As Canadian wildfire smoke blankets much of the northern United States, setting poor air quality records in Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit, many activities and workouts are being moved indoors due to the health risk. To promote health and safety, all Planet Fitness locations in Michigan announced free gym access for everyone as the wildfire smoke clears.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Planet Fitness club access will be free in Michigan from Thursday, July 16 to Sunday, July 19.
"We want to make sure those who normally exercise outdoors have a safe option to avoid unhealthy air quality levels," said Sarah Wilson, director of marketing at Impact Fitness Group, a Planet Fitness franchise division.
Gymgoers who take advantage of the promotion will not be obligated to sign up for a membership later. Those who wish to workout for free simply stop at the front desk to sign a waiver, but will not be required to pay to use the facility.
There are 101 Planet Fitness Locations throughout the state of Michigan, including facilities in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Livonia and more.
“Community outreach is a big thing of what we do. We do a ton of stuff throughout the year with, give back to our community in terms of like donations and giveaways, raffles, all that kind of stuff,” Josh Schofield, club leader of the Planet Fitness on the north side of Lansing, told WLNS. “So this just felt like a natural kind of thing for us to do for our members to get them out of that bad air, especially people who like to be outside at this time, walking, running, all that kind of stuff. They can come in here instead.”
A handful of other Planet Fitness Locations outside of Michigan have also followed this example. Select facilities in Indiana, Ohio and Canada may also offer free access during the poor air quality alert.
