Going to the Gym - Dec-08-2009

I joined a gym that's across the street from my house today. It's located on the 2nd floor of an office building and it's called Olympia Health Club. I'll start working in February 2010, so I got a temporary 2-month membership for 90 000 won ($90). The price did shock me quite a bit, since places in Canada like Goodlife Fitness or Extreme Fitness won't charge more than $35 for a standard membership. I guess it's because everyone in Korea is physically fit. In the west, obesity rate is dangerously high, so the government takes steps to encourage people to exercise for their health. Over here it's not necessary at all, so it's probably more of a want than a need.

The gym owner (관장님)/general manager was a professional bodybuilder and fitness coach back in the 90's. The instant you walk through the front doors you're greeted by a giant framed picture of him posing in his speedo in a competition o_O.

To say the least, this is a humble gym. It isn't anything large and fancy like the Extreme Fitness on Yonge and 7, but it's a pretty small gym with all the right equipment for exercise. One major adjustment I'll have to make is the equipment and the system. In Korea they use kilograms instead of pounds, so that'll take me a bit to get used to. The weight on a lot of the machines is just ridiculous. For example, the chest press machine goes well over 320 lbs, whereas in Canada the highest I've seen was 290 lbs.

I also mentioned some unique machines that I've never seen before at any gym in Canada. To name one, there's a machine that trains your hips and lower back. Basically you sit on this chair and do 180 degree hip rotations from side to side by using your waist and your hands on a handlebar in front of you. There's also a groin squeezer. I forgot the real name so I'm just gonna call it that. Basically you're in the splits and you have to close your thighs together while resisting the weight you set it on.

I told the boss that I did training for years before I came here, so he decided to put me through one round of his circuit training. Having survived it, I think I shouldn't have said anything at all. If you're familiar with the Fit Fix they do at Goodlife, imagine that but a lot more machines at a much higher weight for a longer time duration.

Start
Cardio Warmup
- 1 minute of speed walking + 9 minutes of running (70% of a sprint)

Weight Training (roughly 45 seconds each, 20 slow reps, middle-heavy weight)
- Shoulder press
- Chest flys (yes it's flys not flies)
- Chest press
- Lat pulldown
- Bicep curl on the machine
- Tricep extension on the machine
- Upside down squats
- Laydown hamstring curls
- Calf press (basically going on your tiptoes while pressing against weight)
- Torso twist
- Groin squeezing

Cardio Training (on my own)
Next to me was a woman in her early 30's (I think). Since we started on the machines at the same time, I made small talk with her. Turns out that she's the head aerobics instructor a few floors above and that she's at the gym on her day off. (That's insane, this is someone who is REALLY dedicated to keeping her body fit). I told her about my own background and she wanted to see if I could keep up with her. The challenge was 40 minutes on the treadmill, 5 minutes walking, 30 minutes running and 5 minutes walking. We had to follow the same speed and same elevation (she would give the cue when to change what). Though I managed to come out alive, I was feeling dead. I never liked running to begin with (especially on a treadmill) and I'm not anywhere close to the level I was 3 years ago. She said she was impressed but I needed a lot of work to do before I could beat her. As you probably guessed, she didn't look that tired and said that was basic for her.

Cooldown Stretching and Abs (on my own)

This took me about 2 hours to complete. While in most other cases I would like these exercises, today the boss made me hate every single one of them. Besides martial arts, this has to be the most painful training session I have ever done in my life (and that's saying a lot). On observation of other members of the gym, I have to say that the adults and seniors here are in much better health and fitness than their western counterparts. Even as I climbed all those mountains, they were able to make it to the top and down without feeling anything.

I guess I'll be going there everyday starting tomorrow or the day after. Of course I won't be training at the insanity of today's, but still hard enough. I only have 2 months left to go before I start teaching, so hopefully I can get back in better shape in time.

I'm also gonna buy a laptop later today or sometime tomorrow. =D
Anyway, peace out everyone.