Gold's Gym discounts GLP-1s for members as fitness chains add weight-loss programs

Gym chains are adding weight-loss-specific training and, in some cases, discounts on the medications themselves, as the fitness industry works out what GLP-1 users mean for its business, Axios reported on Dec. 25, 2025 ^[1].

Roughly one in eight U.S. adults has taken one of these drugs, for diabetes or for weight loss, according to the KFF Health Tracking Poll from May 2024, and that number is expected to keep growing ^[1]. What nobody in the industry can answer yet is whether those patients will spend more time in gyms or less ^[1]. Max Rakhlenko, a TD Cowen equity analyst who follows fitness companies, told Axios: "We're optimistic it's going to be a benefit. The main question is how much?" ^[1]

What gyms are offering

Life Time, which operates more than 185 high-end clubs in 32 states, has opened a program called Miora at several of its locations, describing it as "longevity and performance health" ^[1]. According to chief science officer Jim LaValle, medical staff including nurse practitioners build "a personalized program" for each member, and that plan can include prescribing a GLP-1 ^[1].

LaValle told Axios that the drugs work alongside other changes: "We know that if you're going to succeed with GLP-1s, you're going to have to learn how to exercise," he said, pointing to resistance exercise for holding on to lean muscle and to "proper dietary guidance" ^[1].

Planet Fitness has not launched a program of its own. Chief marketing officer Brian Povinelli said in November at an event for analysts and investors that the chain is talking with several GLP-1 providers and looking at ways to make it easier for those customers to get the training that may offset muscle loss ^[1].

In the Washington, D.C. area, Gold's Gym has partnered with a wellness company called Idexa360 to give members discounts on GLP-1s and on certain "longevity" medications ^[1]. Equinox began a training program last year built around the physical needs of people who are losing weight ^[1].

Axios ties these moves to a broader shift toward strength training. Generation Z members have shown more interest in weight equipment and less in cardio machines such as treadmills, prompting some gyms to change what they stock ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

Weight-loss care is being bundled with places to work out. Someone taking a GLP-1 may now encounter prescribing, price breaks or weight-loss coaching at a gym, not only at a doctor's office ^[1]. The industry's stated rationale is muscle: holding on to lean mass during weight loss is the reason gyms give for tailoring programs to these patients ^[1].

Many specifics have not been reported. Axios did not say how large the Gold's Gym discount is, what Miora costs on top of a membership, or what Equinox charges for its program ^[1]. Whether medication obtained through a gym would be covered by insurance has not been disclosed ^[1]. Nor has it been reported how many members have enrolled, or whether gym-based training preserves muscle better than other kinds of exercise ^[1].

What happens next

Planet Fitness has given no date for any provider partnership ^[1]. Miora is running at "several locations," with no expansion plan reported ^[1]. Gold's Gym has not said when its discount began, and Equinox's program is described only as starting "last year" ^[1]. It has not been reported whether other chains plan similar moves ^[1].