The gym , a place where most girls could spend hours . For me however I can think of nothing worse. The thought of being inside on a machine when I Could be outside enjoying mother nature and fresh air sounds far more appealing . However with the autumn chill in the air doing outdoor activities are going to become slightly more challenging and im not that keen on getting frost bite when winter comes around . So I have been left with no choice but to join the gym.
Korean gyms are known to be expensive and can range from 30 000 won a month up to over 100 000 won a month. Although I Would have loved to have opted for the 30 000 won gym, that would require me to cycle in the freezing cold ,minus degree weather and thats not gonna happen . Luckily Korea seems to be slightly obsessed with gyms and so you can find one in almost every area. I had a choice of about 3 within a 1km radius of my house.
I chose the smallest of the three gyms as I assumed this would be the one with the least amount of people and by people i mean the hardcore ' check my pecks bru ' type of okes.
Well how wrong I was . I arrived and as I dont really blend in amongst the koreans I Had bout 30 eyses staring at me ... As if I was piece of beef barbeque. Yuk. The lady at reception handed me a towel and then a pair of shorts and a t shirt . Confused by why she was giving me clothes I turned around to find that every single memeber in the gym was in black shorts and grey t shirts. I couldnt decide what was more worrying the fact that everyone was dressed the same or the fact that they were in gym gear that had been worn by hundreds of other people. If my gym work out and sweatyness is anything to go by there was no chance I was going to wear recycled gym clothes. I declined her offer gracefully and headed down to the workout area.
Within 5minutes I Had a very buff looking oke standing at the bicycle that i was about to hop on to. He handed me an energy drink and went back to his bench pressing. Clearly he thought i was the type that needed all the energy I could get.
Interestingly enough the instructions on the equpiment were all in english. Thank God, because the thought of having to work out how to use a machine that is in KOrean while simultaneously trying to look cool and not fall off the machine would have been far too much pressure.
All in all it was a good first session. The euqipment is limited compared to dear virgin active. in CT and if you hoping to find a pool where you can perfect your butterfly strokes im afraid you wont find that easily unless you at the city gym .What you will find are treadmills that each have their own tvs with various channels and giant hoola hoops that the old people seem to love. For all you yoga lovers out there that want to do your downward dog and flying eagle positions im afraid you wont find such a class at my gym or iothers It seems that most of the small gyms in korea do not offer extra classes for yoga or dancing .
Although this little gym routine is gonna cost me a fair amount . With winter coming up I Wont be going out nearly as much . So what previously would have been spent at my Oolf hound in Busan or club monkey in Dague or Hongdae in Seoul will now be put towards a much better and more effective activity.
So here is to a new challenge , klapping gym in Korea with the boets. FIghting !
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