One of the first things I did when I arrived in St. Petersburg was get a gym membership.
Since I am staying for about 3 weeks I figured I’d need to work out a little given the amount of eating I’d be doing!
Overall, I found the gym membership in Russia to be pretty interesting. There are some slight differences over the U.S. (nothing too crazy), but just fun to notice as a traveler.
For example, one of the things I noticed is that the trainers are a lot more built than our U.S. counterparts – furthermore clients use personal training services too.
Anyways, this blog post will break down:
- How to get a gym membership in St. Petersburg Russia
- How much it costs to get a gym membership in Russia
- and things you should know about the gym system here.
So if you are traveling for an extended time in Russia and still want to get your workouts in, this post is for you!
What does a membership cost?
Alright, the first thing most people will want to know is how much a gym membership costs.
Well, based on the places I’ve been to, $80 – $150 per month is about the price you’ll get quoted.
Some places do sell daily passes, but they are expensive.
The place I went to was a little more of a high end gym called Fit Fashion.
They charged 8,000 rubles per month (about $130 per month based on current exchange rates). But they charged 1,900 rubles for a daily pass!
The thing you’ll quickly realize about Russia is that fitness memberships are fairly expensive!
The average gross income in St. Petersburg is $750 per month. Imagine spending $100 (or 13%) of your income on a gym membership!
It really doesn’t make sense to me. I guess it means that I was working out with super wealthy people in St. Petersburg!
Pretty insane.
Yoga classes are no different.
I went to a yoga studio and paid 1,000 rubles for an unlimited weekly promotion. Those prices are pretty comparable to American prices!
What you need to get a gym membership in Russia
Getting a gym membership is pretty easy in Russia. Just research the gyms you want to go to (hopefully they are close to you) and go there to sign up for a membership.
Most people will have someone on staff that speaks English there if they are a mid-tier to high-end gym.
You’ll need to bring your passport to sign up for a membership (they use your passport number and a few other items).
The whole process to sign up shouldn’t take more than 20 – 30 minutes.
Most of the sign up process is just filling out paperwork. They literally printed out a 20 page contract when I signed up!
Using the gym in Russia – what you need to know
Using the gym in Russia is pretty similar to the states, but there are a few differences.
The most obvious is they use kilograms instead of pounds! So you’ll have to do some basic math to calculate your normal weights.
It’s a bit of a hassle, but if you don’t want to hurt yourself, you’ll need to do it!
Just remember that 1 pound = 2.2 kilograms.
The second thing to know is most gyms will give you a gym card (think of it as a library card).
You give the card to the front desk when you enter the gym and they will give you an access key that allows you to go to the gym.
That access key will also include a key to a random locker.
It’s kind of a weird system, but I grew to like it.
The third thing to know is super super important. Lots of gyms require you to wear your gym sneakers.
What I mean by this is in Russia they have sneakers dedicated only to the gym – meaning they don’t wear them outside or for daily use.
As a result, if you walk in with your regular sneakers to work out, some gyms won’t let you in.
The way to get around that is to just wear another pair of shoes and carry your gym shoes in.
Luckily the gym I went to didn’t enforce this policy.
Final Thoughts
Overall, getting a gym membership in Russia isn’t too difficult (there are much more difficult things like trying to wash your clothes!).
All you need to do is bring your passport and pay the monthly membership fee.
But there are a few small key differences in how the gyms operate apart from the U.S.
But overall, I found the experience to be pleasant.
Have any of you also bought a gym membership in Russia? How was your experience? And how much did it cost you?
Let me know in the comments!