Where Is The Nearest Kick Boxing Gym?

[Richb2004v2]

Does anyone know of a kick boxing gym either in Ban Chang or Rayong, or even where the nearest one is? It took me some time to find a normal gym in the area so I arn't too hopefull of finding one but who knows. When I first came to Thailand I thought every town would have one, but that was very wrong. I know there are probably plenty in Pattaya but I don't really wish to travel there a few times a week.

Thanks.

[podgey]

Thers's a new gym and spa that has just opened up in bangchang. They teach thai boxing there also. I was handed a flyer on the second floor of tesco yesterday and as far as i know they will be there for awhile.

It looks impressive from the flyer and i will proberly give it a go in the near future, when i get around to it, tommorow or the day after...

Follow the soi falang towards the bangchang palace and its on top of the hill on your right, inside the housng estate with the blue roofs.

I have heard that there are local boxers around bangchang that do private lessons at your house or thiers, but i dont have any numbers.

[Soutpeel]

Follow the soi falang towards the bangchang palace and its on top of the hill on your right, inside the housng estate with the blue roofs.

And it not open yet.....

[Richb2004v2]

Thers's a new gym and spa that has just opened up in bangchang. They teach thai boxing there also. I was handed a flyer on the second floor of tesco yesterday and as far as i know they will be there for awhile.

It looks impressive from the flyer and i will proberly give it a go in the near future, when i get around to it, tommorow or the day after...

Follow the soi falang towards the bangchang palace and its on top of the hill on your right, inside the housng estate with the blue roofs.

I have heard that there are local boxers around bangchang that do private lessons at your house or thiers, but i dont have any numbers.

Thats great. Thanks a lot I will look into it.

[Richb2004v2]

We saw the guy with the flyer's today and then went to take a look at the new facility. It is due to open on Sunday but it currently looks like it might be very close. There isn't any sign of equipment yet and there were a few workers busy there. On first impression it looks very nice but a little small. I can't imagine there being that much equipment there if they are going to have weights, fitness and kick boxing. I look forward to checking it out on Sunday. It will be a huge bonus for me if it turns out to be good.

[Richb2004v2]

I used the new Gym today and was very pleased with it. The weight room is small but very well equipped, with plenty of free weights and high quality machines. The cardio room is also well stocked with what seem like good machines. As well as this there is a decent sized pool and health Spa. My only gripe was with the over enthusiasm of the assistant in the weight room. Even though I explained many many times that I have been working out a long, long time and didn't want advice he kept giving it to me. This isn't really a bad thing though and I'm sure he will be very good with beginners. I paid 1600 Baht for one months membership, for use between 10am and 4pm, which I think is fair. This is by far the best gym I have seen in Thailand outside Bangkok. Another improvement and benefit for Ban Chang. I now no longer have to drive to Rayong three times per week. Brilliant.

[bori]

I'm doing some kick boxing lessons in the morning with leng, who held a middleweight title for a long time evidently, he was also doing private lessons in the bang chang community for the last 3 years, 10 one hour sessions for about 6000 baht. Really good fitness.

I like the gym, good equipment. Massage opens next week i think.

The swimming pool is really green, when i asked about it they said it's green because it's a salt water pool...i think it just needs more salt or a clean, because it looks like an algea bloom.

[Richb2004v2]

I'm doing some kick boxing lessons in the morning with leng, who held a middleweight title for a long time evidently, he was also doing private lessons in the bang chang community for the last 3 years, 10 one hour sessions for about 6000 baht. Really good fitness.

I like the gym, good equipment. Massage opens next week i think.

The swimming pool is really green, when i asked about it they said it's green because it's a salt water pool...i think it just needs more salt or a clean, because it looks like an algea bloom.

The problem with Leng is that his English is very limited. Of course my Thai is even worse, so it is difficult for him to give instruction. I did an hours trial lesson during which there were a dozen kids diving around all around us, kicking the bag and playing with the equipment.

The gym is generally good, but after using it for almost two weeks I have found that about 20% of the equipment is not as good as it should be. The leg press is terrible, the leg extension is not well engineered and a couple of other bits of equipment are not good. Its obvious that they didn't have anyone check the stuff who knows how it should all work. The flooring is already lifting badly too. There are too many windows and not enough mirrors. Anyone thats been to a gym knows that there should be mirrors so that you can see what your doing. The instructors in my opinion are not experienced and know nothing but the absolute basics, read from an instruction manual.

Its amazing that within a week of being open the pool is green, and a few days later it is out of use. How can this be? Surely it wasn't the first time the pool installers had done such a job .

I've used the gym about ten days of the last two weeks and so far have not seen another customer during the day at all. I saw two Thais using it in the evening once. I don't see it being open too long if they don't get some members in.

It seems to me that the owners have no experience of either owning a gym or even using one, which makes me wonder why they thought it would be a good idea to open one and who they figured their members would be.

I made the mistake of asking the owner, in front of his staff, how things were going and if he had many customers on an evening. He ensured me that he had 'many, many members. Too many.'

With this in mind I would have thought that they would be trying to drum up interest from people like me. Or not. I was at Tesco yesterday where they still have an advertising stand. There was a girl on the stand wearing the gym T-shirt. As people walked past you would expect her to be trying to attract potential members. Was she? No, she had her back to them playing on a Playstation That should work.

I am still pleased that the gym has opened and it is still the best one I have used in Thailand, I'm just once again baffled by the Thai logic .

[bori]

All good points and accurate, overall still the best in bangchang though. I agree that the staff there are a bit limited, i think the company has no previous gym or spa buissnesses. Timber exporters and land developers or something i think. I was a bit disapointed when i used the gym today, some of the equipment is out of balance. The pool is blue again though.

I like that there's not many people using it during the day. I dont want people laughing at my "overweight, exhausted style" mauy thai.

I will continue to use it i think, just have to wait for my back to come good again.

[Richb2004v2]

Yes, I quite like the quite too. It beats having a gym full of Thais rubbing themselves with Tiger Balm every five minutes and leaving that and perspiration all over the equipment, which I had at my old gym. The problem is that quite gyms don't normally stay open too long. The instructors have also given up trying to get me to follow their well meaning but useless instructions, so I'm enjoying it more now. Anyway, its kind of like having my own private gym . Plus the AC guys were in the other day so hopefully they will be turned on when I go tomorrow.

[Richb2004v2]

After five weeks away I am home again and returned to the new Ban Chang gym. I still haven't seen any other customers at all. The gym has actually deteriorated in the short time since it opened. The floor has completely lifted and is a trip hazard and the instructors are even more useless than at the beginning. I also got charged 200 baht more for my months membership than I did the first time. I guess that in Thailand people only exercise under the cover of darkness . Is anyone else still using this gym?

[podgey]

Yep, i hav'nt used it since last month. I thought the same though, after my initial membership ran out, i dont think i will renew it. I was getting a bit tired of the staff, always lurking around being a nuissance. I will excersise at home i think.