affordable options
The current fitness landscape makes working out easily accessible and affordable.
New client promos occur throughout the year. I’ve seen intro deals like a 5-pack of classes for $19 or 3 classes for $9. That’s a steal. If you’re new to Class Pass, intro offers are a must-try. Not only can you take quality fitness classes at a low price, it’s also the best way to try a variety of innovative workouts (internal link to options), which is a huge upside to living in LA. If you like the Class Pass booking system enough to keep using it, regular pricing does then goes up to about $60 for a 5-pack ($12/session) and $115 for a 10-pack ($11.50) per month. *Note: as of October 2017, Class Pass introduced a different membership tier structure using credits instead of a set number of sessions in the LA market.
Zenrez is a last-minute booking system where studios sell unfilled class spots ala carte at a discounted price. Because of this last-minute discount nature, these spots usually don’t become available until closer (often just 24 hours out) to the start time of class, so this is only a good method if your fitness schedule allows for impromptu scheduling. You book and buy through Zenrez for each individual session (make sure you can actually attend! I don’t think there’s refunds). When you first create an account on Zenrez new users get a first class free. Definitely worth checking out, especially if there’s a particular studio that you like but don’t necessarily want to commit to a package.
These two apps are relatively newer, ala carte versions of Class Pass. Instead of buying a 5 or 10 class package, you pay per session at the studio of your choosing through the app. It’s a bit like Zenrez as far as spot openings varying, dependent on how many spots the studio has allocated for any given class. Open Sweat and Lymber allow you to sort and find classes by geography, class type, pricing, etc. Rather than buying a studio class package, you buy a single class session for a studio directly through the app. You can usually book a spot in class up to a full day in advance with either app.
(For Lymber first-time use: $5.00 in credits available!
If you haven't already done so, download Lymber and create an account. Then paste this code in yourself: UL0W-JK0Q-2GXT)
City Moms is an app that has an extensive amount of group classes (including free and low cost classes for moms). It’s a great way for moms to meet other mothers in their area while discovering new classes, all of which are designed so moms to bring their babies/toddlers to class (a huge savings on child-care!) The packed schedule is not limited to just fitness - also listed are other types of activities for moms to enroll kids in. With the City Moms app, they have different pricing tiers that correspond with monthly credits (2, 4, 8 and 10 options) as well as a 50% off your first month. There’s no fee to download the app, just an automatic monthly billing for the credits. You may also purchase single credits for classes or activities so that you are not obligated towards a package.
Groupon is a great way to try out a new fitness studio if you’re a new client. (Usually a studio limits you to a first-time only Groupon package purchase and will not honor continuous Groupon vouchers). Awesome classes that I’ve seen on Groupon include pole dancing classes, aerial yoga, Pilates Reformer, TRX and other things that you don’t normally have access to if you have gym membership. It’s a fantastic way to try new types of workouts to see if you eventually like one enough to keep going back to that studio directly (especially if the workouts are good and the location is close to your work or home).