I've had a lot of woe in recent months on the road trying to get to a gym.
Sadly it seems to be a thing of the past that you can just turn up at a gym somewhere in the world, give them $5 or $10 and just use the gym. No, these days it's sorry we don't accept cash and we need to see your passport.
Need to see you passport - not to board a flight and cross a border, not to buy alcohol, but to use a gym.
Then, the other thing is, in places where that is not the case - members only, swipe a card, install an app. Otherwise, some, only some gyms have limited staffed opening hours where non-members can attend.
I finally lifted yesterday for the first time in about 3 weeks, now everything is nicely sore. Paid cash, had to show ID. I discussed the prospect of membership with them and whether they would force me to install an app after I paid the yearly membership fee. He explained that they would strongly prefer if I installed an app however they make exceptions for some elderly members without smartphones and give them a wrist bracelet. So I said that that would need to be part of the agreement before joining.
I don't think I will be joining however, as it is too expensive, and the treadmill was in miles per hour which is very annoying when you are not in the US or UK. As I was warming up on the treadmill I was mentally preparing for shoulder press dumbells to be in pounds, but alas, the weights were in kilograms! I really tried, there was no way to change the treadmill to metric units. What are these people thinking, how is one supposed to have a pleasant time at the gym with the units all incoherent like this.
Then, why the passport to use the gym? These were American and British owned international fitness chains. I think it's as there are inhouse teams of (((lawyers))) in the Manhattan or City of London offices contemplating what will happen with insurance and litigation when someone drops the benchpress on themself, or trips on the treadmill and has a whole lot of skin scraped off their chin.
Have any of you had good experiences with programs that let you use gyms in different countries? I know they would probably force you to install an app. Would be nice if it were just a membership card, but won't get my hopes up.. But I'm thinking of maybe moving with the times, where you can't just turn up at a gym, hand over some cash and expect to go in and lift, and join an appropriate program next time before I travel.
Actually, when I was refused entry for trying to pay cash and not having my ID, I tried to bribe them, offering double the entry fee. It would be an interesting social experiment to see at what point the gym attendant lets you in. Anyway for that place I know for next time.
Oh - medical certificates - in certain parts of the world you need a medical certificate to join some gyms. Some but not others, I think it depends on the kind of insurance they have but it's all a load of (((nonsense)))