Going to a gym is a highly personal experience encompassing many elements, including the setting, equipment, and amenities. Some gyms have simple facilities, some offer a luxurious experience, and others have unique features that set them apart.
For a glimpse into the idiosyncratic world of gyms and fitness centers, here are some gyms from around the world that are more than worth the price of a plane ticket to visit.
1. Doherty’s Gym – Brunswick, Australia
Opening in 1994, Doherty’s Gym has become one of the favorite destinations for Australian fitness enthusiasts. In addition to its flagship location in Brunswick, Victoria province, it has expanded to other sites, including Melbourne and Perth.
Its old-school environment is just one of the gym’s attractions: its affordable no-contract membership options start at less than $20 a week and are open to members twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
2. Embody Fitness – Dubai
The largest gym in Dubai, this luxury facility is about more than fitness; it’s about a lifestyle. Embody Fitness has two locations outfitted with Olympic-grade equipment, a ladies-only gym, an exercise recovery suite, and treatment rooms. Amenities include private training studios, luxury personal training, and private VIP rooms.
3. Emporium Total Fitness – Birmingham, United Kingdom
For fitness enthusiasts looking for a quick workout, Emporium Gym is the place to go. Leading fitness experts have worked out at the modest, modern two-level, eight-room facility. Emporium Gym offers weight, cardio, and functional training areas, kitchen and meal preparation, and online and in-person coaching.
4. Equinox Luxury Fitness Club – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
With locations in Canada and the United States, Equinox Luxury Fitness Club has a well-deserved reputation for offering luxury fitness as a lifestyle experience. Equipped with top-of-the-line equipment and high-end décor, Equinox isn’t your typical gym.
Group and digital (live and on-demand) classes include running, athletic training, cycling, high-intensity boxing, martial arts, and sculpting Pilates. Features and amenities at the Vancouver location include a spa, group fitness, yoga, barre, boxing, and cycling studios; personal training; studio Pilates; personal training; and an online store.
5. Gold’s Gym Venice – Venice, California
Gold’s Gym Venice is steeped in history and is one of the best-known gyms in the world. Since 1965, many famous bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno have worked out at Gold’s Gym Venice.
Known as the “Mecca of Bodybuilding,” the gym offers cardio equipment, personal training, resistance machines, functional training, free weights, and an outdoor workout area. If bodybuilding is your way of life, visiting Gold’s Gym Venice is a must.
6. Makeshift Gym – Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
If outdoor workouts are your preference, competing with the Makeshift Gym at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is hard to do. Popular among the local gym goers. Besides the unique barbells and weights made from concrete and metal, Makeshift Gym offers many organized fitness programs, such as calisthenics, boot camp, street, parkour strength, freeletics, bodyweight, and ninja warrior training workouts.
7. Muscle Beach Venice Outdoor Gym – Venice Beach, California
Another legendary fitness locale, Muscle Beach Venice Outdoor Gym in Venice Beach, California, was founded in 1963 and is known as where Arnold Schwarzenegger started as a bodybuilder. Muscle Beach isn’t only for professional bodybuilders.
With annual memberships costing $200 and day passes selling for $10, Muscle Beach is a prime destination for amateur bodybuilders and anyone else looking to lift weights in one of the coolest outdoor venues in the world.
8. The Bunker – Sydney, Australia
This underground facility looks and feels like a bunker if a bunker was cool and modern. Recognized as Sydney’s best gym by Men’s Health magazine, The Bunker boasts a luxury interior, the world’s best workout equipment, outcome-focused classes, and specialty trainers. Its specialty classes, including aerial yoga, afterburn, gun show, and exclusive training zones, set this gym apart.
9. ESPA Life at Corinthia – London, United Kingdom
Housed inside the exclusive Corinthia London hotel, ESPA Life at Corinthia offers an upscale fitness and spa experience. Individually tailored personal training sessions are just the beginning of the amenities provided to members, which include spa treatments, priority access to the swimming pool, vitality pool, sauna, steam room, state-of-the-art machines, and onsite fitness experts.
10. Tulum Jungle Gym – Tulum, Mexico
Open since 2017, this unconventional gym has two locations, one beach, and one town, and both are some of Mexico’s top tourist destinations. Tulum Jungle Gym is unique because almost all gym equipment is made from bamboo, wood, and stone.
At first glance, the gym looks like a children’s playground with oversized equipment, but it’s only for adults ages sixteen and older. Day passes cost $30, and the facility is open seven days a week.
Source: TheTravel.