Fitness First Platinum Avenue K, Kuala Lumpur
Lot No: L2-28 – 32, Level 2, Avenue K, No.156, Jalan Ampang, 50450 Ampang, Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri: 6:30 – 23:00, Sat and Sun: 7:00 – 21:00
Cost: RM69 for a day pass or RM270 a month by direct debit.
Location
Fitness First Platinum Avenue K is located just a stone’s throw from the Petronas twin towers, near KLCC station. It’s on floor 2 of Avenue K mall. Finding the mall is simple enough and you can see the Fitness First sign from outside, directly above H & M.
I entered through H & M which is on the ground floor, but be aware that this mall has a mezzanine floor between G and 1, so you need to go up three floors in all. I used the escalator closest to H&M and kept going up from there. Fitness First is clearly marked once you reach floor 2.
Facilities
Fitness First does itself proud once again with this large, well-equipped, super-modern club. You’ll recognise everything from the branding, colours and font, down to the gym equipment. I felt quickly at home here, and even on a Sunday afternoon, the club was sufficiently occupied, without being too busy. Due to its size and space, it was easy enough to get on equipment at this time.
I was greeted by the friendly staff, who gave me a quick tour of the club and handed me a large and small towel and electronic locker key.
The club is broadly divided into cardio, free weights, resistance equipment, a green turfed freestyle area and a further functional training area. Additionally there are three studios as described below.
Whilst most high end gyms will offer free drinking water, Fitness First Platinum Avenue K goes a step further and has a lounge area, offering free water from dispensers with fresh fruit inside. I enjoyed my fresh-orange flavoured water, followed by a glass with a hint of lemon. You’ll also find free coffee (both local and Nescafe) and fruit tea. They’ll even wash up your cups and glasses for you afterwards. And yes, sugar is provided if you need a boost after your workout!
There’s a good seating area here too with power points and comfy chairs so you can really relax. Best of all it’s a little warmer than the rest of the gym, which is well air-conditioned and a great temperature for a workout.
Weight Training
Fitness First Platinum Avenue K offers a very well equipped weights section, logically laid out and with plenty of equipment to choose from. The far end of the gym hosts the free weights, followed by an excellent range of plate-loadable and pin-operated resistance machines. You’ll also find a good number of cable machines for pulldown-type exercises.
Dumbbell free weights go up to 36kg, whilst barbells go from 5 – 30kg, all of which are straight. You’ll also find a number of adjustable barbells here, neatly stored in their places. In the same area you’ll see cable crossovers and benches, followed by a couple of squat racks with Olympic lifting platforms and three bench presses (flat, inclined and declined). There’s also a Smith machine and preacher curl station here, along with a couple of hip extension benches.
Plate-loadable resistance equipment includes an inclined chest press, regular chest press, standing leg curl, shoulder press, pull down and row.
I found an excellent range of pin-operated resistance machines for both upper and lower body. You’ll find assisted pull-ups, lat pulldowns (both on a cable and fixed) and pulley station with four sides, with adjustable pulleys for pulldowns and rows. If that’s not enough, I also found a dual cable cross here – plenty of options overall!
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Functional Training
Fitness First Platinum Avenue K has a huge dedicated functional training area with a large range of gym toys and functional equipment. First off, there’s an open turfed area which is used for some of the freestyle classes and doubles up as extra floor space the rest of the time. You’ll also find a good number of high quality mats hanging up here as well.
The second floor space area nearby is basically a party of gym toys! You’ll find everything here from BOSUs to ViPRs, skipping ropes to resistance tubes and plyo-boxes to stepboards.
I found power bags from 10 – 20kg, kettlebells up to 24kg and a range of medicine balls up to around 15kg.
You’ll also find TRXs, rings, vibrating machines, Swiss balls, power balls, foam rollers and a full rack of lightweight dumbbells.
Boxing fanatics will be pleased to see both a free-standing and hanging punchbag, along with several sets of gloves and pads.
You’ll also see a large rig next to this area with numerous overhead bars for pull ups, racks for doing squats and several adjustable barbells, in addition to the ones in the free weights area.
TRX Training
Cardio
Fitness First Platinum Avenue K delivers on a large range and quality of modern cardio machinery. Everything was in excellent condition and looked very new. You’ll find around twenty treadmills here, along with four curved treadmills, four upright bikes, three recumbent bikes, four steppers, three cross-trainers, two lateral trainers, two air bikes and two rowers.
Classes and Studios
This stunning club has several studios and designated areas for group training. There’s a main “Group Exercise” studio, a Mind and Body Studio and Cycling studio, in addition to a freestyle area in the gym where some classes take place.
I counted over 150 classes per week on this comprehensive class timetable! Whether you’re into Les Mills classes or freestyle, Yoga, HIIT or Spinning, there’s truly something for everyone here. I did the Sunday afternoon Body Attack class while I was here and really enjoyed it – the instructors were motivational and fun and I had plenty of space, due to Sunday afternoon being a fairly quiet time – result!
Please click here for an up to date class timetable – make sure you select Avenue K as the club.
Summary
Fitness First Platinum Avenue K is a superb facility which has it all – friendly staff, excellent facilities and fun well-taught classes. The free refreshments in the relaxing lounge area certainly give it an edge over many other top chains. This club has a huge functional training area, including both a freestyle area for classes (and general use the rest of the time) and another large floor space area where all the functional equipment is – I really felt spoilt here!
I’d imagine this place gets pretty packed out at peak times, so if you have the flexibility to go during quieter periods, I’d definitely recommend this.
Naturally a gym of this calibre isn’t the most budget-friendly and you’ll certainly find cheaper options around, but in terms of facilities I struggle to fault it – really enjoyed my workout here!
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