With the wave of green gyms and eco-friendly fitness, you may wonder if there are any in your area where you can workout without adding to your carbon footprint. Here’s a list of spots to try.

Inspired Method

699 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90402

You’ll love Inspired Method if you enjoy working out with a cool breeze and beach views. The gym has two locations — Palisades Park in Santa Monica or your home. You can choose from an outdoor HIIT group class, or a virtual HIIT class focused on cardio, mobility, strength and core work. They also offer private coaching if you want to work directly with Jared Rodriguez — the founder and creator of the fitness program.

Its biggest selling point is the fact that there’s no building. This avoids carbon emissions from machinery, air conditioners and a building that needs electricity 24/7.

EVERYBODY

1845 North San Fernando Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065

This gym is for everyone who’s ever been made uncomfortable in a gym environment because of their gender, age, size, ethnicity or ability. The organization is dedicated to providing and inclusive environment for all bodies to move, gain strength and heal.

Its facility has an indoor gym, two classrooms, an outdoor gym and a patio if you enjoy exercising outdoors. They have a total of two private showers, which contributes to water efficiency. EVERYBODY is also currently adopting an Indigenous Californian land acknowledgment to recognize the ancestral homelands of the gym’s physical space.

Playa Vista Fitness Centre

Located in the newly built Playa Vista resort, this fitness center has indoor and outdoor spaces powered by eco-friendly technology. The lobby and gym have a passive cooling feature from interior courtyards that pull air through the building and a green roof that reflects sunlight.

All the bathrooms have low-flow fixtures to save water. Rising population and urbanization are increasing the water demand, so Playa Vista’s efforts to decrease water usage has the potential to curb wasteful water usage.

The resort uses Tecogen — a system that recovers “waste” heat and turns it into useful energy — to power the swimming pool. This offsets the fuel needed to create new power and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. They also use a photovoltaic solar system to feed the resort’s electric grid and LED lights.

Sweat60

2323 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Sweat60 uses result-based coaching to get you where you want to be in your fitness, whether it’s building strength, eating healthier or improving your mobility. You’ll enjoy this gym if you’re looking for a supportive community to stand beside you on your fitness journey.

The facility is mostly outdoors, with a green space for group classes and a garage-like setting for indoor workouts. The garage has gaps between the walls and ceilings for free airflow and potted plants on top of the walls. This removes the need for electrical cooling and provides a space that feels like you’re inside but with the fresh air of the outdoors.

SixPax Gym

4301 Sepulveda Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90230 

This no-frills gym is all about putting in the work and seeing the results with 30-minute training sessions and a tailor-made diet for your fitness goals. The outdoor exercise space means people work out in the open and the indoor space has several floor-to-ceiling doors that provide a breeze while people work out. Whether you’re inside or out, you get the benefits of fresh air, like a stronger immune system, stress relief and improved vision.

Most of the equipment doesn’t require electricity since the coaching is based on strength training and free weights. There’s also no shower, so the gym itself saves a lot of water.

Try Fitness the Eco-Friendly Way

Most of these gyms don’t claim to be eco-friendly. However, their designs and values reflect fitness that’s less about a facility’s looks and more about getting healthy.