All About Korean Gyms!

Korean gyms are very different than Western gyms and in some really good ways. They have mostly the same kinds of equipment and machines and dumbells. They have a lot of treadmills,(running machines) complete with televisions in front of everyone of them. The picture above illustrates the basic layout; very small and everything is tightly moved together. But, it works out okay in the long run.

The biggest difference of all is that they supply the shorts and t-shirts to work out in. They are all professionally washed, so they are of course sanitized. You can wear your own gear if you want, but most people look the same when they are working out. The men wear one colour of t-shirts and the women another. I think it is kind of cool.
The other big plus is that they supply the towels, for working out if you want and also for when you take a shower. There is also soap in the showers for your convenience as well as after-shave lotion and body cream in the men's.

I don't know too much about the women's side of things.... I haven't been in there. My girlfriend told me that usually the women have to bring their own stuff.


The picture above shows the towels and the shorts and t-shirts. The navy blue shorts are on the girl's shelf and the dark blue shorts are on the men's. The bottom shelf has all the towels that are used both for the workout and the shower. Usually it is the orange ones for showering and the other colour ones for working out.

The prices don't vary too much all over Korea, really! It is not a big competition to get members like in the Western culture.The prices were the same in Ulsan, Kyoungju and in Bundang or memberships.

The only difference is sometimes the gym will have a public bath attached to it, so the price might include use of the public bath too! They don't do that up here in the Seoul region whereas down South of Korea, they do offer that option.

I kind of miss that to tell you the truth. I loved having a nice relaxing sauna after a gruelling workout and I felt so spotlessly clean.

While they are a business, they are very good at keeping the customers happy, which by the way is one of the pluses of living in Korea.

Businesses have awesome after service on literally anything that you buy. Not at the small mickey-mouse places of course, but any kind of reputable place backs whatever it sells.

The basic price is about 80 dollars a month (seems quite expensive, I know) but, if you get a membership for 3 months it works out to 180 dollars (60 a month). This is American dollars by the way.... usually the easiest for people to work things out in comparison to their own currency.

My gym is open Mon-Fri from 5.30am to 12 midnight, Saturday 6am to 9pm and Sunday 10am to 7pm. Quite good hours if you ask me.

My gym is literally across the street from my apartment. I walk out my building, cross a small street, enter another building and take the elevator up to the 8th floor. It is so convenient! Convenience is something that you can't pay for!

I love not having to take a bag, as they supply an overnight locker included in your membership too! All I do is take my clothes that I am wearing and change out of them into the gym uniforms; if you can call them that!

I have been on a tear the last week to get back into shape. I decided to get rid of the excess weight by both eating healthier and exercising a lot more, now that my elbow is almost back to normal. Today was the first time that I could actually lift some dumbells and use a bar or machine without feeling any pain. I was so happy!

I am currently at 103 kilos (226lbs) and aim to get down to 90 kilos (198) by the end of the summer or sooner if I can. I am not going to be ridiculous about it and am going to try and lose weight, so I can keep it off and maintain a good weight and a balanced diet; something that I have always struggled with.

I was 93 kilos (204lbs) last Summer and Fall when I was in Kyounjgu, but got lazy and piled the weight on by eating lots of fried foods, sausages, eating loads of pizza and fried chicken and drinking beer; which I usually don't like!

Then I couldn't play football after doing my elbow in, so the exercising stopped. At one point at Xmas, I got up to 107 kilos (235lbs!)

Here is proof of what I looked like last summer and what my chest and waist will look like in the next few months!

Definitely a motivational picture to keep me aiming high in the gym and working through the pain barrier, which is the secret to getting into shape and staying there. I don't agree with the "no pain, no gain" philosophy when you start working out or begin an exercise regime. I do, however, agree with that philosophy 24/7 once you are in half decent shape. You have to push yourself all the time to keep the body reacting and not getting used to the same routine and level of exertion.