Korean Job Discussion Forums

[MetaFitX]

Hi,

I plan on teaching in Korea in January, I'm also a pretty big lifting junkie, and have a few questions,

Are there any easily-accessible gyms throughout Korea? Particularly in or around Seoul as that is where I plan on heading at that moment.

In general, what is the monthly cost?




Thanks,

[Robot_Teacher]

I'm in a really small town and have access to a new gym I use 5 to 6 days a week for 50,000 won a month. It has high quality Western style equipment of the brand, "Lexco." We have large state of the art treadmills, pussyfied stationary cycles I don't use, weight plate cable machines, declined sit up benches, and man building free weights. I only wish we had an elliptical. There's another gym in my town, but it's only an iron man body building kind of place offering only old iron free weights and no cardio machines of any sort and costs 80,000 a month, but obviously produces classic results for those who apply themselves. I guess their cardio is climbing the 10 flights of stairs to get to it, but it's got members that look well past the point of being incredibly ripped. The light low calerie diet many Koreans are on out of circumstance is dynamite for getting ripped when they lift weights. I'm finding diet is more important than exercise with what you look like.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

There are gyms (they use the English term 'health club') everywhere. Many are quite reasonable (~30,000 / month) and have at least the basics. The one thing none of them seem to have is a calf press, but they have most of the other machines you'd expect to find. The problem, however, is that many of the machines are designed for people with shorter legs and arms than most western guys have. But they all have free weights and benches, which is probably what you need most if you're a serious lifter.

The shower rooms, well, that's another matter. I have no problem with nudity and have been to nude beaches, but I try to plan when I go in there around the other guys in the gym, as it can be a bit gross. In Korean gym shower rooms I've seen:

- Guys spitting on the floor (about 90% of them do this).
- Guys brushing their teeth and spitting used toothpaste all over the floor (about 50% of them do this).
- Guys snotting (about 50% of them do this).
- A guy pissing into the shower drain.
- A high school boy with a huge erection just starring at himself in the mirror.

I'm just waiting for the day I see a guy shitting or wanking in there.

[Silk]

I'm 190 cm (6'3") and all the machines I've run across are adjustable to my height (although I stick to free weights which most gyms have in abundance). I've been going to the gyms for 2 years and never seen anything disturbing in the locker room. My current gym is great, it has a calf press machine, and even the lat bend over row setup like pictured here:

http://www.fit-senior.com/acatalog/COMMERCIAL_BEND_OVER_LAT_ROW_UNIT.html

Currently I'm doing HIIT training, and so only go to the gym once or twice a week, most gyms allow you to pay daily if you want, so I pay 7 bucks each time I go, which saves me a lot vs paying monthly member fees.

[redaxe]

beware that a lot of gyms in korea are not air-conditioned in the summer nor heated in the winter. for some reason they don't consider it necessary.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Pwillig]

It depends where you live. I live in this small town, Anseong, and it has the essentials. An adjustable twin tower would be nice, however.

I pay 100k won for 3 months as well. It's hot as hell on the treadmills because the owner thinks that the purpose of cardio is to have a heat stroke.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[MetaFitX]

Thanks for the responses. As long as I have free-weights I'm good.

[Chet Wautlands]

[MetaFitX]

[njp6]

I'm surprised by the people who say the prices are reasonable. I'm paying 80,000 a month for what would be a passable gym in the states. I live close to Gangnam so that might be why the prices are so high.

I like my gym, but the etiquette that some people display at the K gyms is hard to get used to. Things like putting your cell phone and towel on a bench and then working out on other things. People treating the place like they are the only ones there. Still, could be worse.

[Zantetsuken]

[bobbybigfoot]

Try 140,000 a month.

Depends on where you live, but Bundang and Gangnam can get pricey.