Girly Man Gym…

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  • #7936
    Avatar photoBrendan
    Moderator

    Does anyone have any recommendations for a decent gym in the city, preferable one that carries some decent weights! I’ve been hearing that many gyms have dumbbells that max out at 80lbs, which lets face it, is girly man weight!!

    Is this just a stereo typing myth, or do in fact gyms in Chengdu only cater to girly men!?

    Please dispel my fears!! 😉

    #11878
    Avatar photoSascha
    Participant

    all good man, girly man gyms are not the norm, most places have great weight selections. Yulin Life Plaza used to have a great one on the second or third floor, I am sure its still there. let us know here if it is and do a review 😉

    #11887
    Avatar photoRay
    Participant

    Man, i’ve been going to the gym at Sichuan uni. for 3 years. it is absolutely NOT a girly gym (no shower, no energy shakes or hi-tech equipment). It’s truly a no-frills, old school, free -weight gym (sure you’ll have guys staring endlessly into the mirrors, but that’s China). I’ve been to fancy gyms which look great, until you realize that they don’t have, say, a 20 kg dumb bell. Also, some well-known gyms have gone broke over the years here; people rock up for their work out, only to find the doors locked!

    P.S _ if you go to the Chuan Da gym in the morning or early afternoon, you’ll oten be the only one there. Nights can be a bit crowded with the staring-into-the-mirror boys….

    #11888
    Avatar photoBrendan
    Moderator

    Guys staring endlessly into mirrors… Hilarious, and a must see!!

    #11896
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    This is kind of an unrelated question, but has anyone seen a personal trainer in Chengdu before? I’m curious about the benefits and associated costs. The reason why I ask is twofold: I pretty much have no idea what I’m doing and I’m not sure I’m disciplined enough to see results as fast as I’d like.

    #11899
    Avatar photoRay
    Participant

    I,m not sure about getting a personal trainer here, and some of the “trainers” i’ve seen at the fancy gyms have some pretty unorthodox methods Eg. arched back, feet not anchored when benching, crazy hip-bending, no hydrating pre or during training. These days the web has lotsa good sites for getting started or finding a suitable training program. One webiste that i’ve used is http://www.netfit.co.uk. This has beginner and more advanced regiments.

    A trainer can motivate you but a good gym buddy is just as important (and much cheaper!). Finally, going to the gym is like cooking; everybody has their own opinions and preferences and what works for others may not be your cup of tea..

    #11900
    Avatar photoBrendan
    Moderator

    I’ve trained professional level athletes in a formal life Charlie, along with prepping bodybuilders into shape for contest. I ran an independent gym in the UK for 3 years, and spent many as a serious bodybuilder myself, though never competing. I’m still pretty dedicated, just because I love to train, and as I get older my vanity won’t allow be to become a sad sack who once was!! I’m sure I could kick your arse into shape, though it wouldn’t be no skip through the meadows wearing daisy chains!! 😉

    And tigerkuma you’re seeing what everyone with a training brain cell sees 99% of the time with so called ‘Trainers’, the big gyms being the worst culprits for this. Sadly Personal Training has become a firm fixture in the business model of these places, with emphasis not on client results, but number of sessions sold. If I want to I can become an accredited trainer online… Yeah right! It’s taken me 20+ years to learn what I know, and I’m still learning even today.

    An absolutely fantastic site is http://exrx.net/

    It has a wealth of information on exercise technique, function, kinesiology, mechanics, anatomy, and much more.

    This is me a while back, just to confirm my non pencil neck status: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=254996&l=1528a28b69&id=662390425

    #11902
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    word, I will definitely have to gleam some guidance from you, then. I’ll check out exrx.net and netfit. Thanks for the tips, guys.

    #11903
    Avatar photoBrendan
    Moderator

    Werd!

    #11921
    Avatar photoBrendan
    Moderator

    For what it’s worth I’ve joined a 25 (?) Hour Fitness, which turns out to be less than 5 minutes walk from my apartment, and has cost only 1200RMB for 6 months (1680RMB would have got me a year). The gym is just east of Wenshu Monastery subway station, virtually above a supermarket. It’s been there for 5 years apparently, so it’s showing a bit of wear and tear, but it’s spacy, with plenty of equipment and essentially, plenty of plates, but the dumbbells do cap at 70lbs which just means getting creative, but all in all a decent place for the money.

    I still haven’t seen any decent whey protein, only concentrates, albeit insanely overpriced. I did see some ProLab whey, which although is still concentrate, is a good quality product so long as you’re not lactose intolerant, but not at 800RMB for a 5lb tub!! I paid $25 trade for the same tub back home, so no way that equates! The search is on for finding (or supplying) decent whey proteins.

    If anyone else here sees anything worth a mention, perhaps you could post for the benefit of anyone else looking.

    #20014
    Avatar photoBrian #10
    Participant

    bump. any good gyms in the Century City area? thanks!

    #20015
    Avatar photoVincent
    Participant

    This thread was so confusing until I realized it was a bump.

    #20018
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster
    Quote:
    bump. any good gyms in the Century City area? thanks!

    Yeah, QSL Fitness which is where I go. It’s in the A area of the software park, opposite the Chengda Tower. If you’re walking from the tower, you’ll walk past a China Construction Bank and QSL will be ahead on the left, fourth floor.

    #20024
    Avatar photoJerryS
    Participant

    I teach BJJ at 25 Hours on Sunday from 11-1. If its close to you, come train. Had a good showing there this past Sunday (few guys from Beijing came). Which might lead me to do a seminar in Beijing, keeping my fingers crossed!

    But yea, the weights suck in CD if you want to go Brooklyn rage on your muscles.

    #20027
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster
    Quote:
    I teach BJJ at 25 Hours on Sunday from 11-1. If its close to you, come train.

    I might come check that out – I assume you guys are no-Gi?

    #20028
    Avatar photoEric
    Participant

    I heard some good stuff about the Gym near the stadium?

    And holy fuck, century city is far. I only go there for the anime conventions. 8)

    #20029
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster
    Quote:
    And holy fuck, century city is far. I only go there for the anime conventions. 8)

    Not unless you live at the North Train Station. I can get to Century City from my neighborhood (Yulin) a lot faster than Chunxi Lu, especially when you factor in traffic. From where I live Chunxi Lu and Century City are equally distant but the traffic around Chunxi Lu is horrendous.

    #20030
    Avatar photoJerryS
    Participant

    Gi and no gi.

    I wish i can use the facility, but we are only allowed to use the room and nothing more…

    #20031
    Avatar photoEric
    Participant

    @Jerry What about the one near the Korean Consulate with the pool?

    @Charlie And I live near the Jinjiang Station. I subway if I have to go down there, but it’s like a freaking hour.

    #20032
    Avatar photoJerryS
    Participant

    I was referring to 25 hours and the club i teach (not run, just teach).

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