Luxury gym memberships can be a splurge. 3 people share how they find discounts and make the most of amenities.

Business Insider

3 hours ago

Every day after work, Alex Meyers picks up her two kids from day care and drives straight to her gym, one of the Bay Club locations in California.
There, she drops them off at her gym's complimentary childcare center for two hours while she works out. When they're done, the family eats the dinner Meyers packed before heading home, doing it all over again the next day.
Like other luxury gym-goers, Meyers pays a few hundred dollars a month (around $500, to be exact) for her membership. She also feels it's completely worth the price tag.
"On the weekends, you could go spend $100 going to the zoo or a museum or some other local kid attraction places," Meyers, a 32-year-old civil engineer project manager, told Business Insider. Instead, she takes her children, ages three and four, swimming or to the gym's basketball court. "We save that money by just going to our gym."
Luxury gyms have become a third space for many people. Popular athletic club franchises like Equinox and Life Time offer amenities beyond sparkling new equipment and specialty classes, such as childcare services, tidy workspaces, and, in some cases, poolside bars. Younger generations even see gyms as the new social clubs.
It's why people are willing to shell out for shiny memberships, even if they have to budget or sacrifice other luxuries to afford them.
An all-inclusive third space
At the very least, a luxury gym will run you over $200 a month, or at least $2,400 annually. Rob Moal, a personal trainer in Vancouver, spends $260 a month for his Equinox membership.
"With the higher price, I try to use the place as much as I can," Moal, 43, said. He goes there six to seven times a week, sometimes even a few times a day, even though he doesn't actually train his clients there.
He likes taking yoga and boxing classes in addition to his solo workouts. If he's not exercising, he's catching up on some work at the gym, unwinding in the sauna, or chatting up other gymgoers.
Given Moal's work experience, he's seen a lot of gyms. He said he likes how clean and organized Equinox is, and who it attracts in turn: often ambitious, full-time workers who he said are also "very respectful" of the space.
"It's almost like a social influence," he said. "If I go there in the morning, everyone's very busy and they're doing their thing, and they get out. So it kind of encourages me to keep up the pace."
For some, it's not necessarily a place to work out
Some members use their gym's other amenities almost more than the gym itself.
Hannah Le, 27, the inventor of the Buckle Scrunchie, spends her days pitching her product to retailers. Instead of trekking back home or hunkering down in cafes between meetings, she finds the closest Life Time. There, she can do some work, charge her phone, or freshen up before a date or party.
"I don't see it as just a gym," Le, who signed up at a discount with her roommate and pays $224.16 a month, said. "They really cover a lot of the other bases for me."
Le touches upon another factor drawing people to luxury athletic clubs: you don't need to exercise to get a lot out of them.
Meyers takes her kids to the Bay Club even when she feels too exhausted to work out. On those days, she sits in the meditation chair or just reads by the pool.
"It gives me a minute to breathe," Meyers, whose husband is on the road on weekdays, said.
No-brainer budgeting
For those working remotely or hybrid, venturing outside the home can cost a pretty penny. Co-working spaces like WeWork and Industrious cost at least $100 a month — cheaper than a gym membership, but without the core perk of having workout equipment and specialty classes.
Fancier options like Soho House have gyms baked in, but run you a few thousand annually.
Coffee shops, meanwhile, add up and aren't always convenient in big cities: in New York, you still have to hunt for a seat and worry about leaving your laptop unattended.
If it takes a little extra saving to swing a membership, luxury gym members say they are willing to do it. Moal packs his lunches instead of buying Equinox's and budgets for his membership. In months when money is tighter, he'll skip a night out drinking.
Others make up for the gym cost on what they don't spend. Meyers said after-school activities, which sometimes last only 45 minutes for kids as young as hers, can also be expensive and time-consuming to coordinate. Instead, she puts that money toward her gym and its childcare services, which she said include all the toys, crafts, and activities a typical daycare has.
"I can get something out of it, and they get something out of it that they love as well," she said.
For some, paying a few hundred extra dollars a month on rent still wouldn't afford them their own place, or even a much bigger room. It can, however, grant them access to multiple spacious facilities almost whenever they want.
Le, who shares the "tiniest studio apartment with no direct sunlight" with her roommate, sees Life Time as a slice of luxury she can enjoy every day.
"I use this gym probably more than 95% of the rest of the city does," she said. When she first moved to New York and dropped her stuff off at home, it was the first place she went.