

Originally Posted by jtncarter

I hope no one minds me posting to the 35+ group but I thought I would get better answers. My job is pulling me more and more on the road and the fees are killing me. I just got back from Wisconsin and spent $35 a day just to work out. Does anyone who travels have any tips or ideas and also I have done some research online and cannot find any national gyms that offer national memberships. You would think as many people travel today that this would be a hot ticket.

I hav found plenty of ?work out in your room? crap but I want to stay in the gym. I?m not going to get anywhere doing dips on a chair.
Any help would be great.

are you certain about the amount 35$ a day?
The hotels i travel to usually have gyms. Can you modify your accommodations?

[IR45N]

In addition to asking at the hotel desk, check your room yellow pages & look under gymnasiums as well as health clubs; just make sure they're not 'gymnastics' gyms & call a few if there's no room charges. If you find a good one in a town you will be returning to, check on hotels close by.

Along with the healthclubs link here's one; listed under powerlifting & some may be private member, but many should be good indies & good for some cheap 1 day rates.
http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/gyms

[jtncarter]

Thanks everyone this helps out a tone.

[bamaborn67]

I stayed at a Raddison Inn not too long ago and they had free passes to the YMCA. You can ask the hotel where you are staying if they have an offer like that.

[TDetroit]

Originally Posted by paolo59

24 Hour Fitness has a membership where you can workout in any gym in the country if I'm not mistaken. I got a special summer discount recently, a month by month fee, around $34.00. You show up with your membership card and simply check in. Of course there may not be a 24 Hour Fitness club where you happen to be traveling.

I would say a national chain is your best bet.

Fitness 29
24 hour fitness
Lifetime
Gold's
Vic Tan
Bally's
etc

[oldcool]

Originally Posted by tropszzz

Jesus...I just made a post about this...



You can even invite your business buddies up to your room for a workout...imagine the looks on their faces when you open this puppy up and get started with your workouts...you will even be able to spot each other....

That kind of eats up you fifty pound baggage limit if you are flying,

[ironmaidn4life]

Try the hotel you are staying at if possible. Most hotels in major cities have gyms. Yeah, they are not always the best, but it is better than nothing. Also, I travel often with resistance bands. They are great and they utilize your own body weight and only weight ounces in a suitcase.

If you are looking for a membership to have "nation-wide" try your local YMCA. Seriously, I belong to one and when I go out of state I only pay $8 to train at facility in the United States. Best wishes to you!