The Gym in Hong Kong

So one of the first things I did after moving to Hong Kong was to start looking for a gym. You see, I like food. Love it, even. Often fatty food. And in large quantities. Especially French food. And thus, the pressing need to find a gym to burn off all the excess pounds I had gained after my magical stay in France this summer. I was dismayed to find out that gyms in Hong Kong (at least those accessible/marketed to expat folk like myself) are, while wonderfully equipped, ridiculously expensive. Now, I love to work out, but by no means am I hardcore, nor do I need all the bells and whistles that the posh expat gyms here come with. I need a treadmill, a cross-training machine, and a couple of good aerobics and weight-training group classes and I’m good to go. No need to pay upwards of $900 Hong Kong Dollars ($150 Canadian!!!) to sweat up a storm in a posh gym where everyone is beautiful, foreign, and well-dressed.

So I opted to go for the cheaper, more local gym, located not too far from my apartment, and practically a steal at $358 HKD a month (about $55 CDN). The gym, California Fitness, had a fairly North American feel, and a quick glance at the facilities and the group class schedule when I first signed up revealed what seemed to be a solidly positive gym-going experience.

But there was just something at the gym that I couldn’t put my finger on. The gym felt “familiar”. The machines very much ressembled the ones at my gym back home (Goodlife Fitness), and the free weights appeared to be the same colour and design. The class names seemed familiar and when I stumbled into my first group exercise class 10 minutes late, I realized that I could keep up fairly well with all moves. Even the music in the classes, and what the instructors said to us was oddly similar. But why? I couldn’t figured it out.

It was only a week later that I realized that California Fitness IS Goodlife. Yep, the very same gym that I go to all the way back in Canada, a 15 hour flight away. After going to a few more classes I realized that the classes here and in Canada are exactly. the. same. The music, the moves, and even the words of encouragement the instructors shout our way when the strain of fatigue threatens to prevent us from finishing the class. Globalization is real, as this situation demonstrates. Not too sure how to feel about that… Kinda weird, no?