Planet Fitness offers free access to St. Louis-area gyms through weekend
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OVERLAND, Mo. – Planet Fitness is offering free access to its St. Louis-area gyms through Sunday, July 2, so visitors can avoid the bad air and hot temperatures. The gym says there is no obligation to join.
Dense smoke from Canadian wildfires has led to unhealthy air quality indexes around Missouri and Illinois in recent days. St. Louis is under an “orange” air quality ranking Thursday from the National Weather Service. Health experts say, based on that ranking, sensitive groups should limit time outdoors, including exercise.
In response, Planet Fitness has opened 17 gyms in the St. Louis-area to anyone wanting to exercise, including non-members.
Mix of heat, haze raise safety concerns for St. Louisans“With 17 Planet Fitness clubs in and around the St. Louis area, we want to make sure those who normally exercise outdoors have a safe option to avoid unhealthy air quality levels,” said Midwest Brands CEO Mike Hamilton, who runs the Planet Fitness franchisee group.
The limited-time offer is good for St. Louis-area locations in Overland, Shrewsbury, Crestwood, South County, Ballwin, Alton, Edwardsville, Mid Rivers, Wentzville, Washington, Festus, Central West End, Fairview Heights, Mt. Vernon, Chippewa, Florissant and Ferguson
Planet Fitness locations offer more than 100 cardio and strength equipment pieces, 30-minute circuit training areas, functional training and various amenities.
While clouds kept temperatures down in some of the region Thursday, Friday will be another scorcher.
But not everyone dreads the brutal St. Louis heat indices. Douglas Anderson welcomes it.
“Hotter the better,” he said. “I’ve been in places that have been a lot hotter. So 115, 120, I’ll sit in for a few hours, but then I’m gonna be back out.”
Over at Forest Park, people were still out and about accepting the weather knowing that this heat would come eventually. Golfer Mark Prost took a break from work to practice his game.
“It’s really hot. It’s really humid. You can see that I’m sweating. But that kind of comes par for the course in St. Louis, when you’re playing golf in June,” he said.
With the first dangerous heat of the year, it’s important to remember to physically check on our neighbors and loved ones. If you need help with your air conditioner or utilities, Cool Down St. Louis is here to help.
“Anyone, if you’re a senior or physically disabled person, and you need help with an A/C, you just go to cooldownstlouis.org or call 241-0001,” Gentry Trotter, founder of Cool Down St. Louis, said. “If you’re anyone low to moderate income, and you’re needing to fill out an application to keep your air running, because we’ll help you as well with utilities only cooldownstlouis.org.”
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