There’s a great way to save hundreds of pounds a year on gym membership and also have private medical insurance thrown in as well. Simply take out a health insurance policy from Pru Health, which can cost as little as £20/month to gain free gym membership worth up to £90/month. This means it's worth doing even if you don't want medical insurance, but if you do, it’s a bonus.

The condition is that you go to the gym at least twice a week so it’s best for gym regulars. However, once you’ve swiped in that counts as attending even if you don’t go for a work-out. So if you need to get over the threshold but can’t use the gym you can still walk in and walk out again.
You will have to pay a fee for the first three months but after that, as long as you attend the gym on average twice a week, you will get free membership at Cannons and LA Fitness or pay between £5 and £15/month at most Virgin Actives.

We put this to the test by inviting two gym bunnies to the studio. One is a gym member paying £68 a month or £816 a year at an Esporta gym and he wants to slash his monthly bills. Once he got his Pru Health quote he realised he could save £350 in his first year by moving to a local LA Fitness or Cannons via Pru, or £170 by moving to a local Virgin Active via Pru.

The other gym bunny is not a gym member but wants to join a club in central London. Once he got his Pru Health monthly premium he discovered that joining a local Virgin Active with Pru could cut £351 off the potential £1,057 annual price to join direct. He would also save £174 from the £525 cost of joining a local LA Fitness.

For full information on how to save money in on Gym Membership, read Martin’s full guide to Cheap Gym Membership