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When you're looking to add tanning sessions to your gym routine, you can often hit the obstacle of not knowing which of the gyms located near you offer tanning beds or booths, which are optional amenities after all.
Therefore, we’re here to help you find gyms that will provide everything you need to look both muscular and tanned.
You will learn how to use the tanning beds at the largest gyms around, between which hours you can schedule your tanning sessions, and whether you should get a tan before or after your workouts.
In addition, we delved into scientific facts that point out the benefits and disadvantages of indoor tanning, so you will know how going for that summer tan indoors affects your health.
We researched the best and largest gyms out there to find the ones that offer tanning beds or booths and also have great chances of being located near you.
Here are the best gyms that have tanning beds or booths:
Planet Fitness is one of the cheapest and most convenient gyms that offer both tanning beds and stand-up booths, which you can use by following a simple process, but not more than once a day, to get the tan you’re looking for.
First of all, you need to be at least 18 years old to use the tanning beds at Planet Fitness.
Also, Planet Fitness advises consulting a physician before utilizing the tanning equipment “if you are using medications or have a history of skin problems or believe yourself to be especially sensitive to sunlight.”
Secondly, you need to gain access to Planet Fitness' tanning facilities.
To use the tanning beds at Planet Fitness, you must buy a Black Card gym membership. So, getting tanned at Planet Fitness will cost you around $23/month, depending on which PF club you choose to go to.
In addition to tanning access, the Black Card membership gives you all the perks the fitness chain has to offer.
Black card benefits at Planet Fitness:
Next, before you use the tanning beds, you have to register on a sign-up sheet, where you accept the risks involved with the tanning process, write the time you go in, the duration of your session, and the number of the bed you will use.
Note: you have to go through a similar process when using the hydromassage bed.
Planet Fitness warns that you should avoid overexposure to the ultraviolet radiation coming from the tanning beds because it “can cause eye and skin injury and allergic reactions. Repeated exposure may cause premature aging of the skin and skin cancer.”
To protect your eyes, you need to wear a pair of goggles offered by Planet Fitness. If you don’t wear them, you may end up with severe burns or long-term injury to the eyes, according to PF.
Also, don’t forget to protect your body by using lotion.
After you have registered for the tanning session, the gym staff will turn on your assigned tanning bed at the selected time, so all you need to do is to get in there and enjoy the process.
Remember, you can opt in to get a tan in a normal tanning bed or a stand-up tanning booth.
Here is a review made by a Planet Fitness client trying the stand-up tanning bed and seeing how it works.
At Planet Fitness, you can tan only once every 24 hours.
However, if the law in your state claims that you need to wait more between sessions, you need to respect it.
“Members can tan only as often as allowed by applicable law, but not more than once every 24 hours”, according to Planet Fitness’ tanning policy.
If you were wondering when are tanning beds open at Planet Fitness, you can generally use them as long as the gym is open because the staff will only turn them on before you go and tan.
Fortunately, most Planet Fitness gyms are open 24 hours, so you can enjoy tanning during any part of the day.
Looking for a Planet Fitness gym with tanning beds near you? Use Planet’s gym finder tool to discover clubs around you.
You can find plenty of Gold’s Gym clubs with adjustable tanning beds, which you can use as long as the gym is open after investing in an affordable membership.
However, not all of Gold’s Gym locations have tanning as an amenity. In 2016, the owners of Gold’s Gym decided to remove tanning beds from all the clubs owned by the company.
“Out of our 343 domestic locations, 146 are company-owned. Our franchised gyms are independently owned and operated, and our franchisees are able to make their own decisions regarding additional offerings at their gyms,”
– Gold’s Gym representative, quoted by VICE in 2018.
Besides tanning, inside the fitness clubs owned by Gold’s Gym, you will often find saunas, which can make your post-workout recovery even more enjoyable. After all, Gold's Gym is on our list of gyms with saunas.
To begin with, you need to be over 18 years old to be able to use the tanning beds at Gold’s Gym. If you’re under 18, you can tan only with your parent or legal guardian’s consent.
Again, you should consult a physician before using the tanning beds if you are taking medications, have antecedents of skin problems, or think you’re especially sensitive to sunlight.
If you want to use the tanning beds at Gold's Gym, you can expect to pay as low as $25 per month, depending on the club you go to because this is the average minimum cost of a gym membership at Gold’s. You can’t tan without a gym membership.
Ahead of using the tanning beds, you have to sign a paper through which you accept the risks of using the tanning equipment, complete a skin assessment form, and register on a tanning log, where you:
Just as Planet Fitness does, Gold’s Gym warns that you should avoid overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.
As it's mandatory to wear protective eyewear while you are inside the tanning beds, ask the Gold’s Gym staff at your local club if they provide tanning goggles or bring a pair from home.
In addition, you want to protect your body by using a protective tanning lotion.
Now, you can lay on the tanning bed, use the adjustable controls to set everything according to your preferences, and enjoy your tanning session for the chosen time interval.
The tanning beds at Gold’s Gym are open until 30 minutes before the closing time of the gym. In case you frequent a Gold’s Gym facility that is open 24 hours a day, you should be able to use tanning beds at any time.
Looking for a Gold’s Gym club with tanning beds near you? Use Gold’s gym locator to inspect their nearby facilities.
For an average-priced gym membership, some of the Anytime Fitness clubs offer tanning beds or booths that are straightforward to use and open most of the days.
In addition, you may find some hydromassage beds alongside the tanning equipment, according to the Anytime Fitness official team.
Since you cannot get a tanning-only membership at Anytime Fitness, you need to buy a gym subscription that includes tanning as a feature. Anytime Fitness gym memberships go as low as $36.
Before entering the tanning room, you need to get a key from the manager of the gym.
Then, you get inside the tanning room and lock the door.
After, you open the tanning bed and scan the key to power on the bed.
Now, you need to start the tanning bed by pressing the button “Start”.
After you start the bed, the little screen will show you that you have 3 minutes to get ready. This should be enough time for you to lotion up and put on the protective goggles.
Now, you have to use the “plus” and “minus” buttons to set the timer that shows how many minutes you want to spend tanning.
After setting the timer, you can press start and enjoy your tanning session.
If you want a visual guide on how to use the tanning bed, here is staff member Britney from Anytime Fitness with instructions.
Anytime Fitness gyms are open 24 hours a day, but you may be able to use the tanning bed only when staff is around. Check with your local gym to get clarified.
Looking for an Anytime Fitness gym with tanning beds near you? Pick a local gym using their official find a gym tool.
Since YMCA gyms tend to offer wildly different amenities in each location, not all of them will have tanning beds. Yet, it’s best to go to the nearest YMCA center near you and ask if they have either a tanning bed, booth, or a sunlamp.
For example, one YMCA gym that offers tanning beds is the one in Van Wert, Ohio.
The cost of a monthly YMCA membership varies greatly based on location and perks. The monthly cost at their Arapahoe health center, for example, begins at $70, when it is only $35 in Johnstown.
As a side note, keep in mind that if you get a YMCA membership, you won't necessarily get free access to tanning. Instead, you may get a discount. It’s always best to check with your local YMCA to settle this matter.
The price of a YMCA membership varies greatly based on location and perks. However, if you’re lucky you may be able to find a YMCA gym near you that offers both tanning and sauna bathing.
Looking for a YMCA gym with tanning beds near you? Use YMCA’s center locator to inspect their nearby clubs.
Crunch Fitness offer both tanning beds and spray tanning in their gyms during their open hours, but you can tan only if you have Crunch's second or third-tier memberships or if you pay a fee at the front desk.
Although the monthly memberships at Crunch Fitness get as low as $9.95, depending on the gym's location, you only get tanning for the Peak and Peak Results memberships, which are pricier.
However, if you are on a plan that doesn’t include tanning, there are fees you can pay to use the tanning beds.
After getting a gym membership, you need to sign-up for a tanning session at the front desk of your local Crunch gym. You can choose to tan in a lay-down or stand-up tanning bed.
Alternatively, many Crunch gyms offer spray tanning as well. You can spray tan once a week.
As soon as you selected your preferred option, you can put on your goggles, start tanning and go for that summer glow you’re trying to achieve.
You can use the tanning beds at Crunch Fitness as long as the gym is open. So, check the opening and closing hours of your local Crunch Fitness gyms.
Looking for a Crunch Fitness gym with tanning beds near you? Use Crunch’s local gym finder to inspect their nearby facilities.
Snap Fitness gyms offer tanning beds in many of their clubs among other amenities, like saunas.
However, the tanning hours may differ from club to club. For example, in the Snap Fitness club in Atchison, Kansas, tanning is available 6 days a week and to non-members also, even though the gym there is open 7 days a week.
Snap gyms are not the cheapest option on the market but if this is the only gym with tanning in your area, getting a membership can be worth it. A monthly membership at Snap Fitness starts at $36.95, depending on the location of the facility.
Looking for a Snap Fitness gym with tanning beds near you? Use Snap’s official gym finder to inspect their nearby facilities (make sure to select your residence country first).
Even though is not as big of a gym as the other fitness chains on this list, Youfit has tanning facilities in many of their clubs.
Two examples are the one in Tallahassee and the one in Altamonte Springs.
If you’re wondering how much it will cost you to get a tan at a Youfit gym, know that the basic membership, costing $10 a month, will most likely not include access to tanning, so you will probably need their premium plans, which start at $25 per month.
Looking for a Youfit gym with tanning beds near you? Use Youfit’s gym locator to find their nearby facilities.
If you’re looking for gyms with indoor tanning options, you'll find that many Chuze Fitness gyms can help you get a tan for an average-priced membership that gives you access to a large workout area and more amenities, which can speed up your post-workout recovery.
Although Chuze Fitness memberships start as low as $9.99/month, tanning is only included in their Premium and More gym plans, which also offer you access to a gym, free group fitness classes, sauna, and other amenities. The Premium option costs around $25/month.
Before you hop into the tanning bed or booth, you need to put on a pair of tanning goggles to protect your eyes.
Now, you are all set for an enjoying tanning experience that will help you achieve that summer glow you’re looking for.
Since Chuze Fitness offers you unlimited tanning, you can tan whenever you like as long as the gym is open. Make sure to check the opening and closing hours of your local Chuze gym before you buy a membership.
Since you will not find tanning beds in all gyms, be careful at what fitness center you buy your next membership.
Here are four large gyms that don’t have pools:
If you’re looking for gyms near you that are equipped with both tanning beds and saunas, you are in the right spot.
Here are some large gyms that offer both tanning and saunas:
To find out all the most popular gyms that offer saunas, check out our list of the best gyms with pools, saunas, and steam rooms.
Yet, if you can't find a gym that has both tanning beds and saunas near you, there is always the option to build a sauna at your home. See a few of your options on our list of the best 2-person saunas.
Tanning in a gym is a way to get a tan indoors by using special beds or booths, which emit UV radiation and are available at a fitness club. Yet, indoor tanning comes with both benefits and disadvantages.
Below you can find the benefits of using tanning beds.
Maybe the most obvious benefit of using tanning beds is the fact that you will get tanned skin.
And having tanned skin comes with its own advantages:
If you use tanning beds more than 3 times per year, you could reduce the risk of developing endometrial cancer by 40%, according to a British Journal of Cancer study. The study followed over 24.000 women for a period of around 15 years.
Regularly using tanning beds that emit vitamin D-producing UV radiation can help you increase your vitamin D levels, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Another study on 17 women backs up the fact that tanning beds increase your vitamin D levels. The women were exposed to three 6 to 8 minutes-long tanning bed sessions during 9 days while having 80% of their body surface exposed.
Nevertheless, the American Academy of Dermatologists disagrees, invoking that “the bulbs used in tanning beds emit mostly UVA light; however, your body needs UVB light to make vitamin D.”
Also, the AAD board-certified dermatologists recommend eating a healthy diet to safely get vitamin D. If that is not enough, they advise taking supplements.
To decide whether using the tanning beds at your local gym is healthy for you, you also need to look at the potential side effects of getting a tan indoors.
Below you can find the disadvantages of using tanning beds.
The use of tanning beds has been associated with melanoma, a form of cancer that begins in the pigmentary cells of the skin. The association was highlighted by The American Academy of Dermatology in a 2014 study on 14.956 melanoma cases.
The study also suggests that newer tanning technology is not safer than older models.
Another research showed that there are over 419.000 cases of skin cancer linked to indoor tanning each year.
This is not surprising because ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been recognized as a carcinogen, which means it can trigger cancer. Multiple authoritative organizations back up this finding, including:
After all, evidence from the University of Southern California shows that indoor tanning devices can emit UVR in amounts 10 to 15 times higher than the sun at its most direct exposure.
Tanning may get you addicted to it, especially if you tan at a gym. This is one of the conclusions of a 2018 study conducted by Sherry L. Pagoto, Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut.
The results of the study show that around 25% of tanners have tanned in gyms and they tan 67% more often than other tanners. Almost 50% of gym tanners were at risk for tanning dependence.
Tanning indoors, whether at a gym or not, will make your skin age quicker. “Wrinkles, age spots, and loss of skin firmness tend to appear years earlier in people who tan,” according to the American Academy of Dermatology.
The AAD warns that tanning beds can cause serious injuries, such as burns, loss of consciousness, and eye injuries. Also, dermatologists say that a base tan will not eliminate the risk of getting burnt while using a tanning bed.
So…
Are tanning beds healthy?
Since the disadvantages of using tanning beds outweigh the few benefits, indoor tanning is not healthy, even though it is done at a gym with a good reputation.
After we inspected the tanning procedures at some of the largest gyms in the world, we can tell you that using a tanning bed at your preferred gym is an easy and straightforward process.
Below is the step-by-step process of how to use a gym tanning bed:
Note: the way tanning beds function may differ, depending on what kind of tanning machine a gym has, so always make sure to consult with your local gym’s staff before using the tanning beds.
The time you can spend in a tanning bed depends on a lot of factors, like light intensity and your skin sensitivity, but as a general rule of thumb, you don’t want to stay in more than 10 minutes.
Pro tip: if you generally feel guilty for spending time in the gym or in the tanning bed instead of staying with your family, choose one of the gyms that allow teens. This way, you'll be able to spend quality time with your kids and also get into a better physical shape.
If you can’t decide whether it’s better to go tanning before or after the gym, you need to know that you can tan both ways, but there are certain pros and cons for each of these approaches.
If you go tanning before your workouts, you will get into the gym with warmed-up muscles, which may help you avoid injuries. However, your muscles will also feel relaxed, so you may find it harder to perform at your best in the weight room.
Also, if you use lotions or tanning oils during tanning, you may need to wash up before going for the sweat. The combinations of oils and perspiration will most likely make you smell unpleasing, especially for the other gym attendees.
Therefore, to be able to wash out the lotion and oils used during the tanning process, you want to join one of the gyms with showers available for their customers.
Most gym-goers and bodybuilders prefer to use tanning beds after their workouts as a way to both tan their skin and relax their muscles. You can also fit in a sauna session before you get a tan for an even more relaxing recovery session.
Tip: make sure to get hydrated before you get into the heat of a tanning bed. Chances are you will feel the need to, especially after intense workouts.
While you can definitely go to Planet Fitness just to tan, without doing any workouts, you still need to pay for the Black Card gym membership, the most expensive one, to use the tanning beds.
No, the Planet Fitness official store does not sell tanning lotion.
No, LA Fitness gyms do not offer tanning beds, booths, or sunlamps.
No, you will not find tanning beds in Lifetime Fitness gyms.
Given that scientific evidence shows that tanning beds can have dangerous consequences for people’s health, the only reason why gyms offer tanning is to make a profit. They do this by satisfying gym-goers with a means for them to get a tan, especially during winter when it’s hard to get time under the sun.
To conclude, there are still plenty of gyms that have tanning facilities near their workout areas. Planet Fitness, Gold's Gym, and Anytime Fitness are just a few of them.
If you are looking for the cheapest gyms that offer tanning facilities, you should give Planet Fitness and Gold's Gym a go.
However, before you start tanning at any of the above gyms, make sure you consider both the benefits and disadvantages of using tanning beds, glance over the basic instructions for using a tanning machine, and plan whether you want to tan before or after your workouts.
