Want a Cheap Gym in Hanoi?

*See here for an overview and comparisons of 8 top Gyms in Hanoi*

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Check out this cheap gym in Hanoi which I found… doesn’t it look inviting?

CLB The Hinh Hoan Kiem

1 Phúc Tân, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
No online presence found
Opening Hours: I couldn’t see them listed in the club. These are the hours currently stated on Google:
6:00 – 20:00, 7 days a week.
Cost: 25k per go – woohoo!

Just learnt something new – “Clb Thể Hình” means bodybuilding, and “Thể Hình” means fitness, according to Google Translate!

Location

Having used a top gym with a high price tag here yesterday, I was after a cheap gym in Hanoi today!

I found this club in a fairly rough looking part of Hanoi. If you’re staying in the popular area just north of Ho Hoan Kiem lake, you’ll need to head east and get across a very big main road. You’ll need to use one of the bridges (or other method) to do this, don’t count on just walking across it as there is a barrier in all the parts I saw. Once you’ve got into the right neighbourhood, it’s easy to find right next to a great big field.

I arrived late morning to find the place deserted. The entrance wasn’t immediately clear – you’ll need to turn right and be level with the middle of the field before you see it – there’s a big banner saying “Revive The Hinh  – Aerobic” if you look up and you’ll see some stairs that go into the building leading up.

I headed up to a deserted reception. Upon seeing a big boxing room on my right, I ventured in. Hmm, completely deserted apart from….. a woman lying on the floor fast asleep! She wasn’t in gym-wear so I wasn’t concerned she’d passed out mid-workout and I decided to leave her to it. Hmm, who else was about?

I went into the main gym and found… no-one! Apparently 11:30am on a weekday isn’t a popular hour to train here! No-one to pay – shall I have a free workout?!

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Facilities

I could see why this place wasn’t bursting with people. No aircon and fans that weren’t massively effective. I wasn’t particularly inspired either; old machinery, not a soul in sight besides the sleeping woman in the boxing room, no music to motivate me and pretty old looking equipment. The gym is a decent size though and for 25k, there’s not much to complain about.

I skipped the workout this time (I know it’s bad, I’ll do better tomorrow!) as I was already dripping with sweat from my extended walk here. But here’s what you’ll find:

Weights

The absence of people meant there was a nice full rack of neatly stacked dumbbells up to 40kg. You’ll also find a couple of adjustable barbells, along with a set of pull up bars and cable crossovers.

You’ll also find a combined Smith machine and squat rack, preacher curls and several bench press stations.

There’s a moderate amount of resistance equipment, including a lat pulldown, pec deck, leg extension and curl.

My personal favourite was the inclined abs bench. I think this is the most incline I’ve seen on an abs bench in 2.5 years of travelling!

 

Cardio

The cardio equipment here looks in reasonable condition; it won’t win any awards for being top of the range but it looked like it would all work. Whether you’d pass out using them is another matter though if you’re here in summer! They are at least located near the window though, so you might get lucky with a draft.

You’ll find five treadmills and two crosstrainers, as well as two Spin bikes (next to the entrance).

Functional Training

The fully-matted boxing gym provides ample space for floor work and is ideal, if you don’t mind training in the heat. There are plenty of boxing bags, gloves and pads here too if you’re boxing-oriented.

Summary

If you’re looking for a cheap gym in Hanoi, you’ve found it. For 25k dong / just over $1 / just under £1 you’ll find plenty of good stuff here to work out with. If you’re here when it’s hot, train as early as you can and take plenty of water and a towel.

Want an Overview of Gyms in Hanoi?

I went to several different gyms here and I’ve summarised, compared and recommended my favourites for each budget level. Check out Gyms in Hanoi.

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