Working out in Thailand

Who would have thought that I’d ever miss stupid 24-hour fitness?! Ever since the REC (the fantastic gym at WSU), I’ve thought that 24 hour was a nasty place full of creepers and filthy, gross equipment. But now, I MISS IT SOOOOOO, SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Working out in Thailand is pretty much miserable. If you’ve ever done hot yoga, you probably understand the hell that I’ve gotten myself into. Everyday the thermometer in the gym taunts me… 32c (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit). I’m unemployed and bored so I spend about two hours in that hell-oven every day. I’ve never in my life sweated so much from working out. And the gym itself- oh my god. It costs $20./month (white people price – if you’re Thai it’s free – I’m not kidding) which is the same as what I paid for the gym back home but here’s what I get: four stationary bikes (only one works), an elliptical that isn’t adjustable and doesn’t even have a timer, two treadmills (but I can’t use those cuz of my broken foot), free weights and a bench that’s covered in bugs and sweat. And there’s a FAN which is my savior. Brandon gets really frustrated with the free weights because they’re obviously meant for Thai people as they only go up to 12 pounds. And the bench only has a 35lb bar and only 72 pounds worth of weights.

Thai people are pretty thin but it’s probably from the heat, the hepatitis and the water that makes you puke violently. It’s definitely not from exercise. We live in a huge apartment complex with over 1,000 people but I’d say only about ten thai people a day use the gym. But when they do, hilarity ensues!!!

Their work out clothes are probably my favorite part. Jeans, button-up blouses, work uniforms, suite pants, collared shirts…. They wear the funniest things while working out!! I even saw a girl on the tread mill in kitten heels!!!

The girls are the funniest. Brandon does the best impression of a Thai girl trying to run on a tredmill. They all run like they’re drunk and wearing a tight pencil skirt. They’re incredibly uncoordinated. Whenever they’re in the gym my work outs end up being twice as long just so I can watch all the funny things they do. My all time favorite moment is when a girl started to use the elliptical and fell off!!! Hahahahahaaaaa!!!! I’m going to hell.

The guys are funny too (except for when they work out while smoking cigarettes) and they make me feel really good about myself. I’ve never seen a guy lift more than 60 pounds on the bench which makes me really happy because even I can do more than that!! They almost always just bench the bar (which is small here – only 35 pounds) five or six times then stop completely.

The most frequent users of the gym are a group of four kids that play in the gym from around 8am-4pm every day. They’re all around 5-8 years old. I have no idea where they come from and why the hell they’re not in school but they’re there every weekday!! There’s a bowflex (ish) machine in the gym that’s covered in sticky stuff and broken beyond complete repair – why? Because of the kids. They use it like a jungle gym.