This New Gym Membership Gets You All the Gym Memberships

The excuses that come between you and the gym are many and varied.

Boredom. Inconvenience. Time. Expense.

But POPiN — a new, easy-to-use app that lets you pop in to gyms all over the city — solves all of them.

POPiN is like a pay-as-you-go phone plan for gyms. You choose a gym from their (lengthy) list, check in at the front desk and then pay only for the time you use.

To help you get acquainted with their offerings, we tapped lead trainer, Kevin Yang, for six of his favorite 30-minute workouts all over the city — including one at the luxurious Mercedes Club.

The place: CompleteBody 19th
Why you’re going: “This is the best place to build muscle. CompleteBody Chelsea is known to be a bodybuilding gym, with professionals choosing to work out there and be around people who share the same fitness goals.”
The workout: Start off with an easy five minutes on the erg to warm up, then use a variety of free weights and machines to focus on building strength and size in your back. Incorporate rowing movements into bent-over dumbbell/barbell rows or in the upright position with the machine. And don’t forget pull-ups and lat pull-downs for drawing your shoulder blades down your back.
Beneficial for: Strengthening back musculature, improving posture and counteracting long periods of sitting.

The place: CompleteBody Hanover
Why you’re going: “Take advantage of their rock-climbing wall to work on grip strength and shoulder endurance. You have the option of requesting someone to belay you if you want to climb the rope, otherwise stay close to the mat and shoot for sets of a certain amount of time. Moving around on the wall is a fantastic way to build muscle endurance.”
The workout: Hop on the climbing wall, and while staying close to the mat, use the holds and the features of the wall itself to move back and forth along the wall: go for six sets (two minutes each), with three-minute rests between each set.
Beneficial for: Grip strength and endurance, body awareness and core work, all while keeping body tension in unconventional positions.

The place: CompleteBody 57th
Why you’re going: “With the winter coming up, CompleteBody offers one of the few indoor swimming pools in Midtown East; it’s a great way to switch up your cold-weather workouts.”
The workout: Alternate 15 squat jumps in the pool with swimming two laps for a total of five sets. For the squat jumps, submerge yourself until your thighs are parallel to the bottom of the pool and explode through your feet while jumping as high as you can out of the water.
Beneficial for: Building cardiovascular endurance through swimming, explosive leg strength from jumping against water resistance.

The place: Mercedes Club
Why you’re going: “The club’s beautiful facilities include an indoor basketball court and boxing equipment, which can be used when the room is unoccupied. In addition to the traditional gym and cardio equipment they also have an awesome indoor pool as well.”
The workout: Begin with five minutes of jump rope, followed by partial suicide runs (start under the net, sprint to the free throw line, sprint back, sprint to the three-point line, sprint back, sprint to half court and back). Perform the same drills with a sideways shuffle as opposed to a sprint.
Beneficial for: Developing agility and sprint capacity, joint conditioning for quick lateral movements.

The place: Limelight Fitness
Why you’re going: “One of POPiN’s newest partners, Limelight Fitness is located in a renovated church in Chelsea. With brand new equipment and a one-of-a-kind ambience, it’s a great place to get in some steady cardio on a wide variety of brand new, state-of-the-art equipment or through their numerous class offerings.”
The workout: Without turning the treadmill on, brace your arms against the front of the treadmill and use your legs to push the belt for 45 seconds with large, steady strides. Follow it up with kettlebell swings using a weight you can handle for 10-15 reps. Alternate these two for 5-6 sets, with 90 seconds of rest in between, or more if necessary.
Beneficial for: Improving cardiovascular capacity, quad and glute strength, maintaining trunk tension.

The place: Gym NYC
Why you’re going: “POPiN’s Nolita offering is just over a year old and newly renovated. Throw some boxing into your workout at Gym NYC with their heavy bag or incorporate a trampoline with their rebounder setup.”
The workout: Warm up with five minutes of jump rope, follow it up with five sets of 90 seconds on the heavy bag, and then follow that with lateral medicine ball slams against the rebounder or the wall.
Beneficial for: Building muscular and cardiovascular endurance, rotational trunk stability, and improving hand/eye coordination.