Want a free subway ride in Russia? All you have to do is work up a little sweat.

In an effort to promote both the upcoming Olympic Games in Sochi and a healthier lifestyle, the Moscow metro has set up a special vending machine that offers travelers one free ticket in exchange for performing 30 squats.

“We wanted to show that the Olympic Games is not just an international competition that people watch on TV, but that it is also about getting everyone involved in a sporting lifestyle,” Alexander Zhukov, president of the Russian Olympic Committee, told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

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To gain a free ticket, subway riders must perform the squats in front of the machine and curious bystanders, and do them in under two minutes.

The machine will remain at the Vystavochaya station in the west of the Russian capital until Dec. 3. If performing squats isn’t your thing, Russia’s Olympic Committee also will be offering up more chances to “add elements of sport into daily life” including exercise bikes that produce electricity to charge your cellphone and turning hanging handles on buses into exercise bands, according to AFP.

If fitness isn’t really your thing, you can still pay 30 rubles (about 90 cents) to ride the subway instead.

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@Sleasca


stacey.leasca@latimes.com