Where is a good freeweights gym near Victory Monument, or within a few kilometers of it?

[proovms]

Hi,

I've had a search on the forums and the internet, but a lot of the information is a few years old. I recently moved from Chiang Mai to Victory Monument area and I was hoping to join cheapish gym. Ideally I would like the price to be less than 2000 per month, preferably closer to 1000, and be within a few stops of Victory Monument BTS, or a few KM by taxi. I don't plan to use much of the cardio machines, so I'm not too worried about those for the moment.

I have read about a gym close to Phayathai BTS, so I'll have a look around there soon to see if it still exists.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

proovms

[celso]

There is Rocky Gym near ratchatewi BTS station, towards the bridge. Not sure if it is still open.

North of victory monument there's nothing, I've searched thoroughly. Very bad area for gyms.

Fitness First (BTS Siam) and True Fitness (BTS chitlom) are both slightly under 2000 baht per month. But there is joining fees.

Edited May 10, 2014 by celso

[fishbrando]

These days, Fitness First is quite a bit more than 2000 baht/month, even for the basic membership and even if you sign up for 2 years, IIRC. The Fitness First at Siam is a Platinum club so you need the appropriate membership to go there.

The gym near Phaya Thai is Now's Fitness. I went to check it out a couple of times - it was really crowded and had no squat rack. Pretty cheap, though - I recall it was something on the order of 1100 baht/month, so you get what you pay for.

If you're willing to take a taxi or bus, I'd recommend going to Powerzone gym.

https://www.facebook.com/powerzonethailand

Last time I went to this place, I hopped on a bus and it took me to within a few blocks of there. The bus stopped at Victory Monument so that bus might be good for you. Powerzone is a barebones-but-serious gym with serious freeweights, owned by the former Mr. Thailand. Warning - there's no air conditioning, so bring plenty of water. When I worked out there, I had a good sweat but I wasn't doing cardio so I didn't overheat or anything. There are showers but no towel service or soap or anything, so you have to bring everything. You should also bring a small lock for your locker.

[fishbrando]

Oh, I should mention, Powerzone Gym is not in the correct location on Google Maps. If you find Prachakhom Church, that is the real location. I'd say it is around 3km from Victory Monument as the crow flies.

[fishbrando]

Finally - day pass is 250 baht for Powerzone. Not sure what monthly is but I think it is quite cheap. There's a Thai restaurant and smoothie bar there as well so you can eat and have a smoothie after your workout.

[proovms]

I went to Now's Fitness underneath Phayathai BTS today. The man on the desk told me it was 400 baht per day or 2900 per month. I think that's far too expensive for what they have in there, considering the one in Siam Paragon is 3000 baht per month.

Here's the website: http://www.nowsfitness.com/

I will have a look at the Powerzone one, thanks for the help so far.

If someone has another recommendation, that would be great too.

Thanks again,

proovms

Edited May 12, 2014 by proovms

[fishbrando]

2900 per month is really steep for Now's Fitness! Much better to get a Platinum membership at Fitness First.

[proovms]

There's a nice gym at the National Stadium, right next to MBK that is 1200 baht per month, I'm going to give them a try for a month, and then I'll try the Powerzone one. Thanks for your help.

[fishbrando]

Sounds like a great deal - are they well-equipped? Squat racks/power racks/benches?

[proovms]

Sorry for the long delay, I've been quite busy. They have multiple benches, but no squat or power racks. I saw some people push 2 benches back to back to use that as a squat rack though.

The dumbbells only go up to 50lbs, but that's all I want at the moment as I've been out of the gym for a couple of years.

Here's a good video that someone made about the gym.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx1Hf3d0gTY

[fishbrando]

Thanks for the info! Looks pretty good.