I’ve attended several gyms/saunas/spas in HCMC, in search of a decent exercise experience at a reasonable price. From the Park-Hyatt, which was possibly the most posh experience, to the Worker’s Center on Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, where the equipment was rusting and there was no air-con, I’ve hit the entire gamut and, I think, found something that works pretty well for me.
California Wow, a gym that in Thailand is cheap, runs about $150 a month here. The other hotel/high-rise gyms also run above a $100 US. Far too much for my current meager salary and often lacking in equipment or activities. So I go for other alternatives. Lan Anh is too noisy and, as mentioned, most of the smaller and older local gyms have outdated and dilapidated equipment. Thus, I go to Phòng Tập Fitness Phạm Văn Mách on Huyền Trân Công Chúa between NTMK and Nguyễn Du.
Located on the back side of the Worker’s complex it occupies a portion of the ground floor in a three story building with colonial aspirations. Itself a small fitness complex, various vendors offer sporting equipment, yoga training, coffee, and a gym. But in one of my weekend wanders I stopped in this gym to find it has air-con, is priced reasonably at VND300,00 a month (approximately USD$17), and only crowded during peak times. Unfortunately, I go during peak times, but you can’t have everything at that price.
After a month of working out I met the owner, Phạm Văn Mách, a man about half my height but so ripped that he could probably snap me like a twig. Only later did my buddy from Uzbekistan point out that half the pictures on the wall were of Mách. Mách has been a competitive body builder for eleven years winning all kinds of amateur awards and recently moving into professional competition. He is currently the top light-flyweight lifter in the WBPF-whatever that stands for-and is definitely an impressive specimen. I won’t link to his name but Google search him and you’ll get an idea. He’s a nice guy and he’s frequently at the gym.
Now, that said, I wouldn’t use his gym for aerobic workouts. (I stepped on a treadmill and it killed the electricity for five other machines. The bikes, for the most part, don’t have variable resistance, and the elliptical machines are designed for people with short legs.) He’s got a great selection of weight machines and free weights and for anaerobic workouts, I think probably the best show in HCMC. And he’s ordered new treadmills so that may change in the near future. For aerobic workouts, I find myself running in the park and swimming on the weekends.
Swimming pools are surprisingly abundant in HCMC. Unfortunately, the public pools all close at 18.00 hours, and often during lunchtime as well. So if you want to go for a swim after work you’ve got to pony up the bucks for a private pool. Too expensive for my taste. Instead I go for a jog most days that I actually get a workout. But even then, don’t try to do this on the street. Not only will you end up walking at a snail’s pace because of traffic, but if you actually do get to run you’ll twist your ankle in some unseen pothole or badly installed tile. And don’t do this during the day. It’s too hot to choose to run while the sun is in the sky.
I run in circles in the park after dark. It’s cooled off by then and the surface is reasonably flat. The central park area between Phạm ngũ Lão and Lê Lai has a 500 meter circuit. After a few times around you’ll figure out where the tree roots and cracks are and can avoid them easily. Yes, it means running in a circle, and yes, if you’re white, everyone will stare and comment as you go past. But if you need a workout, and if you’re in HCMC, this is the way to do it. Cheap, simple, and oh so repetitive. Otherwise, you’re paying thousands of dollars a year for a service you may or may not use.
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