Anytime Fitness teams up with Apple Fitness+ for free memberships

Woodbury-based Anytime Fitness gym members will soon have free access to virtual fitness and wellness subscription service Apple Fitness+.

It's the first time Apple has done a full-scale integration with a club's mobile platform.

The partnership reflects the fitness industry's increasing use of virtual options, an evolution that was turbocharged by the pandemic when people turned to streaming platforms and video training to stay in shape.

"The reality is a lot of fitness apps just aren't sticky. People drop off at a pretty high rate after 30, 60 days, six months," Stacy Anderson, president of Anytime Fitness, said in an interview. "Likewise, a coach can sometimes be out of people's reach or too intensive for them."

Anderson said that combining the power of a human coach with the digital prompts and accountability of a fitness app, "you actually get way better health outcomes than you do with either one alone."

Beginning Dec. 1, Anytime Fitness members in the U.S. and Canada will have access to Apple Fitness+ subscriptions at no additional cost.

As part of their gym trial, prospective Anytime Fitness members can try Apple Fitness+ for up to three months at no cost.

In addition, Fitness+ users who sign up for a 13-month membership, or longer, at Anytime Fitness will get their first 30 days at the gym at no charge.

Apple's Fitness+ boasts it has the largest library of 4K ultra-high-definition fitness and wellness content in the world, with more than 4,000 recordings of workouts and meditations.

Apple users can access Fitness+ from their iPhones, Apple Watches, iPads and other devices. Typically the service costs $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year.

Anytime Fitness, which has more than 5,200 club locations worldwide, already has its own Anytime Fitness mobile app. Anytime Fitness coaches are able to provide personalized training and nutrition plans through the app and now will be able to include Apple Fitness+ content as well. Apple Fitness+ expands Anytime Fitness capabilities into mental health, recovery, yoga and other forms of wellness.

"It's really expanding our reach of both platforms," Anderson said.