Vũ Lâm Gym, Can Tho
87 Nguyễn Cư Trinh, An Phú, Ninh Kiều, Cần Thơ
Opening Hours: 7:00 – 22:00, 7 days a week
Cost: 10k per day – woohoo!
Location
Vu Lam Gym is correctly located on Google maps, 5-10 minutes walk west from one of the main streets in Can Tho. It’s a nice enough walk there along side streets – watch out for motorbikes! It’s actually directly West of ABC Bakery too – where I went straight afterwards for my Vietnamese banh mi!
Facilities
Awesome facilities, particularly when you take into account the pennies it cost to get in – quite remarkable. The gym is clean, modern and new-looking, although it is a fairly small gym compared to others I’ve been to here.
Weights
At first it appeared that dumbbells went up to 24kg, but then I found 3 further sets of 32.5kg, 35kg and 37.5kg respectively. I’m not sure where the rest were hiding, but perhaps they were around somewhere. Weights were tidily racked, although there were surplus weights on the floor – fair enough.
You’ll find 3 loadable resistance machines here, which are a shoulder press, lat pulldown and a low row. Other resistance machines include a leg curl and abductor machine.
You’ll find a curious 2 in 1 Smith machine and squat rack here – the first I’ve seen! I’m sure it has its uses in making efficient use of space, but by having them as part of the same unit, it does somewhat limit the scope for two people using them both at once, unless I’ve missed something?!
I also discovered a generous 4 bench press racks and 3 inclined abs benches.
Cardio
Cardio equipment looked modern and in great condition; I saw 3 treadmills, 2 Spin bikes and 2 crosstrainers in this cute little gym.
Functional Training
There was a limited amount of functional training equipment at Vu Lam Gym, namely an abs roller and a small Swiss ball. You’ll also find some thin yoga-style mats, although there was no obvious place to lay them that wouldn’t obstruct other people’s access around the gym. There is a resistance machine near the entrance that calls itself an “adjustable functional trainer” though!
Summary
Not sure what I’m more amazed by – how cheap this gym is (it’s the cheapest I’ve found in Can Tho!) or how good the facilities were. Whilst Vu Lam Gym is certainly the smallest gym I’ve found here, it’s well lit, equipment is new and fans were in operation, making it the most aesthetically appealing and comfortable for me. Just the functional training side and lack of floor space could be an issue if this if your main focus. Overall though, an absolute bargain for the price.
Want something bigger with a substantial functional training area?
Try Thai Son Gym or Phong Tap Gym, both of which have ample floor space and a dedicated area for it.
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