These Major Gyms Are Offering Free Membership Freezes Right Now

If there was ever a time to skip your workout, stay home, and stuff your face with pizza, it's now. With businesses temporarily closing in cities all across the country, there's a good chance you won't find yourself in a room full of treadmills any time soon. But whether your gym has actually shut down out of precaution or remains open, many fitness chains are offering free membership freezes so you can practice social distancing without having to keep paying.  

Thrillist reached out to several fitness chains to see what they're offering to customers in the way of membership freezes and cancelations. We'll be updating this list as more companies respond, but here's what we've found so far:  

ClassPass

ClassPass said it's waiving all cancellation fees through the end of March. If you make a reservation and no longer feel safe attending, you can reach out to the Customer Experience team and select the "COVID-19" option in the dropdown. All unused credits will roll over through June 1, 2020. 

If you'd rather freeze your account, that works too for free, and all your unused credits will come available once you reactivate. For highly-affected areas -- like New York City -- member accounts will be put on a temporary pause while the situation develops.

A rep for the company provided the following statement to Thrillist:“As a company dedicated to helping people feel their best, ClassPass is taking the threat of COVID-19 seriously. We are monitoring updates from the CDC and WHO in every country where we are present. Across the globe, we are increasing our customer support resources and working with our teams to give members flexible options until they feel ready to return to class. Internally, we have built a task force that is working to find ways to support the small fitness businesses who are most likely to take a hit from cancellations. Most importantly, we are requesting that ClassPass customers and team members who feel unwell stay home.”

ClassPass also provides audio and video workouts available for free the app homepage, so you can stay fit while social distancing.

Barry's Bootcamp 

On March 16, Barry's shut down all locations across the United States, Canada, and Europe to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. As a result, all existing reservations were returned to customer accounts. In addition, classes and memberships will be adjusted, so customers aren't affected during the closures, according to a spokesperson.

"We are committed to keeping our community safe, healthy, and strong during this difficult time," a rep for the company told Thrillist via email. "Barry's encourages everyone to practice kindness, compassion, and empathy during this time. Now, more than ever, we need to band together and remember: we're stronger as one." 

Barry's is also planning to roll out complimentary, twice-daily IGTV workouts on its official channel, @Barrys

SoulCycle

SoulCycle temporarily closed all studios worldwide in response to the COVID-19 outbreak on March 16, according to a post on its official Facebook page. As a result, the cult-fave company is freezing expiration dates on all class series until at least April 30.

"Never did we imagine a day where we’d have to close the doors to 99 studios and countless riders who turn to SoulCycle for a safe space. But what makes Soul so special is not our studios -- it’s our people," the company said per the post. "And during this critical time, keeping our riders, instructors, and studio teams safe is our absolute top priority."

Equinox 

Equinox has temporarily closed its doors at all club locations and showrooms. According to a statement, memberships will be frozen at no additional cost until facilities reopen. A credit will also remain on members' accounts for canceled personal training, pilates, or spa services. Follow the latest updates on the company's website

Lifetime Fitness 

Lifetime Fitness locations have closed, but for how long depends on guidance from local governments, according to a spokesperson for the company. Members will be credited based on the number of days the club is closed. Best of all, employees who are no longer able to work at the shuttered gyms will also be compensated.  

Blink Fitness 

All Blink Fitness locations in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas have closed. Members affected by the closures will not be billed for the days your location remains closed. You can check out the full FAQ here

Crunch Fitness 

Not all of the chain's facilities have shuttered, but in the case of a closure, Crunch said it will notify members via email.

"The safety, health and wellness of our members, employees and guests is Crunch’s top priority," the company said in a statement. "As our valued public health officials respond to the spread of the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus, this page will provide updates on developments affecting Crunch and the preparations that we and the operators of our independently owned and operated gyms have thoughtfully put in place."

LA Fitness

LA Fitness posted an update to its homepage earlier this week, announcing a temporary halt to all of its operations through April 1. All memberships will be extended to compensate for the closures.

Other gyms

Not every fitness chain has announced how they're handling freezes and cancellations. If that's the case with your gym, be sure to reach out to their customer support and see what they can do for you.

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Megan Schaltegger is a staff writer at Thrillist.