[Cookie Princess]

Coming down in April for the Lifestyle Visit. I want to try the workout facilities. Can you get day passes? Do residents prefer MVP, the Rec Center or do some people pay for both?

Does the cost of the Rec Center cover all the Rec Centers and all fitness classes? How do you pay if you are snowbirds? THANKS!

[Dan9871]

You can get one day passes to MVP. We use MVP and like it. Some health plans pay for MVP membership. But there are a lot of fitness classes around the Villages that are open to Villagers without charge. Some rec centers also have workout centers with machines that you have to pay for. MVP has a larger selection of exercise equipment than what you find in the rec centers. But in any case, while you are here you should try all the fitness options available.

[JerryLBell]

My wife and I checked out the few rec centers with workout facilities and found them pretty... modest. Our view is spoiled by the fact that we had been members of Lifetime Fitness in the town we were retiring from and the gyms in that chain are amazing. They're open 24/7, have large indoor pools, several hundred workout stations, rock climbing walls, basketball courts, etc. Everything here looked pretty boring and small in comparison. We ended up at MVP and have been more pleased with it than we thought we would be. They have a pretty good selection of equipment and all but their main thing is their exercise classes. They have a LOT of them and we've found a few that have really helped us. The one down side is that there are only two locations and they can get fairly crowded in the low season and insanely crowded in the high season. They really need to build additional locations, especially as the southern end of The Villages continues to grow like crazy. By the way, if you move here and are on Medicare and decide to go with one of the United Healthcare insurance packages to supplement it, the membership to MVP is included. While that will soon be great for me (I turn 65 and get on Medicare in a few months), it really added to the congestion at the gym when this first got started about 18 months ago.

There are other gyms available outside of The Villages. There is a small gym on 44 that is part of the Silver Sneakers program and should be free or inexpensive for most of us living here. There are several towards Leesburg as well.

[Dond1959]

There is outdoor workout equipment at certain recreation centers including Sugar Cane where we are near. I use the equipment there and it is free. I looked at The Villages workout rooms and thought for the price I may as well do MVP which is very nice. But the outdoor equipment works fine for what I want to do and it’s right next to where I live.

[justjim]

We use “Infinity Fitness” U.S. 441 in Fruitland Park. Great gym and they accept Silver Sneakers . Anytime Fitness on State Rt. 44 just west of Morse Blvd. accepts Silver Sneakers too. MVP and the recreation centers unfortunately do not.

[John_W]

Originally Posted by justjim

We use “Infinity Fitness” U.S. 441 in Fruitland Park. Great gym and they accept Silver Sneakers . Anytime Fitness on State Rt. 44 just west of Morse Blvd. accepts Silver Sneakers too. MVP and the recreation centers unfortunately do not.

United Health started Optum Group in January 2018, and MVP accepts that plan. Since the beginning of 2018 their membership has doubled because so many here in TV have United Health. If you're into having certified paid instructors in front of a class, whether it's Zumba or Group Power, then you would like MVP. Also To Your Health is a gym with an indoor pool and is as cheap as $20 a month, it's on 441 across from Oakwood BBQ. They also have classes with instructors. MVP of course is the most convenient.