Fitness, sports, and finding a gym in Moscow

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Moscow is a sports capital of Russia, offering ample opportunities for any kinds of sports. Below is a brief introduction to a list of popular sports activities, and be sure to also look at our A-Z listings page for recommended health clubs, sports copmlexes and more.

Auto and motorcycle clubs

If you’re a driving fan, a car or motorcycle owner, the information on Moscow auto and motorcycle clubs may be useful for you.

Moscow counts quite a lot of such associations, each engaged in its own activity. Thus there are cabriolet and roadster clubs, women’s auto club, clubs named after cars’ and motorcycles’ makes and models. Every club also has its own history, traditions and participants range.

Auto clubs find companies or agencies rendering services necessary to their members or offering some goods or products the driver needs. Many clubs organise exhibitions and competitions, especially if their activity relates to sports driving or cars collecting.

Athletic clubs

Moscow athletic clubs are usually both sports clubs and fitness clubs. They include people developing their mastery, polishing up their professional skills and proficiency – sportsmen who got past the point separating amateur and professional.

These clubs are open for sportsmen, juniors, beginning athletes and those who consider sports not as a hard work but as an option to maintain their physical fitness. Every club employs coaches and specialists helping to choose the corresponding training as a personal exercise program. If you are ready to work on your body and health, these clubs are for you. Try Gold’s Gym or Planet Fitness.

Flying clubs

Flying clubs and schools provide ample opportunities to every person wishing to engage in extreme flying sports. These entities train to operate airplanes, helicopters, and hang-gliders as well as parachute jumping. Practically all flying clubs in Moscow offer training amateur pilots and training in flying school.

The first Russian flying club – Kubinsky Air-Technical Sports Club ROSTO (DOSAAF) was opened in 2004 — it still remains one of the largest flying clubs in the Moscow Region. Besides the pilot training, this club provides unique opportunities like parachute sports, parachute jumps and parachute acrobatic courses.

Swimming pools

There are many swimming pools in Moscow – both working independently and functioning within the network of fitness clubs or health complexes. It is allowed to swim in a pool for any length of time, day and night. However, it is necessary to provide a medical certificate of health issued by the medical institutions of Moscow after undergoing a health examination.

Many Moscow swimming pools water are quite chlorinated for disinfection. If you dislike swimming in chlorinated water, please choose a pool with ozone treatment. However, some pools may use both chlorination and ozone treatment together.

Bring a swimming cap, slippers and a towel. In addition, practically every swimming pool has a café or restaurant and a relaxation room. Checkrooms with individual lockers and hair-dryers are also mandatory.

Golf clubs

The first Russian “Moscow city Golf Club” was the only one in the country for many years. In 1987 Sven Tumba Johansson, Swedish hockey player and world champion, obtained permission to construct a golf field on Dovzhenko Street. Since then golf has increased in popularity in Russia thanks to the Moscow City Golf Club.

The total game distance at the club is 2,343 meters with technical golfing terrain like narrow fairways, tight greens, and ponds. Celebrities like Pele, Mike Tyson, Sven Tumba, and Alexander Ragulin made the symbolic club a hit by spending time on the green as well as in the clubhouse.

Karting clubs

In the last few years carting has become an extremely popular sport and leisure activity in Moscow. Even for those who have never driven a car or ridden a bicycle, the go-kart craze has also caught on to families, students, and even corporate management teams.

Paintball clubs

Paintball is an original war game, recreation, sport, and entertaining hobby. Like billiards, bowling, and many other kinds of corporate and family outdoor activities, these leisure activities in Moscow recently grew in popularity in the woods and parks of Moscow. Now there exist many paintball clubs in the city to join for all ages.

There are several playing grounds with various conditions, some of them are equipped with all-weather warm grounds and warm locker rooms. Others offer spacious and comfort zonesto relax between games, and some have observation platforms.

Reliable equipment is usually provided, though it’s also possible to take advantage of equipment shops. Try Paintland Paintball Sport Club, open between 9:00 to 19:00; or Paintball Club Russia.

Sports clubs

Moscow sports clubs offer many sports and recreational programs in different kinds of sports as well as outdoor activity locations, from football to dancing, rock climbing to horse-racing.

There are also versatile sports centers where a whole complex of services can be provided. In these multi-sports clubs, one can pursue aerobics and aqua aerobics, attend fitness centers, swimming pools, skating rinks and rock-climbing walls.

Rollerdromes

Skateboarding and rollerblading is very popular in Moscow, and there are many centers in the Russian capital and large indoor sports centers where any time of the year it is possible to rollerblade and skateboard. Skateboarding is also popular in the city, and many skareparks exist already or are being constructed.

A specially equipped ground with a special coating for rollerblading is called a rollerdrome. The zone for professionals on the rollerdrome usually has equipment for professional to try their tricks, like fun boxes and ramps. Amateurs and beginners can rent roller-skates and protective gear and have lessons from skilled instructors. Below is a list of popular rollerdomes:

Locstream rollerdrome
125a Bol. Cherkizovskaya Str.
+7 (495) 161-86-30

RollHoll Rollerdrome
3 Kholodilny Ave.
+7 (495) 954-01-58

Rollerdrome (Kant) Sports Club
7 Electrolitny Proezd, building 2
+7 (495) 317-61-01

Fantasy Park
100 Lyublinskaya Str.
+7 (495) 641-34-51

Adrenalin Sports and Entertainment Center
1 Chermyansky Proezd
+7 (495) 221-01-05

Sport complexes

Moscow sports complexes offer a combination of different sports fields: track and field, skating rinks, swimming pools, rowing channels, snow skiing and tobogganing runs, jumps, bicycle tracks, shooting grounds, stadiums with sports arenas and competitive sports grounds and horse-racing facilities. The majority host sports clubs, schools and sports sections for children.

Tennis courts

Tennis is one of the most popular kinds of amateur sports and is a status leisure in urban culture. Courts in Moscow suite any preference — open, indoors, and flooring from clay to artificial grass and natural lawns.

Tennis courts are usually in and around sport complexes. Most always there will be a nearby rental center, convenient locker rooms and a leisure area with cafes, restaurants, and tennis equipment stores.

Shooting ranges

Shooting ranges, grounds and clubs in Moscow offer training in archery, rifle, pistol, quick fire, trap shooting and clay pigeon shooting. In Russia, shooting grounds are open or indoors, with shooting distances of 10, 25, 35, 50 and 100 meters. Hunters can receive advice from expert coaches, while children and other adults can learn archery or arbalest shooting. Regardless, the sport is a rich tradition in the country, as is the general sport culture.