Weight Lifting in Chiang Mai

[whtouche]

Hi All. I'm new to this forum (and to Thailand) having just arrived at the beginning of November. I'm living and training muay Thai in San Kamphaeng for six months and am having an awful time locating a decent weight lifting gym in the area. I've given up on there being anything closer than Chiang Mai, but even reading through basically every post on this forum I've found with the search terms "gym", "free weights", etc, I haven't found much useful.

So, I am in San Kamphaeng but can take the white songtaew to Chiang Mai pretty easily. This drops me off, I think?, at the Waroros Market. Can anyone please recommend a gym nearby with olympic barbells and free weights? I have no use for cardio machines, no use for weight machines. I only need a barbell and plates, and maybe a squat rack.

My searches have turned up a couple of leads. "City Gym" - which has no website, and a facebook page that hasn't been updated in about two years - sounds like it would be good. Does anyone know if they still operate? I sent them a message on facebook but have gotten no response.

I also read somewhere about "Tanawan Complex 2 Gym" - but have no idea what that is or where, can anyone offer more details? Google searches have failed me.

It was also mentioned briefly in one of these old threads that the gym at the Centara Duangawan hotel is decent, but the website doesn't mention cost or facilities - can anyone confirm the existence of a good free weights set there? It seems like it would be the closest to where the white truck would bring me, which would be ideal.

And finally, Fitness Thailand appears to exist, but both their website as well as comments on this forum have not been thorough discussing the presence (or lack) of free weights. Someone mentioned they don't have olympic barbells, or full-diameter plates, and that their barbells start to bend when loaded with over 250 lbs (~113 kg?) Can anyone confirm this?

Sorry to start another gym topic but I've voraciously read through the archives and still not quite found what I'm looking for. I just want a place I can lift at once a week or so so that I don't lose all my strength while I'm here training full time. Thanks, all.

[LarryBird]

Central Kad Suan Kaew has what you're looking for. Very simple gym, 40 baht entry fee. Bunch of meatsticks walking around with their shirts off. Good times.

[A1Str8]

I would recommend Fitness Thailand(it has a website just Google it)...other than that there is a gym in the shopping mall Kad Suan Kaew top floor. This one is cheap and basic. The others like Powerhouse on Nimmanhaemin or Harris in the hotel behind Kad Suan Kaew are more expensive and fancy.

Edited November 25, 2013 by A1Str8

[infernalman7]

I would personally recommend either Powerhouse or Harris but both places are pretty packed at peak hours.

Fitness Thailand otherwise is pretty good as well but I just cannot stand the location and parking.

[Awk]

I would personally recommend either Powerhouse or Harris but both places are pretty packed at peak hours.

Fitness Thailand otherwise is pretty good as well but I just cannot stand the location and parking.

Second time I see somebody complaining about parking. When is the parking house full? I bought a one month membership at FT to try (just finished the one month),

and have never experienced any parking problems.

The other day I visited Harris Gym, thinking I'll try that too for month, but this gym is too small. Even in the morning, it was half full. It seems like a decent hotel gym (though I guess it's not affiliated with the hotel) and has the required squat rack, but the weight room is a small fraction the size of FT, even though a lot of the equipment in FT is out of order. Forgot to notice if the plates were standard size or not. The FT plates unfortunately are not. Even the barbell is not the standard weight. :-( Bending? Never loaded more than 110kg of plates on the barbells there myself, but not noticed any bending. Guess I still have some kg to go.

A long time since I was last at City gym, but somebody else here recently indicated it was still open. Don't remember if the plates there were standard, but I remember thinking this is the best gym in CM at the time (except that there was no women there, and it's out in the nowhere), so would guess both the plates and barbells were of the standard size. Think you will have a hard, or expensive, time going regularly to this gym without your own transportation though.

Gym at centara would be the closest I think. Walking distance from Warorot market. Never been there myself. A long walk away would be the old 700 year stadium, where there is also a 400m running track. Cost there is 20b per time (possibly half price if you buy a membership, if they still sell that), and is very basic. Good enough for many people though, and I've used it myself for months at a time.

Edited November 26, 2013 by Awk

[hml367]

whtouche,

To clear this up and before anyone jumps on my questions, I am not suggesting anything or trying to contradict anything. I just wonder what your Muay Thai coach suggests for this type of training (weights, etc.), if you don't mind sharing.

[whtouche]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtful and helpful replies. I think I'm going to have to spend a half day sometime soon checking out a few different places. If City Gym is indeed still open and I can find it I think that would be ideal - if I do find it I'll be sure to update everyone.

I haven't really spoken to the trainers here about weight training, but due to the language barrier it's hard to speak to them about most things The gym owner though speaks english and has helped me out in my search for a gym; we haven't spoken specifically about how lifting and muay Thai align themselves, but I don't get the impression it's a problem. I think it's pretty well accepted sport science at this point that if you weight train correctly with proper goals then it can only help.

Since I'm already training full time I don't plan to lift more than once a week, not just because it's logistically difficult but also I don't want to burn myself out. I do have a decent strength advantage though, not just over people I train with but most people in general, especially people my size, so I think it would be helpful to at least try to maintain that.

Thanks again for the tips - and keep them coming if there are more on the way. It'll probably be the weekend before I'm able to make a trip to CM to check out any of these places, but as soon as I do I'll post on what I find.

[donniereadit]

There are numerous hole in the wall Thai gyms around, but very sketchy equipment. You can get some reps in, just make sure the bench is solid first!

Basically just someones backyard shed setup. Walking round other people etc. Let me know if you need a location. 30 baht per session, 500 a year.

I know for sure that buying your own is very expensive here. Some import thing I guess. But Sportsworld in Central Airport Plaza does have free weights available.

Tried better gyms at a couple hotels (Hillside Plaza 4 and one by Kad Suan Kaew) but not really my scene, still prefer the local one even though the equipment is sub par.

Edited November 26, 2013 by donniereadit

[hml367]

Thank you for your reply, OP

[DerekAbroad]

OP How much weight are you wanting?

A housemate has recently started going to City Gym, but he's in the Philippines until December, so I can't tell you location/price. However, I can say that he said it's "legit" and has plenty of weight. We both use over 250lbs on a barbell.

I've been going to 700 Year Stadium out of convenience- I knew where it was, unlike City Gym until recently. 700 costs 30 for nonmembers and 15 for members per visit. If you're asking about 250lbs+, then I would say 700 lacks... a lot.

Sadly, both of these gyms are too far to walk from the market. A red truck could take you to 700, but it won't be cheap. City Gym would be too difficult to explain, but I think it's actually closer to the market. Maybe find a cheap drop-off in between? It would be the best no-frills, I-just-wanna-lift joint.

Powerhouse is ridiculously expensive. It costs more here than my membership did in the States, same chain. I'd work out there if I could get the discount a Thai friend has, which a worker at Powerhouse said doesn't exist (no discounts for anybody).

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Awk]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtful and helpful replies. I think I'm going to have to spend a half day sometime soon checking out a few different places. If City Gym is indeed still open and I can find it I think that would be ideal - if I do find it I'll be sure to update everyone.

I haven't really spoken to the trainers here about weight training, but due to the language barrier it's hard to speak to them about most things The gym owner though speaks english and has helped me out in my search for a gym; we haven't spoken specifically about how lifting and muay Thai align themselves, but I don't get the impression it's a problem. I think it's pretty well accepted sport science at this point that if you weight train correctly with proper goals then it can only help.

Since I'm already training full time I don't plan to lift more than once a week, not just because it's logistically difficult but also I don't want to burn myself out. I do have a decent strength advantage though, not just over people I train with but most people in general, especially people my size, so I think it would be helpful to at least try to maintain that.

Thanks again for the tips - and keep them coming if there are more on the way. It'll probably be the weekend before I'm able to make a trip to CM to check out any of these places, but as soon as I do I'll post on what I find.

Then I'd just go to the old 700 year centre in the city, just next to the Chang Puak bus station. For training once a week, this gym is perfectly adequate imo and it is possible to walk there from the market. Barbells are very non-standard (and short), and so are the plates, but you are not doing olympic weight lifting, just lifting weight, and for that it's good enough. Has a squat rack, has a floor for deadlifts, and is where I lifted the occasional weights when I was in your shoes 10 years ago.

Oh, and I btw looked a little closer at the barbell at Fitness Thailand today. Yes, it does bend, at 110 kg (and possibly less).

[limegreenpatato]

If you're getting dropped off at the market from sankamphang. your best bet is the gym at centara. The equipment is in good condition and aside from not having a squat rack (you can just clean the weight up and do front squats anyway) its got everything you need to supplement your muay thai training. Plus a pool and sauna.

You can pretty much train there for free as no one will stop you if you just walk into the gym.

[Mister Al]

Hi there,

If you are looking for a powerrack, an olympic barbell you can load until 130 kg and free weights until 35 kg with the possibility to have professional training advise, then I would recommend to come to my place: Cumpun Guest House. Its like 5 minutes walk from the warorot market. You can easily find us back on google maps as well. Monthly price negotiable .

I was actually looking where to buy weight plates in Chiang Mai and I ended up here. Does anybody has 2nd hand weight plates of 20 kg for an olympic barbell (so the diameter of the hole should be 2 inch) for sale?

No sports shop with decent weight lifting equipment to find here, it all has to come from Bkk if I don't find anybody in Chiang Mai.

Thanks in advance!

Grtz