Vientiane Fitness Center
Rue Phai Nam, Ban Sisaket, Vientiane
Please note, the sign outside the gym states the address is 001 Radio Station St, but this does not currently exist on Google Maps.
Opening Times: Mon-Sun: 600-2100
Cost: 20 000 kip per day or 300 000 per month.
Location
Vientiane Fitness Center is a medium-sized gym in an excellent location in the centre of Vientiane and very reasonably priced. Although some equipment is somewhat dated, it is in reasonable condition and is a clean facility overall, as gyms go.
Weights
There is a good range of dumbbell freeweights from 2 – 30kg, albeit in need of an additional rack – half are in disarray on the floor. Although there are no fixed weight barbells, there are several adjustable ones, with both flat and inclined benches, along with two sets of cable cross over stations with related pull-up bars, 2 x lat pull downs etc. There is no assisted chin ups machine.
There is a fair range of resistance equipment, some of which is a little quirky; instead of the usual pin which you insert to select your resistance, a few machines here actually have a knob you can turn and select a resistance level from 1-6. However, all of which were far too light on the one I tried. Thankfully this accounts of a small minority of machines and the majority were of the standard description.
There is a dedicated matted floor space area, with 3 or 4 additional yoga mats. The mats look like they could do with a clean but hey, who doesn’t shower after a workout anyway?
Functional training equipment is limited to a couple of lightweight kettlebells (3 and 5kg respectively) and a dumbbell of similar weight.
Cardio
There are a large number of treadmills, a couple of bikes of both upright and Spinning varieties, as well as 3 crosstrainers.
Summary
When I attended at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon, the gym was (unsurprisingly!) quiet and although cooler inside than out, it certainly could have benefited from some aircon, or even fans. That said, it was cooler than you’d imagine given it was 30 degrees outside, and for me it was a bearable workout temperature.
Both showers and toilets were in good condition with both hand soap and toilet roll provided (not a given in Laos, by any means!). Oh and there’s a rather attractive pool outside for cooling off in afterwards – bonus.
Overall, Vientiane Fitness Center is fantastic value for money – suitable for most gym bunnies on a budget.
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