Equinox launches $40K membership to increase chances of living longer

• The new membership costs $3,000 a month on top of the regular gym fee
• Equinox and partner Function Health want to give people ‘100 healthy years’
• Members get a trainer, a nutrition and sleep coach, along with a masseuse 

Known for its gyms that cater exclusively to the wealthy, Equinox is pioneering an even more out-of-reach fitness option.

It has launched a $40,000 annual membership designed to extend your lifespan through personal training, nutrition plans, massage therapy and even sleep coaching.

Equinox is partnering with lab-test startup Function Health to bring ‘Optimize by Equinox’ to market, making it one of the most expensive gym memberships in the world.

‘It’s really a paradigm shift in how we’re able to live with vitality and avoid suffering,’ said Jonathan Swerdlin, cofounder of Function Health.

‘It deals with what’s above the surface, your abs and glutes, which you can see in the mirror that are great. But it also deals with what’s below the surface and what you can’t see in the mirror. And that’s revolutionary,’ Swerdlin added.

Equinox already has some of the most expensive gym memberships in the world, even before rolling out a $40,000 option to stay fit

Darryl McDaniels of Run D.M.C. (left) works out with JAM’N 94.5’s Ramiro (right) at an Equinox Gym on Dartmouth Street in Boston

Access to all of Equinox’s clubs costs $405 a month, or just under $5,000 a year.

‘Optimize by Equinox’ costs $3,000 a month for a minimum of six months, and when combined with the standard gym membership fee, it brings the total to $40,000 or more.

Regular-old Equinox memberships are already quite pricey. If you want access to all 107 Equinox clubs worldwide, it’ll set you back $405 a month, or just under $5,000 a year.

The Optimize program begins with Function Health testing new members for 100 biomarkers – biological traits that indicate possible risk for a disease.

The tests will measure members’ healthiness level in their heart, liver, kidneys and will even try to detect cancer markers.

Separate from Equinox’s new program, Function Health’s tests of 100 biomarkers  alone cost $499, and the company says it has a waitlist of more than 200,000 people.

Once the tests, which are run twice a year, are completed, an Equinox ‘concierge’ will set out to design members’ ideal fitness plan based on their results.

Each member will have four experts assigned to them, including a fitness trainer, a nutrition coach, massage therapist and a sleep coach.

As part of the Optimize fitness plan, Function Health tests new members for 100 biomarkers – biological traits that indicate possible risk for a disease

Pictured: A sitting area inside Equinox Hudson Yards. The facility gives members access to signature group fitness classes, a 25-yard indoor salt water pool, hot and cold plunge pools and a 15,000 square foot outdoor leisure pool and sundeck

The swimming pool inside Equinox Hudson Yards

A view of cyclists during Cycle For Survival at Equinox Bryant Park on March 12, 2017 in New York City

Men and women sprint across the rooftop training area at Equinox as part of a Tabata class at a location in Irvine, California

Members are paying to access roughly 16 hours a month of top-level coaching and training, according to Equinox.

The Optimize program will first roll out at the end of May in New York City and in Highland Park, Texas. Eventually other states around the country will follow suit, Equinox said. For now, Optimize members will be able to train at Equinox’s elite ‘E Clubs’ which are more reminiscent of private gyms.

Function Health’s stated goal with its cocktail of tests is to give people ‘100 healthy years’ on earth.

‘Living 100 healthy years doesn’t happen inside of a doctor’s office,’ Swerdlin said. ‘It happens in your daily decisions. And it also happens with the way in which you exercise, and Equinox really helps close the loop on that.’

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