WOW

An obnoxious name for a gym if you ask me.  The official name is actually California WOW Xperience.  I wrote a while back about choosing a gym in Bangkok and now that I’ve had the chance to workout there a dozen or so times I will blog more about my “Xperience” working out there. I have been going to the gym probably an average of 4 times per week during the past 8 or so years.  I have rarely taken breaks of over a few days which are usually due to sickness or traveling.  I also worked in a gym for most of the past 8 years so I would say I know a little about gyms.

Working out at WOW

If it not evident by visiting their official website it will be when you first set foot at the front desk.  WOW Xperience has more of a nightclub atmosphere than a gym.  Don’t believe me?  Head to the Asok gym which has a live DJ spinning right next to the front desk during most of the day! Every time I walk in the gym it feels like I’m part of a scene from the movie Bruno.

The music is so loud that heavy metal in my iPod needs to be cranked almost to full blast to drown out the sound of the extremely de-motivating techno which would likely be a fixture at any night club in San Francisco’s Castro district. There are probably around 100 speakers on the 3 floored fitness center.  The bottom floor has a women’s only center and some free weights and machines.

The middle floor has the front desk and a few cardio machines and the top floor is complete with around 200 cardio machines. It is relatively easy to use free weights, unlike the US there seems to always be a bench press or squat rack open as people tend to gravitate towards the machines.  The equipment is all top quality although just like 24 hour fitness in the US broken cardio equipment stays broken and most of the time doesn’t even get an out of order sign.

California WOW Xperience Advertising

California fitness takes advertising to a new level.  The advertising overload consists of huge posters of scantily clad models who are mostly super-model skinny, fixed television ads on the TVs in the cardio sections and little placards on every single cardio machine. It is interesting that every single TV (which there around 30) has a permanent rotating advertisement built in.  The brightly colored ads take up around 1/3 of one side of every single screen.

The ads usually consist of the standard scantily clad model or personal trainer with their collars popped like the Fonz.  They really don’t bother me too much but they add to the overall advertising overkill. The classes offered include “Planet Yoga” with the very cheesy Master Kamal, a cult hero of mine.  The guy is the real deal, a real yoga guy who is in great shape, but it’s just too cheesy for me.  Another class which I guess is popular in the USA is XXX pole dancing along with a private pilates class and the standard group of aerobics classes.

California WOW Gym Members

Perhaps the biggest difference between the gyms here in Bangkok and the gyms in the real California in the USA is the clientele.  In the 50 or so trips to multiple gyms I have yet to see a woman who weighs over 120 pounds.  There are very few Thai people over 40 who go to the gym as well.  You see your fair share of expats and travelers but for the most part it is young Thai people.

Finding Motivation

From living in Bangkok and not being as active as when I was riding bicycle all around San Francisco and training clients every day I have changed my body composition for the worse.  It doesn’t help that plentiful, cheap and often greasy  food is available at every corner. It seems every time I go to the gym I just don’t feel like working out.  I have tried to download some hard, loud heavy metal music which has seemed to work a bit.  One day I spent 30 minutes staring at the color changing neon lights on the cardio floor thinking about all the things I would like in the gym.  It motivated me to put together a pretty sarcastically cool list of the Top 10 Signs your Gym is Hardcore which unfortunately is the polar opposite of California Wow Xperience.

Muay Thai

I am a big fan of kickboxing and happen to live in the Mecca of Thai boxing.  When I originally moved to Bangkok I had plans to start Muay Thai lessons but it fell threw once I got in my awkward schedule, staying up early in the AM and waking up in the PM.  It was also hard to single out a not-so-serious Muay Thai school as I just want to do it for the workout not for getting punched, kicked, kneed, and elbowed in the face. They also have Thai Boxing rings set up at all  California WOW Xperiences but it is in front of everyone and I don’t think the trainers have any real experience to teach proper techniqe.  Hopefully I can find a Thai boxing gym to get some training sessions in the future.  For now I must just xperience California WOW and try to get the hang of it. Blog about Muy Thai Coming Soon

More Expensive than the USA ?

One of the benefits of living in Bangkok is the cost of living is much lower than most of the United States.   While living in Manhattan or San Francisco is much more expensive than Bangkok you have to realize that Bangkok is like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York all rolled into one for the Thais as it is the center of everything.

This being said, Bangkok which is actually the short version of, “Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit,” is more expensive than much of small town USA, at least if you want to live with the things you have grown accustomed to living in the USA.

I have been thinking about this the entire 2+ months I’ve been here so far and it has never been more apparent than in the last 2 days where I have been searching and looking for a gym.

California WOW

I previously had a membership at California Fitness WOW which is the large gym chain which people love to hate a-la 24 Hour Fitness, Planet Fitness, etc. back in the states.  The positives are multiple locations (w/ certain memberships) lots of equipment and space and of course the cheapest membership prices.

California fitness is okay with me.  It has loud music and cheesy marketing everywhere along with big crowds sometimes but that’s what an iPod is for.  There are 3 or 4 located withing comfortable distance from me so they were on the table but I wanted to see what was out there as well as see if I could get a better deal than 17,000 baht ($500) for the first year and then 3000 baht  ($87) each year thereafter, more on this later.

Other Bangkok Gyms

By no means is this going to be a complete review of all the gyms in this giant sprawled out city.  I was specifically looking for something convenient to my apartment which is close to the canal and the Phloen Chit & Nana BTS stations.  I would guess most people wouldn’t want to travel an hour across the city just to work out.  The primary criteria for a gym were a low price and convenient location.  Instead of immediately getting a California Fitness membership I decided to check out some gyms in my area.

Olympic Club (Patumwan Princess Hotel)

I first checked out the Olympic Club in the Patumwan Princess hotel which is attached to MBK shopping center because I lived right next door.  I heard the gym had a basketball court so I had to check it out.  The Thai owned Olympic Club was very nice, open and not too crowded.

The gym had a rooftop swimming pool with an incredible view of neon lit skyscrapers and the Siam shopping centers.  There were also tennis courts and a 1/2 international basketball court with the trapezoidal key.

The front desk staff were s very nice and spoke English well.  The prices were high but not too high.  A year paid in full membership was something like 26,500-29,000 baht but they also had discounts for using Citibank credit cards.

My plans to join the Olympic Club were dashed a bit when I decided to move away from the National Stadium BTS stop.  It is still only 3 stops plus a walk through MBK away but I wanted something cheaper to be honest.  I don’t use any amenities other than free weights and cardio machines so the tennis court and swimming pool is a little excessive.  I also could justify paying the extra money for a basketball court so I can embarrass my by shooting airballs all day.

Overall the Olympic club is very nice and would be a cool place to join if money isn’t an option, you want to impress friends from out of town or you really make good use out of all their amenities.

Vita Life Gym (Bumrungrad Hospital)

I had to check out Vita Life Gym in international hospital Bumrungrad next simply because it was within 3 minutes from my front door step.  It was pretty small and I could see outdated cardio machines and old free weights from outside but this really doesn’t matter to me.

I went in and they ended my interest by wanting a 5,500 baht ($160USD)  joining fee then 2,000 baht ($58) a month.  They mentioned the joining fee included a meeting with a doctor but I was not interested in joining a gym which looked like a glorified cheap hotel’s fitness center for far more than what I pay in San Francisco.

Fitness First (Landmark Hotel)

My last attempt at finding a true walking distance gym was Fitness First in the Landmark Hotel which was about a 15 minute walk through traffic.  I was desperate for a workout and had just drank a couple cups of coffee.  When I got there I immediately noticed the nice Landmark Hotel and I figured Fitness First would be expensive.  First I asked how much was a month membership which I don’t remember the actual price but it was expensive.  I then asked for a day membership and it was something over 1,000 baht!

I should have saw it coming but when I asked for a year membership the next thing I was asked to sit down with a sales person which I just had it so I left.  I new California WOW was going to be my gym.

Getting to and Fro My Gym

I have the choice of going to any of the 9 (I think) locations of various sized California WOW gyms to head to.  They are usually right next to a BTS stop so getting to them means walking to a BTS station first if I don’t feel like walking 30 minutes to get there.  I decided to visit the closest gym so I first got to the (Sukhumvit 23) California WOW by taking the BTS to the nearby Asok and walking a couple minutes to the entrance.  On the way back I thought I’d be adventurous and take a canal taxi back!

I started walking in the general direction of the canal which I thought would be 5 minutes and turned out to be more like 15 picking up an iced pearl tea and friend bananas on the way.  I got to the canal and went down to catch the taxi and it was 100% full to the brim.  I didn’t feel like waiting for another so I decided to jog along the path.

Jogging along the path only took around 15 minutes but running along the not surprisingly filthy canal and its surroundings had me feeling like I should either wear a mask or go get a shot after.  The interesting thing is there are people living in shanties with mud caused by the canal, raising their own chickens right next to nice condos with Mercedes parked outside them.  I got back from the jog sweating like a swine but I enjoyed the fact that I could jog back from the Asok California Wow without getting delayed 50 times due to traffic.  Welcome to Thailand, again I guess!