Wellbeing
Originally published on Tuesday, 11th January 2011
Treadmill Timeshare
There’s nothing like waking up on a cold January morning and wondering why your gym’s debited an extra tenner out of your bank account. Especially when you’re still in bed pondering whether Christmas pudding counts as breakfast.
Welcome to 2011, a world of ever-increasing gas prices, tax hikes, rent booms and previously unspecified charges, as well as gyms proving the brawn’s not quite caught up with the brain on the 2.5% maths with their ‘VAT inflated’ prices.
Luckily the New Year also promises fresh options that won’t tie you into contracts so long you’ll still be pounding the treadmill on your Zimmer frame. Taking a leaf out of the mobile phone’s top-up book, PayasUgym launches on the 21st with an innovative ‘pay as you go’ system. Buy your gym credits online, book a gym with a cheap day e-pass from a selection of health clubs, flash reception your mobile entry and off you go. Registration is free, you can search via location and facilities, and you won’t be hanging around long enough for any looming PTs to question your workout ethic.
But if you prefer to stick to a single club, there’s always the Stelios option. Always on the lookout to make life less complicated, the Easy empire plans to expand this Spring with the opening of easyGym. An orange enclave of no-frills fitness, memberships are said to start at £15 per month with no year-long contract to tie you in. Whether they’ll charge you extra to bring in your gym bag (or weigh it on entry), remains to be seen.
Info
PayasUgym launches 21st January,
EasyGym is ‘Coming Soon’ in 2011.
