Review: Roam Fitness @BWI, the only airport gym in the U.S.

Airport workouts are my favorite.  There's nothing like getting in a bunch of burpees and lunges for those long layovers and delays.  It sure beats waiting at the gate aimlessly.  The issue is finding open space without frightening other travelers, and of course the lack of gym equipment.  Airports such as Dallas-Fort Worth and SFO do have yoga rooms, but no equipment.  So when I found out that Baltimore Airport (BWI) has the only airport post-security fitness center in the U.S., I had to check it out.

Roam Fitness @BWI is a full service airport gym, and accessible with paid entry via Lounge Buddy for $25 per traveler.  The Amex Green card offers 10 complimentary Lounge Buddy passes per calendar year, so my friend with an Amex Green card was kind enough to book me entry for Roam Fitness.  These lounges passes do not carry over to the next calendar year, so it was essentially use or lose near the end of December.

Amenities

Roam Fitness is located in Concourse D/E, which is not accessible post-security from where I would be flying out of in Concourse A/B/C.  But since I did have plenty of lead time, I went to Concourse D/E's TSA Precheck security screening, where they didn't even bother looking at my boarding pass and allowed me through in mere minutes.  Unsurprisingly on a Tuesday early afternoon during the pandemic, I was the only person at the gym when I checked in.  The front desk agent was very friendly and offered me a bottle of water, a change of clothes, and shoe rentals, which are all included in your entry pass.  At first, I declined the change of clothes.  But she insisted that they were professionally laundered and free of COVID-19, so I went to the shower rooms to change into Roam fitness clothing.

The gym has several private showers, which are thoroughly cleaned after every use.  Included are toiletries such as towel service, toothbrushes, mouthwash, lotion, bodywash, and combs.  There are also self-coded lockers to store your belongings and carry on bags.  Since I was the only person in the gym, the agent told me that I didn't need to wear a mask.

Equipment

The gym has a decent supply of commercial-grade cardio equipment, including an exercise spin bike, which is my favorite type of cardio equipment.  There was also a small functional training area with a pull up setup, medicine balls, and TRX, but unfortunately no battle ropes.  The free weights go up to 50 lbs, which is good enough for some but not the heavier exercises.  Since I had already hit legs that morning at the Holiday Inn Express, I decided to get some HIIT done on the spin bike.

I was visible from the gate and moving walkway area in Concourse D/E, so I must have made quite the scene while huffing and puffing with maximum intensity spinning  After hitting 30 minutes of spin bike HIIT, I returned to the shower room to change.  Upon exit, the front desk lady asked me if I was training for an event.  I told her that I was flattered with that comment, and then left for Concourse A/B/C TSA Precheck security, which I crossed in mere minutes and my boarding pass wasn't even checked again.

Bottom line

As far as airport workouts are concerned, Roam Fitness is the best they'll get.  It would be nicer to have a power rack with barbells and plates along with heavier dumbbells, but Roam Fitness is good enough for most exercises.  It's not like you go to the airport specifically to workout as that's what gyms are for.  But for layovers, delays, or if you just want to get to the airport early to get a solid pre-flight workout in, Roam Fitness is the place to be.  It would be nice if Roam Fitness expanded to more airports across the U.S., and became a Priority Pass "lounge" instead of just Lounge Buddy.  If I were to find myself at BWI again, I would definitely hit the gym!

From all of us at Flying for Fitness, please stay healthy during this trying time.  We hope you enjoyed this post.  Please consider visiting one of our sponsors by clicking on the advertisements.  Our sponsors pay us for customer visits and help us to keep the lights on.  Thanks!