New Year, New You: Prioritize your health and well-being for $1 a day! (Vancouver)

After a month of feasting in December, many of us feel that January is the time to hit the gym, get fit and start the year right. January is also the month that our wallets and bank accounts are empty and, living in one of the least affordable cities in the world, joining a gym may not be a top priority for many of us (and we don't all have the luxury of having a gym in our office or residential buildings or even if we do, it may not have the equipment we prefer). But we should be making our health and well-being a priority so I am going to share with you what I think is currently the best promotion in Vancouver for starting and/or maintaining an active lifestyle and helping you get fit and healthy for about $1 a day. 

The promotion I speak of is Vancouver Park Board's $30 for a 30 day Flexipass. A Flexipass is a pass that allows you access to all Vancouver Park Board swimming pools, ice rinks and a majority of fitness centers (21 fitness centers, 9 swimming pools and 8 ice rinks, to be exact). Keep reading to find out what makes this promotion so great (besides the price tag).

The bonus offers of this promotion:

1. Following the $30 for 30 Days promotion, if you sign up for a 3 month Flexipass (currently priced at $117.71 plus tax), you get an extra month for free! The way my bargain loving eyes see this is 5 months for $147.71  (plus tax) OR $29.54 (plus tax) a month (price of 3 month Flexipass + $30 promotion + one month free). So for about $1 a day you are on your way to getting and/or staying fit, healthy and active in 2015! And some more math for you, in 5 months time it will be summer. Yes, the dreaded bikini season, which you may not (and should not) need to be dreading anymore (love your body!!!), and where you (hopefully) wont need the indoors to be active...so Vancouver Park Board really knows what they're doing with this promotion! 

2. Receive $50 off a 5-session personal training package. This is currently priced at $208.95 plus tax. Take $50 off that making it $158.95 plus tax. Divide that by 5 and you've got yourself a personal trainer for  5 sessions at $31.79 per session. That's poppycock! Especially in this city (and actually most cities)! 

Now, from my experience, these are the added perks of this promotion (and the Flexipass in general):

This promotion is great for those that are not fans of the gym or need low impact exercise as you can go swimming instead. Need a night off to relax or your muscles are aching? Hit up the hot tubs and saunas! Just want a leisurely excursion with the kids? Take them to the amazing pool facility at Hillcrest (and try out the lazy river - you wont want to leave)! It's all included. And with very affordable admission prices for those that do not have Flexipasses (and even free at some facilities at certain times of the week), skating and swimming are great activities for outings with your family and/or friends.

Another great thing about this pass is that, with so many Park Board facilities in Vancouver (did I mention 21 fitness centers, 9 pools and 8 ice rinks), there is bound to be one close to where you live, work, play, study, go to school etc or even along the way to one of these locations so it is very convenient (and I know many of us need convenience in order to keep us going to the gym)! Also, if you are not a fan of routine, you could go to a different facility everyday or partake in a different activity everyday, if you so wish to keep things interesting! Some facilities are more dated than others (like Britannia) and some are state of the art (Trout Lake and Hillcrest, for example) but they all have something to offer (the dated ones are usually less busy) and almost all  have hours of operation that will work with most of our busy schedules, adding to that convenience. The fitness center facilities also provide details of when the busiest and least busiest times are if you wish, and are able to go at a quiet time. And also, some fitness centers have "ladies only" time slots if those women out there feel more comfortable working out in a "girl power" environment.

And yet another reason why I love the Flexipass is that you can suspend it if you need to (going away, need a break for an injury to heal etc). I was hesitating signing up for the Flexipass promotion this year as I am going away for a week at the beginning of February but then I was told that they can suspend the pass the week that I am away so I can take full advantage of the 30 day validity. 

So there you go folks. About $1 a day to keep the pounds away and to be healthy! No registration fees, no contract, no pushy sales representative calling you every day to get you to sign up! What a bargain! No I was not hired by the Vancouver Park Board to rave about this promotion and their Flexipass, although I wouldn't be opposed to any compensation ;-), but I really enjoyed the experience when I signed up for this last year and feel that by sharing my experience, others may benefit from this info. The promotion ends on February 8th, 2015 so visit a facility up until then to take advantage of this great deal!

For those of you that have taken advantage of this promotion, what is the biggest perk for you? What is your favorite facility and why? Would love to hear feedback and if you do decide to sign up for this promotion, let me know how it works out for you! Are there any other great deals in this city that would benefit our health and well-being? Let me know by commenting on this post or by any of the contact methods on the top right hand corner of my blog.

I leave you with details of the facilities that you can use this promotion at so you can weigh out the pros and cons and see if this is for you (click on the link):
Fitness Centers that accept Flexipass
Ice Rinks
Swimming Pools

I hope your 2015s are off to a great start! :-)