Cheap fitness options in Berlin

Hi all.

I just moved to Berlin from Hamburg and am wondering if anything like Sportspass exists in Berlin. Sportspass offers participation in hundreds of classes and league sports across the city for 8.25 euros/month. Membership is per quarter.

I don't want to commit to a 12-month membership somewhere. Who can advise me a little more on the cheapo fitness options?

Thanks in advance!
Hilary

Im interested too in a cheap fitness/sports place. So can anyone help out two people?

the cheapest gym i know of is mcfit. there are several branches in berlin. it costs about 17e per month. i haven't tried it yet so i don't know how good it is, but i will be signing up in the next week or two... it sounds like a good deal in comparison to my old gym, kraftwerk, which costs about 40e per month.

anyone with experience at McFit?

McFit was mentioned in another, earlier thread. Problem with McFit: 12 month contract. Just doesn't work for me right now. Plus their website seemed to suggest machines and weights are included, but classes are extra. Maybe a McFitter can verify?

As far as I know, there are no classes at all at McFit..

Does anyone know if McFit memberships are transferable?

Greetings again.

Since I didn't have much luck here, I posted the same question in another list. Here's what I found out:

From the list, I received two whole-hearted recommendations for Holmes Place on Gendarmenmarkt. http://www.holmesplace.de/d/clubs/highlight.php?clubid=23 It is quite expensive (79 or 99 euros/month) but they have everything on offer and is supposedly worth every penny. There is a special on now where one pays a flat 99 euros and retains membership till the end of January, after that paying regular membership prices. If you're looking for a higher-end gym, I guess this is the place to go.

Since I, however, sadly can't afford to spend so much, I continued looking.

The all-out cheapest you'll find in Berlin is McFit. McFit has 12 locations in Berlin and is 16.90 per month, plus a 19 euro one-time fee for the card. They have machines but no classes. There are
really no extras here -- even a shower costs 50 cents! Contracts run for 12 months.

I also looked into Jopp Frauen Fitness (for women only, sorry guys). http://www.jopp.de/ I visited two clubs in Steglitz -- Jopp Swim in the Schloss shopping center, and a regular Jopp just down the street, soon to move (Dec. 19) to a brand-new three-level location in another mall.

At Jopp Swim, I was quoted the following prices: 59 euros one-time Club fee (right now, includes 3 personal training sessions); 40 euros registration fee; and a yearly 40 euro service fee (which covers the cost of childcare, video rental, etc.). This is all in addition to the monthly fees: 55 euros for just Jopp Swim, 60 euros for all Jopp clubs in Berlin, 65 euros for all Jopp and Fitness Company. 12-mo contract.

At the other Jopp, I was quoted the following: they're running a special since they're opening a new facility, so no Club fee. Same registration fee and service fee as above. Monthly fee for all Jopp clubs (ex. Swim) in Berlin: 50 euros. 18-mo contract.

I have to say that the pool at Jopp Swim is so small (too small for laps) I wouldn't consider it worth the extra money. I think the biggest problem with Jopp is that the clubs often get crowded, especially late afternoons, for classes and popular machines. All Jopp clubs have sauna and tanning included. They have no free trial, but will credit the price of a day pass (30 euros) to a new membership.

For guys (or anyone, really), I would guess that Fitness Company, Jopp's partner, would offer a similar price and level of service. http://www.fitcom.de/ Note, however, that Fitness Company is located all over Germany, so if you move within the country, you may be forced to take your contract with you.

Finally, I looked at Axxel City Fitness. http://www.axxel24.de./index.php?page=home They seemed overall less crowded than Jopp, had a separate women's fitness area, offer machines and courses, sauna, and are open 24 hours a day. Location is (map here: http://www.axxel24.de./index.php?page=lage) near Buelowstr. or Yorckstr. Axxel doesn't have any club or service fees. Right now through the end of Nov. they are having a 2-for-1 offer: 2 members pay just 1 12-month contract. A year-long membership is 468 euros (39 euros/mo), so divided by 2 that's only 19.50 euros/mo.

This is the gym I ended up joining. Three notes of interest: 1) it is possible to set up a free trial training and tour of the facility so that you are fully informed before you decide; 2) for this
price, the 12 months are paid up front (each pays 234 euros); 3) if the primary partner leaves Berlin before the contract is up, they are refunded the money based on the actual time used -- the secondary partner is welcome to find another member to remain in the same price category or can find something else somewhere else, if they choose.

Finally, two links I found useful for locating fitness centers and studios around Berlin were:
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/;art270,1904836
http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitun...0019/index.html

Hope this is helpful.
Sincerely,
Hilary

Hi Hilarym memberships of McFit are definitely not transferable.

You can join Fitness Company if you're a woman too. It's a mixed gym and I prefer it to Jopp. I go there and I love it...it's not cheap, but they have a wide variety of classes, a nice sauna, lots of machines and fairly decent opening hours. They also have a DVD service where you can borrow DVDs for a couple of days for free.