10 Best Gyms for College Students Near You (with Student Discounts)

College days are when all of us have (or had) some serious fitness goals. While some want to get as big as possible, some want to look shredded, and others might just want to stay fit. You too may have any of these fitness goals!

But whatever your goal is, finding a good gym that suits your budget might come as the biggest challenge. You have great fitness goals, but are yet to land your first full-time job to make a decent income and to pay for a gym membership; the struggle is real and we’ve all gone through it!

But that doesn’t mean you need to be hopeless here. There are some good gyms with student discounts where you can be on your fitness journey without spending big bucks.

Through this article, we will introduce to you the 10 best gyms for college students near you that either offer student discounts or have the cheapest possible membership options.

Read along!

Gold’s Gym

Golds Gym is one such gym brand that really cares about how much you improve in your fitness journey. Living up to the reputation of bringing up some of the best bodybuilders like Arnold, Gold’s gym is a great place if you have serious bodybuilding goals.

The average price at Golds Gym comes somewhere around $40 per month, which is neither too costly nor too cheap. But that does not mean that you’ll have to pay 40 bucks a month to be in shape.

Most Gold’s gym clubs offer Student Gym Memberships with as much as a 50% discount, which means your monthly price would come around just $20!

So, if you have a golds gym near your college, contact them and ask if they offer gym discounts for students. Most likely, their clubs near colleges will offer such discounts.

Now, speaking of what makes golds gym a great option, most importantly, they offer excellent facilities for weight training, cardio workouts, boxing classes, group training, and many more. So, if you can find one of their clubs near you, you might have got a great deal.

24 Hour Fitness

A day in your college life might not always be predictable.

For instance, sometimes, you might have to sit for long hours on your project or presentation, only to realize later that it is already 12 o’clock and you have missed your workout session!

Well, if that happens to you so often, then 24 hour fitness is indeed an option that you can consider. As the name suggests, they are open 24 hours a day and of course, offer affordable gym membership for students.

The usual prices at 24 hour fitness come in the range of $30 per month. But in most of their clubs, they do offer student gym discounts. So, if you find a 24-hour fitness club near you, try speaking with them about what discounts they can offer.

Keep in mind that there will also be a $50 initiation fee in normal memberships. So, also ask them whether they’ll waive the initiation charge as well or not. Depending on the policies of individual clubs, you may be able to get bigger discounts on your membership.

YMCA

YMCA is more than just a gym. Actually, they were founded for the welfare of the youth population. So, it is quite obvious that they will have special Student discounts at their gyms.

And it is true, YMCA offers memberships for students at less than $40 per month. Which, considering the facilities they offer, is quite reasonable.

However, why we listed YMCA on our list of best gyms for college students, is never the pricing. In fact, there are a handful of other gyms that offer even cheaper memberships.

So, what makes YMCA so great for students? It is about their youth-centric programs. They conduct youth programs like competitions, camps, social events, etc. So, if you are also looking for some refreshment and socializing along with working out, YMCA is a choice worth considering.

In addition to weight training facilities, almost all YMCA gyms offer facilities for cardio, group classes, etc., and never to forget swimming classes. Almost all YMCA clubs would have a swimming pool.

Other additional facilities at YMCA might include tennis and other racquetball sports. Overall, YMCA is a great gym to go to for overall improvement in terms of the health of body and mind.

Planet Fitness

When we speak about the most affordable gyms in the United States, Planet Fitness is one name we can’t afford to miss out on! With membership fees starting from as low as $10 per month, Planet Fitness is perhaps one of the best gym options for college students.

But the lowest membership prices aren’t just the only advantage of planet fitness. They are currently present in more than 2000 locations across the country. That means, it won’t be any hard for you to find one of their clubs near you for the cheapest possible gym memberships.

But the cheap pricing or this much presence are not the only things that made planet fitness popular. What has made them famous (or infamous, depending on how you see it), is their casual fitness culture.

Unlike many other gyms that insist on disciplined training, planet fitness would like you to take it all easy. Not only that they will not insist you follow a strict workout routine, but might also demotivate you from being a disciplined fitness freak.

Planet Fitness gyms are made for casual workout sessions, or more for refreshment or entertainment purposes. So, they offer great cardio classes (also basic weight training) but they just aren’t the best place to go if you have bigger fitness goals.

A quick fact- Planet Fitness offers free pizza to its members once a week, usually on Fridays! Which other gym does that?

Crunch Fitness

Crunch gym is now growing in the United States as a better alternative to Planet Fitness. Just like PF, they offer memberships for as low as $10 per month, but with a more serious workout culture.

Unlike PF, Crunch Fitness is more inspiring in nature and so, it is a great place to go if you have fitness goals but are tight on budget.

In addition to basic weight training facilities, crunch gym also offer cardio and group training facilities. So, a membership here can be a great deal for college students.

But a possible drawback with crunch fitness is that you can’t find too many of their clubs near you. They have just over 400 gym locations all around the globe, though most of them are in the United States.

But they are now opening newer clubs very often. So, check out if they have a club near your college; if they have, you have a great gym option.

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Workout Anytime

As evident from the name, Workout Anytime is a gym that opens almost the whole day. So, it is an option that you can consider along with 24-hour fitness.

But what makes Workout Anytime a better option than 24 Hour fitness? Well, it is the pricing.

At workout anytime, your monthly fee for the basic membership will be $19 only, and if you can manage to grab a GetFit card, you can even enroll there for just $10!

So, your monthly cost at Workout Anytime will be somewhere between 10 and 19 dollars. But a key drawback here is that they have only a small number of clubs. They have just under 200 clubs, which is less than that of even Crunch Gym!

Now, speaking about workout facilities, workout anytime might not have the best facilities, but we think they are just enough if you are a college student who can’t afford to spend big bucks on gym memberships.

Besides basic weight training, they have decent facilities for cardio, yoga, Zumba, etc. Also, by grabbing their premium memberships for $30 a month, you will have access to hydro-massaging and tanning beds. #But it is all up to you if you might want them.

Snap Fitness

Snap Fitness is basically a low-mid range gym with decent facilities. The prices there come close to $35 per month.

In addition to the monthly fee, they also have a joining fee of $149. But for students looking for gym memberships, they might waive this initiation fee.

Now, speaking of the facilities they offer, they offer weight and cardio training, nutrition consulting, group classes, customized workout plans, etc. Which will prove helpful if you are just starting out!

So, if you can afford to spend more in return for better facilities, Snap Fitness is a choice worth considering.

Some other advantages of Snap Fitness are:

One, they are present in more than 2000 gym locations. So, you will most likely find one of their clubs easily.

Two, they are also open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So, you can still work out on a busy day!

But if that isn’t enough, Snap Fitness also offers great free trial options as well as one-month trial membership option for a cheap $8.95. So, if you can find one of their studios near you, you can at least give it a try with this monthly pass!

World Gym

Anyone can grab a world gym membership for as low as $20 per month. So, even if you don’t get a student discount there, you already have a low cost gym membership option.

While starting out, you may have to pay an additional $20 as an initiation fee. For the rest of the months, you can enjoy all their facilities at $20 a month.

The facilities they offer at World Gym include group classes, tanning & massaging, Zumba, and others along with weight training and cardio. Speaking about the workout culture, they are just good, or resemble gold’s gym in most locations.

They currently have just over 200 clubs across the US. So, see if they have a club near you, and contact them directly to learn more about the exact facilities they offer at that club, as well as special student discounts!

YouFit

YouFit is another gym where you can go for $10 memberships. By paying only 10 bucks, you will have access to weight training, cardio, and a few other facilities. Which can be quite enough if you are trying to maintain #your budget.

However, if you can spend a few more bucks, for $23 per month, you can also access facilities like Yoga, Zumba, Cycling, Occasional Fitness Assessment, etc.

Now, keep in mind that you might have to pay an initiation fee to set up your membership. But after that, the only payment you have to make will be # this monthly $10.

Youfit currently has 80 clubs across 10 states, most in the states of Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Georgia. They also have a few clubs spread across Alabama, Virginia, Rhode, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Louisiana.

If you study in any of these states, check if YouFit has a club near your college!

New York Sports Club

New York Sports Club is basically a mid-ranged gym where monthly fees can range anywhere from $39 to all the way up to $119. So, it’s basically all about which plan you wish to select.

If you are a college student looking for a basic gym membership at a good quality studio, NYSC is an option definitely worth considering. They offer weight training, cardio, ball games, racquet sports, etc.

The $39 per month plan is also a part of their student discount. To learn more about the exact fees that you’d have to pay as a student, contact them directly to learn about this gym’s student discounts.

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Final Words

Staying fit during college years can be equally easy and hard at the same time. While you might have the energy and arguably, time, the high membership fees may come as a barrier. If you too are on a budget, consider the gyms we’ve discussed above, that offer student gym memberships.

Also, keep in mind that when it comes to fitness, procrastination can be your biggest enemy. So, waste no time, and find out which of these gyms are present near your college and which offers better facilities at reasonable prices!