Tokyo Gyms

[Wwanderer]

What is the typical cost of a gym membership at a mid-range quality/poshness place in Tokyo?

Same question but for the services of a "personal trainer" at such a gym?

Are there any particularly good or popular ones in the general part of town in and around Shibuya?

If anyone can answer any of these questions or supply any relevant info, links or leads, I'd much appreciate it!

-Ww

 

[Serenity Now]

I use Anytime Fitness in Mita, but they have a lot of branches in Tokyo. Costs about Y8,000 per month. As the name suggests they are open 24 hours a day. Typical equipment and, bring Japan, always very clean.

Have not inquired about personal training.

SN...

 

[GoldenDalton]

This may sound extremely ignorant and I may end up looking like an idiot, but do they really have bonafide "gyms" in Japan, with an assortment of cardio equipment weights, etc.? It seemed to me over the course of the last two years that the super- duper slim look was in for men. I've never seen a less muscular population. I'm not attacking them, but I'm just skeptical that you'd find a squat rack, bench, etc. probably ellipticals/ treadmills/ bikes and little else. But you know what they say about assumptions.

 

[psd]

This may sound extremely ignorant and I may end up looking like an idiot, but do they really have bonafide "gyms" in Japan...

Short answer, "no".

Most sports clubs are exactly what you said, they have cardio machines and resistance machines, (usually) a bench press and a set of dumbells and lots of studio classes. It's impossible to do the common strength exercises such as squats and deadlifts. You have to use the specialist machines which isolate the muscles. My sports club has absolutely no way of working calf muscles.

When you join a sports club the staff will give you a work out plan and show you how to do the exercises. They stress low weight and are scared stiff of injury - I'd say most people are wasting their time but I guess it's better than pachinko. I'm by far the strongest person there and I'm not really that strong.

Of course there are exceptions to the above. There are local government gyms which are cheap and have good facilities some with very good free weights.

Wwanderer:
I'd recommend Gold's Gym. Most of the other sports clubs are much the same.

There are Gold's Gyms at Shibuya, Harajuku, Omotesando and Yojogi.
http://www.goldsgym.jp/goldsgym/search.html
Also check the Shibuya Ward web site.

You haven't said what you want to do. most people have vague idea of what they want to do. As we age we lose muscle and bone density even if our weight remains the same, lifting heavy reverses this. You don't have to look like Mr Universe but a serious heavy workout will do you a lot of good and cardio training helps your cardio vascular system.

If you want to PM with more personal info I am happy to help. I probably won't be able to go to a gym with you but can give you direct advice. A home based fitness plan might be enough.

 

[Zaphod222]

If you are on a budget, there is of course "Tipness", the MacDonalds of sports clubs in Tokyo.

Myself, I am just making a fool of myself at Karate.... I am sure lifting weights and similar is beneficial, but it is just so friggin boring, I could never make myself do it.

 

[psd]

Myself, I am just making a fool of myself at Karate.... I am sure lifting weights and similar is beneficial, but it is just so friggin boring, I could never make myself do it.

Yeah, you have to do things you like otherwise you'll never stick to it. I could never do those classes and fake military training without punching the instructor out.

 

[Zaphod222]

Yeah, you have to do things you like otherwise you'll never stick to it. I could never do those classes and fake military training without punching the instructor out.

I´d love to see you try that with ours. Can we take bets?

 

[Wwanderer]

but I guess it's better than pachinko.

LOL!! Great line…

You haven't said what you want to do. ...

I want to buy a membership for a friend of mine; she wants keep her figure slim…make it a bit slimmer actually (looks just fine to me now).

Personally I try to do all my exercising in bed and wearing no clothes!

-Ww

 

[Wwanderer]

Thanks SN & psd for the info, very helpful.

-Ww

 

[psd]

Wwander, I was assuming it was for you, any sports club would be appropriate as she would be looking for cardio workouts, probably will enjoy classes.

But IMHO even for women it's important to do some resistance training - she won't get huge. She also needs to increase the resistance (weight) as she gets stronger. Absolutely no point in doing 10kg lat pull downs for the rest of your life.
A basic routine twice a week:
+ lat pull downs (narrow grip, palms facing body)
+ bench press
+ shoulder press
+ leg press
+ situps

 

[Wwanderer]

Thanks psd. I can/will pass along the advice but chances are that she will do whatever the trainer tells her to do and nothing else. Can't hurt to suggest it though.

-Ww

 

[GoldenDalton]

Don't mean to pry, but is it possible to maintain a starting strength or stronglifts style exercise routine in Japan? Or is it just more efficient to switch to BW exercises?

I'm just asking for the hell of it. I've just now gotten my deadlift over 400 lbs/181 Kg and it'd suck to lose it if I had to go back for a three month plus stay.

 

[psd]

Don't mean to pry, but is it possible to maintain a starting strength or stronglifts style exercise routine in Japan? Or is it just more efficient to switch to BW exercises?

I work out in a chain sports club. At closest one to my home you can't do deadlifts and no proper squats. But the one near my office has squat rack, Smith machine, extra barbells and room to do things like deadlifts, good mornings, military press.

If you come here then make sure you live convenient to a Gold's Gym and you'd be fine.

 

[GoldenDalton]

I work out in a chain sports club. At closest one to my home you can't do deadlifts and no proper squats. But the one near my office has squat rack, Smith machine, extra barbells and room to do things like deadlifts, good mornings, military press.

If you come here then make sure you live convenient to a Gold's Gym and you'd be fine.

Thanks. What are the perceptions of your friends/ co- workers, etc. regarding your lifting? I bet you're getting props for being strong (I'm assuming you've been lifting a while given your earlier posts). It's got to be interesting being a lifter there, no matter whether it's PL or BB or even crossfit. The urge to be as skinny as possible contrasts with all of that so heavily. I'd imagine it's hard to get your macros in even there in terms of nutrition too, hence why every time I've been in Japan I've let my diet/ lifting slide.

 

[Serena Vincente]

how interesting that even a gym can be a challenge in Japan!

 

[Wwanderer]

Yep. My experience is that when you first come to Japan, it is the obvious traditional elements of Japanese culture (zen, flower arranging, sumo, geisha, kendo etc) that seem fascinatingly alien and challenging to understand. However, after a while, it is the imported bits of western culture that look familiar on the surface which turn out to present the most impenetrable puzzles and startling surprises. A deep generalization with many exceptions of course.

-Ww

 

[Zaphod222]

Thanks. What are the perceptions of your friends/ co- workers, etc. regarding your lifting? .

OK, I am not going to pontificate about the taste of all Japanese girls, but I think it is safe to say that "being butch" is not as great an asset in Japan as it is in your country. Yes, they do have bodybuilders here, but Arnold (they call him "shwatsi" here) is really considered more of a freak than a desirable companion. Just my 2 yen worth.

 

[GoldenDalton]

OK, I am not going to pontificate about the taste of all Japanese girls, but I think it is safe to say that "being butch" is not as great an asset in Japan as it is in your country. Yes, they do have bodybuilders here, but Arnold (they call him "shwatsi" here) is really considered more of a freak than a desirable companion. Just my 2 yen worth.

What is "being butch?"

 

[Wwanderer]

What is "being butch?"

I think Zap means it here in the sense of the third definition:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=butch

-Ww

 

[GoldenDalton]

I think Zap means it here in the sense of the third definition:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=butch

-Ww

Oh ok. Never heard the term applied to men before. I don't think it applies to most strength trainers though. Bodybuilders tend to avoid heavy weights: their size really is due to steroids. 99 percent of them use and Arnold himself has admitted to it.


Still, the Japanese norms seem really unhealthy to me. It can't be good for a thirty year old man to be so frail. He's going to lose what little muscle he has after he hits middle age and is putting himself at a huge risk of low testosterone and more serious injuries.

It takes heavy steroid use to get grotesquely bulky. I've been lifting for several years and I'm only 6'2" 213lbs, not exactly gargantuan. Lifting did help me overcome some very traumatic injuries though.

 

[psd]

Thanks. What are the perceptions of your friends/ co- workers, etc. regarding your lifting? I bet you're getting props for being strong (I'm assuming you've been lifting a while given your earlier posts). It's got to be interesting being a lifter there, no matter whether it's PL or BB or even crossfit. The urge to be as skinny as possible contrasts with all of that so heavily. I'd imagine it's hard to get your macros in even there in terms of nutrition too, hence why every time I've been in Japan I've let my diet/ lifting slide.

No one in my office comments on my body but a couple of the girls cop a feel when they can. They do comment on my diet though. I'm about the same height as the average Japanese guy so I don't stand out but even big guys aren't intimidating if you have a calm relaxed demeanour, much like sumo wrestlers.

But of course girls don't like muscles right? (LOL) It's the same here, girls will cross the room to meet you and hang on to your arm or touch your chest, but there's a lot less muscular guys here.

Diet is a big problem. I try to eat clean but the things you'd eat back home are expensive or hard to get, eg oats, beans, lentils, vegetables and fruit. Most importantly anything you have to buy on the run is highly processed (what the hell are the macros for a bowl of ramen anyway?) You should see the reaction when I buy a pack of cut lettuce and can of tuna for lunch! Most of my food comes from ethnic markets and online shopping and I take lunch to work everyday.

off to the gym ...

(btw I'm totally natural)

 

[GoldenDalton]

No one in my office comments on my body but a couple of the girls cop a feel when they can. They do comment on my diet though. I'm about the same height as the average Japanese guy so I don't stand out but even big guys aren't intimidating if you have a calm relaxed demeanour, much like sumo wrestlers.

But of course girls don't like muscles right? (LOL) It's the same here, girls will cross the room to meet you and hang on to your arm or touch your chest, but there's a lot less muscular guys here.

Diet is a big problem. I try to eat clean but the things you'd eat back home are expensive or hard to get, eg oats, beans, lentils, vegetables and fruit. Most importantly anything you have to buy on the run is highly processed (what the hell are the macros for a bowl of ramen anyway?) You should see the reaction when I buy a pack of cut lettuce and can of tuna for lunch! Most of my food comes from ethnic markets and online shopping and I take lunch to work everyday.

off to the gym ...

(btw I'm totally natural)

Awesome. Thanks for answering my questions. I've often wondered about the role of lifting in the athletic culture there. With a history of martial arts and so many great mma athletes, you'd think lifting would be relatively common in Japan, but then again the martial arts emphasize BW heavily, even in the U.S.

 

[psd]

Don't get me started on Japanese sports training ... they are in the stone age. Want to be a baseball batter? Swing your bat a million times a day.

 

[Kitty Carr]

OK, I am not going to pontificate about the taste of all Japanese girls, but I think it is safe to say that "being butch" is not as great an asset in Japan as it is in your country. Yes, they do have bodybuilders here, but Arnold (they call him "shwatsi" here) is really considered more of a freak than a desirable companion. Just my 2 yen worth.

This is one of the greatest fallacies about weight training. Lifting weights is not going to bulk a woman up. Do you know how hard it is for to look like a competitive body builder? It doesn't just happen. In fact, resistance training with heavy weights (not measly 4kg hand weights) is about a million times more effective for weight loss than steady-state cardio (jogging at the same speed for an hour, for example).

 

[GoldenDalton]

If you are on a budget, there is of course "Tipness", the MacDonalds of sports clubs in Tokyo.

Myself, I am just making a fool of myself at Karate.... I am sure lifting weights and similar is beneficial, but it is just so friggin boring, I could never make myself do it.

I'm sure karate is giving you similar benefits. There's no substitute for lifting heavy in my opinion, but you can really improve your fitness and strength with the calisthenics most martial arts provide.