Soon to be expatriated to HK
Fri, 2005-12-30 16:16 — samr2004
Hey everyone! First of all I'd like to say how thrilled I am to soon join the honorable ranks of the Hong Kong expatriate community!!! I depart the United States on January 8th a mere 5 months and 18 days since I first visited in July. I am fortunate to have met many wonderful and outstanding people while there who have made my preparations nothing but wonderful so most of the questions I have thought up in the past months have been answered to the full, however, I was wondering if anyone could offer any suggestions about where a good gym is to join. I would require personal training services but it doesn't have to be too fancy. Thanks for your help!
Gym
I used Fitness First and liked their gym facilities and various fitness programs. They're a bit pricey comparing to the local ones, e.g. Physical. However, I never had to wait in line to get their facilities. It doesn't get very crowded so it creates fairly relaxing environment. Most importantly, the staff there are not hard-selling type... trying to sell you extra services/membership etc. They have personal training services as well.
Gyms
Just another point you might want to consider, samr, is that many housing developments in Hong Kong, especially the newer ones, provide very nice gyms of their own. I live in a big complex with a perfectly adequate gym, and use nothing else. You will definitely want to determine where you are going to live in HK before you sign up for an outside gym.
Anyway, it's great to see the enthusiasm in your post -- I hope you really do love living here. Keep us posted.
Gyms
Welcome to HK Samr - I hope you enjoy living in HK too.
I agree with Mr Tall - some of the newer developments have excellent facilities which also includes personal training. There are many personal trainers who also freelance and so it is often more convenient if they come to your home gym. The gym industry has really grown over the past 10 years in HK and there is an excellent choice of gyms available. I do think you need to really look around and see whether you would be happy working out in a big mirrored emporium or would prefer a smaller select gym. Will it be purely for fitness or for socialising too? The main gyms often have packages but you need to commit to 1 year or longer. I would also suggest looking at Batgung's hiking pages which would provide excercise and an opportunity to see another aspect of HK. Normal common sense applies - don't go alone, bring a good map, let someone know where you're going and, more importantly, when you expect to get back!
I hope you find the right gym for you - let us know when you decide!