Though they are primarily used for exercise, gymnasiums also serve as social hubs, pairing like-minded patrons for fitness quests and newly single medicine balls for dates with coquettish stairmasters. Mingle among fitness equipment with today's Groupon: for $20, you get 3 one-day guest passes to the Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center, located on the campus of Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove (a $45 value).

Voted 2011's #1 Fitness Center by Suburban Focus, Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center’s 90,000-square-foot workout compound facilitates user-friendly body sculpting through its vast array of fitness and recreation equipment. Calibrated to absorb the pressure from running, walking, and galloping astride stick horses, the cushioned indoor track supports moving feet with a stress-free surface. Demonstrate a synchronized-swimming act in one of three pools, or take on a revivifying blast of vaporized water in the sauna and steam room. Patrons can build biceps and tone tensors with machine-bound and free weights or stack barbells until the pile resembles their favorite president. Flanked by a squadron of rowing machines and stationary bikes, a floor stocked with ellipticals, stair steppers, and treadmills keeps heart rates pumped.

Dedicated to fitness equality, the Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center's knowledgeable staff clarifies fitness-related quandaries, from demonstrating top lifting form to naming every human bone in backward-alphabetical order. Though today's Groupon is only valid for guest passes, the center also schedules a slew of fitness classes, including tai chi, Pilates, and yoga, in its four exercise studios.