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Fit4Mom
Staying or getting back into shape after kids can sometimes be a challenge, and finding a gym that offers child care with reasonable hours at an affordable price can sometimes feel like searching for a needle in the haystack. But never fear!
There are plenty of gyms throughout the Puget Sound region with child-care options because we all agree, fitness is important and even more so when you are a parent. The gyms listed below all provide child care while parents work out, either as part of their membership or for an additional fee.
Multiple locations around Puget Sound
FIT4MOM (multiple locations)
Want a workout where you can bring along your child? Then FIT4MOM is your workout! With more than six locations around the Puget Sound, FIT4MOM has nationally certified teachers who lead hour-long sessions through circuit training, push-ups, sprints, squats and push-ups.
A majority of the moves involve using strollers (with your baby or tot in it) for stabilization and balance. FIT4MOM workouts are either done outside but some programs offering indoor studios with separate child-care play areas.
Individually owned, FIT4MOM outlets offers a variety of programs including Fit4Baby (pregnancy), Stroller Strides (postpartum), Stroller Barre, Run Club and Body Back (advanced postpartum).
Babies as young as 4 weeks are welcome to join their parents at these sessions, and all first classes are free.
Barre3 (multiple locations)
With eight locations throughout Seattle, West Seattle and the Eastside, all Barre3 locations provide child care at selected times for a small fee. Child care is open to kids as young as 6 weeks old.
Each class maintains a defined structure of a warm-up followed by leg work, combo work, core exercises, breathing work and a cool-down.
YMCA (multiple locations)
The YMCA is focused on family-friendly fitness with some 12 locations throughout the Puget Sound region. Parents will find group exercise classes, swim lessons, tons of exercise equipment and, most importantly, child care where babies as young as 6 weeks and kids up to 10 years old are welcome.
8 Limbs Yoga Centers (multiple locations)
With locations in Phinney Ridge, Capitol Hill, Wedgwood and West Seattle, 8 Limbs Yoga’s Postnatal Yoga classes provide parents the chance to practice yoga with their little ones (6 weeks and older) in tow. 8 Limbs Yoga also offers Family Yoga Workshops and prenatal yoga practices.
24 Hour Fitness (multiple locations)
24 Hour Fitness locations can be found in almost any neighborhood — from West Seattle to the Renton Highlands, downtown Bellevue, Issaquah and beyond — which makes them extremely convenient.
Their relatively affordable membership dues include their in-house Kids’ Club for kids ages 6 months to 11 years old. Child care includes age-appropriate games, toys, movies and seasonal activities with CPR/first aid trained attendants.
LA Fitness (multiple locations)
With gyms in Bellevue, Ballard, Bothell, Burien, Tukwila, Renton, Federal Way, West Seattle and more, LA Fitness offers a variety of classes plus a Kids Klub that serves kids ages 3 months and older. You can use the Kids Klub for up to two hours while parents are onsite.
Seattle-Area
Olympic Athletic Club (Ballard)
This Ballard neighborhood gym is a family favorite. The award-winning gym is open 24 hours a day, five days a week and offers child care to members in their Kids Korner for up to 10 hours a month included with membership.
Additional child care is also available for $3 per hour. Child care is offered Monday through Saturday for kids from 4 months old and up. The gym also offers swimming lessons for little ones along with additional activities for the younger set.
Magnuson Athletic Club (Magnuson Park)
The Magnuson Athletic club is a full-service gym with fitness classes, personal training, nutritionists and the MiniMAC Kids Club for kids between the ages of 6 months and 14 years old. Parents will find massage therapy along with basketball, body composition services and access to Arena Sports soccer fields.
The MiniMAC Kids Club features movies, homework time, creative play, drawing, books and sports. The Kids Club is open every day with various hours and a two-hour time limit.
Washington Athletic Club (Downtown Seattle)
The Washington Athletic Club (WAC) offers personal training, sports clubs, a spa, wellness programs and food options at the club’s restaurants and cafe. The WAC’s WeeWACs ChildCare Center provides drop-off child care for non-members and members alike.
Parents can bring infants to 6-year-olds to WeeWACs for up to three hours during each visit. Reservations are required and can be booked as far as one month in advance.
Denali Fitness Gym (Madison Park)
Denali Fitness offers a variety of cardio and strength equipment, many group fitness exercise classes, personal trainers, a sauna and child care. The Denali Kids’ Club is open mornings and evenings for kids ages 3 months to 7 years old for $5 per child per hour or $7.50 for 90 minutes. Members can make reservations up to one week in advance, via phone or in person.
Rainier Health and Fitness (Rainier Valley)
Rainier Health and Fitness offers comprehensive services at an affordable price. Gym membership includes all fitness classes, weeknight child care, Ladies' Night and senior programs. Child care is provided for kids from ages 1–10 on select days.
MKG Seattle (Northeast Seattle)
MKG offers CrossFit, Adult Martial Arts / Kickboxing or MAX10 Boot Camp program along with child care at their northeast Seattle gym. The studio has a dedicated space with toys, wifi and a study room for kids from 6 months to five years old. Child care fees are $5 for up to two hours.
Seattle Athletic Club (Northgate)
The Seattle Athletic has child care for use during your workout and also offers drop-in child care for members and non-members at the Kids Court under the name of SAC to the Rescue. The service is available to non-members (at a higher hourly rate), and accepts kids as young as 8 weeks old during normal Kids Court hours.
Eastside
Mommy’s Fit Zone (Issaquah)
Mommy's Fit Zone in Issaquah provides moms with a tailored workout and includes your child, ages 6 weeks and up. The interval training system combines strength, cardio and abs for a workout which boosts metabolism, burns fat and strengthens muscles with multi-joint and multi-muscle movements for a challenging yet fun workout.
Thearany Khy, owner of Mommy’s Fit Zone is an ACE (American Council on Exercise) certified group fitness instructor and therapeutic exercise specialist. Classes are held at the Issaquah Community Center with monthly passes or drop in classes available. Class schedules can be viewed on the Mommy’s Fit Zone website. The first class is free.
The Bellevue Club (Bellevue)
The expansive Bellevue Club has more than 200,000 square feet of facilities with pools (yes, multiple pools), activity rooms, group exercise classes and wellness resources. Child care is available for children between the ages of 3 weeks and 6 years; prices depend on age.
PRO Sports Club (Bellevue)
The PRO Sports Club has a kid-friendly location in Bellevue. This amazing gym includes multiple pools, tennis, racquetball, squash and basketball courts, a spa, salon, bistro and a women-only gym.
The Bellevue Kid Zone includes hourly child care (max of 2 hours) for Pro Sports Club members. Parents must stay on-site. The club’s other offering, Discovery Bay, offers child care options every day of the week for members and their guests as well as non-members who visit the spa, physical therapy or podiatry services, starting at 6 weeks of age and up to age 5. Reservations are recommended.
Fly Fitness (Kirkland)
With more than 5,000 square feet of studio space and breathtaking views of Lake Washington at Carillon Point, Fly Fitness offers classes including boot camp, TRX, cycle, yoga and barre, along with child-care services for infants and up. Fly Fitness has professional child-care providers for little ones during each Fly group class. Reservations can be made online.
Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2018 and updated in December 2019.
