Elite Fitness Dong Khoi HCMC

Vincom Center B, Level 3, Trung tâm Thương mại Vincom Đồng Khởi, 72A Lê Thánh Tôn Phường Bến Nghé Hồ Chí Minh 700000

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Opening Hours: 6:00 – 22:00 Mon – Fri, 7:00 – 8:00 Sat and Sun

Cost: 1 week free trial (negotiated!), 1 month VND 5m, 3 months, VND 7m – “after discount”! Better rates longterm.

Location

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh, the hectic capital of the south! And Elite Fitness Dong Khoi is right in the middle of the action. It’s easy to find as it’s located inside Vincom Center in district 1 of HCMC. This area is probably the most popular amongst tourists, as well as many expats here. The mall is not that big and you’ll easily find Elite Fitness on level 3, labelled L3. What’s slightly more confusing is how to get in when the main mall there is shut. Stick to the main entrance labelled “Shopping Mall” on Lê Thánh Tôn and it’s simple. You’ll see a lift on your left as you go in, so just take it straight up to level 3.

Upon checking in, you’ll be given a large towel, small towel and electronic locker key.

Facilities

Apart from reception, the whole club is contained on one floor, above reception. All facilities are attractive, top of the range and very modern. The large open-plan gym is broadly divided into weights, cardio and a functional training area, with a boxing ring in the middle.

Additionally you’ll find three studios at Elite Fitness Dong Khoi, one dedicated to yoga, another to Spinning and the main studio, which hosts a variety of classes.

The gym is fully airconditioned to a comfortable temperature. The changing facilities are also in excellent condition and well maintained, although there’s not a huge amount of space inside them during busy periods. Plenty of lockers and showers though, along with a handful of toilets, with toilet paper.

Weights

The weights area at Elite Fitness Dong Khoi is spacious, extensive and a pleasure to use. You’ll find dumbbells up to 42kg, in 2kg increments, allowing you to increase your weights gradually. They’ve also provided fixed weight barbells up to 45kg, as well as a number of adjustable barbells.

For your upper body, you’ll find two flat bench press station, one inclined and one declined. There’s a cable crossover station with four pulleys on each end for your pulldowns and rows. These are in addition to a preacher curl station, assisted pull ups and further pull up bars. You’ll also find a preacher curl and a hanging leg raise station with pull up bars.

For your lower body, you’ll see a squat rack (also with pull up bars) and a Smith machine.

Resistance Machines

These are split into plate loadable machines and regular resistance machines. The plate-loadable machines are namely a wide chest press, shoulder press, row, calf raise, leg press and standing squat.

There’s a good range of regular resistance machines for both the upper and lower body too, all in great condition.

You’ll also find a hip extension bench and an abs bench, along with several regular benches for weight training.

Functional Training and Boxing

I really liked the functional training area here at Elite Fitness Dong Khoi. There’s an extensive range of modern equipment, as well as mats and a dedicated floor space area.

I found 10, 15 and 20kg power bags, some power balls, a large variety of kettlebells, medicine balls and sandbells from 3 – 12kg. Non-weighted equipment includes an overhead rig, resistance loops, a trampet, ViPRs, plyoboxes, TRXs, BOSUs and a wobble board.

Boxing

If you’re into boxing, you’ll love the boxing ring here! It’s well-equipped with a neatly-stored variety of boxing gloves, pads and additional equipment (see images above). There’s also a heavy punchbag hanging from the rig in the functional training area.

Cardio

Like the rest of the gym, all the cardio equipment here is modern top-quality equipment. I counted 14 treadmills, 8 ellipticals (at least 2 different types), three upright bikes, two recumbent bikes and one Spin bike. You’ll also see two rowing machines.

Studios, Classes and Pool

Now, we’re getting to the exciting part – the studio timetables! For me, this is where Elite Fitness really comes into its own. Its three studios boast a total of around 70 classes per week. On the week I went, 43 of these were yoga classes and 27 were other things, such as Body Pump, Body Combat, Body Jam, Bums n Tums and Zumba. Additionally there are some RPM classes in the Spinning studio and Aqua in the pool – where else?!

I didn’t use the pool but it looked inviting and was quiet when I looked in around lunchtime on a weekday. The timetable shows a few aqua classes taking place here. All the studios looked amazing and were well airconditioned. (Note that it’s typical to switch off aircon during yoga classes in Vietnam, so it gets very warm. But I thought I could feel it on at a low level, and it was certainly cooler than other yoga studios I’ve used, thank goodness!

 

Summary of Elite Fitness Dong Khoi

Elite Fitness HCMC is an excellent facility and a pleasure to train in. The pricing suggests it’s aimed at longterm clients, as shorter term memberships are extremely pricy. The facilities are some of the best I’ve seen in Vietnam and it’s easily my favourite chain here. Staff are very welcoming too and the free towels are certainly an attractive perk.

This is a great club that would suit a variety of workout preferences, since they cater well to weight-trainers, cardio enthusiasts and class junkies alike, whilst providing top of the range facilities. If budget isn’t your main factor, I recommend joining this club!

Want an Overview of Gyms in Saigon?

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

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