For this month’s Fitness post, I wanted to talk about ‘fitness passports’. If you follow me on Twitter then you’ve probably seen me raving about a company called FitMob, and all the exercise classes I’ve been loving recently.
In a nutshell, fitness passport companies allow members to attend lots of different exercise studios for a set fee per month. In San Francisco the two most popular companies are FitMob and Class Pass (which also operates in London). There are lots of differences between them and I agonised for ages trying to choose which one to sign up to, but I went with FitMob and as I’ve been using it for a couple of months now, I thought I’d review the service. To be clear, this isn’t sponsored content, I just really dig what they do!
The reason I decided to sign up for a fitness passport is that I’m not a massive gym bunny, but I love exercise classes. There are a ton of boutique gyms and studios in San Francisco, but unfortunately the going rate is around $20-25 per class. If you’re going to classes three or four times a week that soon adds up! With FitMob you pay $99 per month (though I got my first month for $1 through a promotion) and you can attend as many classes as you like. Now if I go to three or four classes a week the average cost is around $6-7 per class, which is much better for my sanity, and my bank balance.
On another thrifty note, one of the things I like best about being a member is that I can try lots of different activities without fear of wasting my money. Since signing up I’ve tried heated yoga, pilates, boxing, TRX training, acroyoga, barre classes, and circus stretching. Some have stuck (I’m loving reformer pilates at the moment) some haven’t (acrobatic yoga was not my bag) and that’s ok. Even if I don’t like a class I know it hasn’t cost me the earth.
Classes can be booked two weeks to a few minutes in advance, so it’s handy if you have a sudden urge to go to a class after work. The only downside is that the most popular classes get booked up so quickly – there’s an aerial silks studio I’ve been trying to get into for weeks which is permanently fully booked, which is frustrating. Some studios only allow a limit of one visit per week but this isn’t the case for every studio, and given that there are over 50 to try, it’s not too much of an issue.
FitMob also offers access to selected gyms for a a few hours at a time, though I’ve yet to use this part of the service as I’ve got more than enough on my plate with all the classes I’m taking. Classes can be booked via their app or online and while the interface is a little clunky, having a map of all the different locations is really handy – especially as I’m still finding my feet in the city.
I love the variety that fitness passport companies offer, so it’s definitely something I’ll stick with to help me reach my fitness goals for 2015. Have you tried a service like this and if not then do you think you would? Thoughts on a postcard please… Also, if you have tried FitMob in San Francisco and have any recommendations for classes then I’m all ears!
This sounds like such a clever idea! I’d definitely be into fitness classes over normal gym sessions!
I use Move GB over here in England! It’s a similar thing and is so much cheaper than a gym membership! They allow you to choose a pass which can be up to 2,3 or unlimited sessions a week so you can mix up your fitness sessions. I use it for the gym but am keen to try mixing in yoga or boxfit classes to jazz up my week :)
Ooh, sounds ace! You should definitely give the classes a go – I find that I work a lot harder when I’m in a class environment, plus it’s good to shake up your routine to keep your muscles on their toes :) x