Category: Uncategorized

S2S Crossfit (Canggu, Bali)

On By Make Your Customers Love YouIn Uncategorized1 Comment

In Bali there are couple of Crossfit gyms depending on your location. In Seminyak there is Crossfit Seminyak and Crossfit Wanderlust and S2S Crossfit are both located in Canggu.   In addition to S2S Crossfit I checked out an functional gym called Canggu Nest just close to S2S. 

 

You can find S2S Crossfit timetables on their site but for booking they advice you to show up directly to one of the classes. I did and was enrolled in with convenience paying the drop in fee on site.  The drop in price was 200 000 Indonesian Rupiah (12 €).  At the gym both the coaches and people at the reception speak English.

 

The gym has all the basic equipment which are in quite good order. It has somewhat small facilities that enable training for up to 5-8 people conveniently. Running is done on a street that has quite heavy traffic so the running workouts tend to be a bit of nuisance at times. Barbells are good but the racks for squatting are a bit shaky especially for a taller guy like me.

 

The coaching was good and also the basics were explained in English. I didn’t get too much technical advice except for some instructions how to improve my pull ups which was nice. The training was done by one of the sub coaches so I didn’t get to workout with the head coach. Anyway, the training was done in English which is definitely a plus. I’d say half the people were on holiday at Canggu and the other half seemed to be going there regularly. Atmosphere was pretty relaxed.

 

If you are keen on working out as a group and getting advice, this gym is provides all the basics in Canggu. However, if you wish to train yourself with a brand new functional gym with all state-of-the-art equipment, I would recommend checking out the gym almost next door called Canggu Nest.

 

Booking and customer service 4/5

Price 4/5

Facilities and equipment 3/5

Coaching 3/5

Fun 4/5

 

Average 3,5/5

 

https://s2scrossfit.com/ 

Chikara Crossfit in Tokyo

On By Make Your Customers Love YouIn Chikara Crossfit, Crossfit, Tokyo, Uncategorized1 Comment

In Tokyo I found a long list of gyms to do your workouts. In Tokyo most of the gyms provide you with an opportunity to book classes online and the drop in prices are typically around 3500 Yen (27 €) range. I was looking at Reebok Crossfit Roppongi, Crossfit Yoyogi and Chikara Crossfit and ended up training at Chikara.

 

I booked Chikara Crossfit class online from their site. The drop in price was 3500 Yen (27 €).  The site is good and reserving a class is easy. Also you will be able to pay it online if you so wish or just go to the class and pay there by a credit card or cash. The customer service is provided in English and you get a short introduction to the gym upon your arrival. It all works pretty well.

 

The gym itself is made in a basement of what seems to be a residential building in the middle of Chikara area not too far away from the closest subway station. There is a little bit of wear and tear but all the necessary equipment are there and in order. Barbells are good and there is a small platform for individual weight-lifting practice. There was enough space for our class to workout efficiently.

 

The coaching was good and also the basics were explained in English. I didn’t get too much technical advice but then again technically the training was pretty simple, squats and WOD with couple of basic elements. Both coaches very seemed professional to me. Many of the people seemed to know each other well and I think the overall spirits in the gym were good.

 

We did have a group picture after workout which as a nice little detail was sent to me by email afterwards as a memory from the workout. You can see that picture here on my blog. I would say the experience was very good and if had a good one at Chikara!

 

Booking and customer service 5/5

Price 3/5

Facilities and equipment 3/5

Coaching 4/5

Fun 4/5

 

Average 4/5

 

www.chikaracrossfit.com

Crossfit Movement in Seoul

On By Make Your Customers Love YouIn Box, Crossfit, seoul, Uncategorized1 Comment

I only had five days in Seoul in South Korea so I only tried to contact some of the local Crossfit gyms in Seoul. To my positive surprise there were many of them. However, catching answers was like trying to get to eat in a restaurant on the night of my arrival. There didn’t seem to be too much interest on a person joining alone. Most gyms are shown in Google Maps and by Google but contacting them requires going to Facebook and some of their sites are not in English.  Here are the gyms I contacted:

 

  1. Crossfit Mullae (contacted them through Facebook and didn’t receive any answer)
  2. Crossfit Movement (contacted them through Facebook, got a reply and made a booking)
  3. Crossfit Muhan (send an email but didn’t receive an answer)

 

I contacted Crossfit Movement through Facebook in the evening and received a response with class schedules and prices first thing in the morning. I was able to book a class for the same day. All in English so the booking worked very well. When I arrived there was staff at the reception happily greeting me. They even let me drop in for free for the first time and pay the regular 30 000 Won (23 €) drop in fee at the second time.

 

The box facilities were great including the equipment. There was plenty of room for all of us about eight people to have our work out however we wanted to. This box was around in a same level in terms of equipment and space as the one in Fukuoka just slightly losing in chances to go running outside. There are stairs from the basement leading up to the street but the closest block is maybe not best suited for running. Otherwise, they will go head to head with each other.

 

The coaching was very good. I got great tips for my clean jerks. I think that possibly one of the coaches has done some Muay Thai because a lot of stretching moves were the same ones I used to do back in doing that sport. Such a nice familiar feeling. The English level of the coach was basic but where he wasn’t able to communicate, my fellow trainers helped me to understand what we were doing or what he wanted me to improve.

 

The Crossfit community seemed to be very tight. Most of the people seemed to be taking the sport pretty seriously so these guys were one the most advanced ones I had trained with so far in Asia. One of the quite small sized girls was snatching up to 150 lbs (around 70 kg) and they seemed also quite competitive. Yet, the atmosphere was very supportive and chilled. One of the guys showed me how to write my name in Korean and otherwise I stayed quite long after both workouts just chatting with people. One fellow Crossfitter’s family business was making health cranberry juices that was also offered to me for a taste. I really enjoyed working out at this gym!

 

  • Booking and customer service 4/5
  • Price 3/5
  • Facilities and equipment 5/5
  • Coaching 4/5
  • Fun 5/5

 

  • Average 4/5

 

Crossfitmovement/Facebook

Crossfit Kyoto

On By Make Your Customers Love YouIn Crossfit, Crossfit Kyoto, Kyoto, Uncategorized1 Comment

In Kyoto I found just one gym to contact. . I sent Crossfit Kyoto an email and received a swift response back in English and I did book a class with them. They also have online booking through their website. There might be other Crossfit gyms in the city but locating one through Google and Google Maps didn’t seem to work out.

 

The owners Russel and Ela turned out to be foreigners with ability to speak both English and Japanese so you can get instructions in both languages. Russel from England is also the head coach at the gym. The drop in fee is 3500 Yen (around 27 €). The good thing is that they sell packages for multiple workouts so if you are staying in town for longer, the price gets cheaper.

 

The gym itself is in two floors, the upper floor having the dressing rooms. The lower floor contains the training space which was of a good size for the class of about six. The barbells were good, made for Olympic weight-lifting and pull-up bars high enough for me to workout efficiently. The gym is well-equipped and spacious. The only downside is that the neighbors apparently are not big fans of noise (as they never are in Japan) and you are instructed not to drop down the weights. This puts a little restrictions on weight-lifting with higher weights.  Therefore, achieving the highest results in your workouts might not be as easy. I would expect them to do more five rep max repetitions than one rep max workouts but that I would not be able to tell for not having an opportunity to join for more than one class.

 

The headcoach Russel did give me good tips throughout the workout from stretching to weight-lifting and even filmed some of my squat cleans to show me how to improve the position. Getting instructed in English was definitely also a plus. Russel was assisted by Ela who also helped people to improve our technique and performance! You could tell that they are in it seriously.

 

The trainers seemed to be other fellow travelers and regular community members. I had the pleasure training with Japanese that seemed to be enjoying it as a group and knew each other very well. The other travelers were from Singapore so I think we had a nice group of people doing the class. After the workout we did a small photoshoot together which I unfortunately I don’t have to include in this blog. I think this gym might actually have pretty intense community too which I always consider a plus!

  • Booking and customer service 5/5
  • Price 3/5
  • Facilities and equipment 3/5
  • Coaching 5/5
  • Fun 4/5

 

  • Average 4/5

 

www.crossfitkyoto.com

Crossfit Slash in Beijing

On By Make Your Customers Love YouIn Beijing, Box, Crossfit, Crossfit Slash, Location, Uncategorized1 Comment

In Beijing there are several gyms which almost all need to be contacted through email. I only contacted Crossfit Slash because of my limited time and their convenient central location in Sanlitun. I sent Crossfit Slash an email.

 

I trained once at Crossfit Slash on my three day visit to Beijing. I was able to make a booking by sending an email to the gym and receiving a reply during the same day. There was no booking option online but email worked as well. The box is located inside a bigger complex building in Sanlitun area which is popular area for nightlife, restaurants etc. in Beijing and centrally located.

 

The challenge in finding the box was that Google Maps actually located the building 200 meters away from where the gym actually was so I was wondering around for some time trying to find the entrance. Once I found the North entrance I missed the elevator going down to basement since there are no signs that the building actually has a Crossfit gym so you will have to focus a bit to find it to the basement where the instructions can be seen on the wall. Once you find the gym there are welcoming staff at the reception giving you your locker key and showing you to the locker room. The drop in price was 180 RMB which is around 23 €.

 

The gym seemed very well maintained and equipment what you would expect from a Crossfit gym. The barbells were for Olympic weight-lifting and they even had a small platform for weight-lifting. The general space could have been bigger but at least at the time of my workout, there wasn’t too many people at the class so it would have been an issue.

 

I trained with one of the more junior coaches and overall the session was good. I got few tips mainly regarding the stretching part though which admittedly is not really more strongest area. Since I only did one workout, it’s pretty hard to comment on the coaching in general but I felt I had a good class. The coach did not speak too much English though but if you would end up having classes with the headcoach Tim that I originally spoke with, I would expect having a very good English speaking coaching.

 

  • Booking and customer service 3/5
  • Price 3/5
  • Facilities and equipment 4/5
  • Coaching 4/5
  • Fun 3/5

 

  • Total score 3,5/5

 

www.crossfitslash.com

Reebok CrossFit MeWellness in Shanghai

On By Make Your Customers Love YouIn Reebok Crossfit MeWellness, Shanghai, Uncategorized1 Comment

In Shanghai I tried contacting the following gyms for workout:

 

  1. Iron Dragon Crossfit (could not get into their website or find contacts)
  2. Emperor Crossfit (website only available in Chinese and no answer to my email)
  3. Reebok CrossFit MeWellness (have an online booking and also got an answer to my emails)

 

I had four workouts with Reebok CrossFit MeWellness in Shanghai. They are located in the Northern side of Jing’an so if you choose to stay there they can be reached quite conveniently. The gym is in the first floor windows facing the street so you won’t miss it easily. It can be found at least from Google Maps and Chinese Amap. The booking can be done conveniently through website by creating a profile and signing in. The payments can be done only in cash but there is always someone at the cashier so the coaches don’t have to charge you. Works really well. Also you get your own locker and towels from the reception. The drop in fee is 200 RMB which is around 25 €.

 

The gym is well maintained, has Olympic weight-lifting barbells, good pull up bars and everything for efficient Crossfit workouts. The schedule is quite regular – morning workouts, mid-day and then evening classes starting from 6 pm and the last class starting at 9 pm. This gym is very popular with lot of Shanghai expats doing their Crossfit there so it gets quite crowded for certain weight-lifting or pull-up bar workouts and running outside.

 

The upside of being crowded is that there seems to be a very nice community involved in having all kinds of athletes from very professional ones to some that are keeping up the good shape. Both coaches that I trained with, a headcoach Murat Erbaytan and Louis Estarreja are very professional. I got great tips in all workouts and were able to improve my weight-lifting techniques. Also all instructions in English! A workouts seemed to be a bit more concentrated on the weight-lifting side too. I have rarely seen such an agile coach as Murat with that big build. I really felt so stiff while doing some stretching before and after class. They also take care of your stretching after class which is always a bit burden for me if done on my own. Big hand to coaching in this gym!

 

They had a little competition going on for the month which the max. number of unbroken double unders. I remember one of the ladies doing 75 which resulted in big applause by the fellow trainers.

 

  • Booking and customer service 4/5
  • Price 3/5
  • Facilities and equipment 4/5
  • Coaching 5/5
  • Fun 4/5

 

  • Total score 4/5

 

www.reebokcrossfitmewellness.com