Fits Do Fitness Class Reviews: Virgin Active Gym in Singapore

Hello there! How’s the plank challenge going? We are up to a minute soon!

I’m still working in Manila this week, which has been fine. But I’ll be truthful, I’m ready to go home. I’m ready to have a home-cooked meal, sleep in my own bed, wear different clothes…and the obvious- hang out with those two adorable plankers in the above picture, right?

Anyways, I finally had a chance to sit down and write a blog post about my trip to my Singapore coworker’s gym last Sunday (before I left for Manila.) We had originally talked about taking two different classes back-to-back.  But after my full week of running (64 miles) I knew I could only handle one class on Sunday! I also had to pack up my apartment to head to Manila that evening, so we decided one class would be plenty.

 

We met at 10 am at the Raffles MRT station to head up to her gym for a 60 minute spin class. Her gym- Virgin Active-is quite new to Singapore. It was located right near the central business district, so I’m sure its much busier during the workweek. However, on the weekend, it was quite quiet. In addition to the convenient location, Virgin Active makes it even easier on people who work day jobs and still need to squeeze in their workouts…by providing gym clothes!

Yes, that is right- they have stacks of clean shorts, shirts, and socks available for you to use for your workout.

It was all dry-fit and it was decent quality. After I figured out the right size (which was XL in Singapore sizes) I put everything on and it fit just fine.

Failed fit or the right fit?

I tried not to think about how many other people had sweat in those same clothes.  I did notice very few people actually wore the gym provided outfit other than the blond girl in the back row (i.e….only me). But even if you don’t wear their gym clothes every time, it’s still pretty handy just to have the option. I can think of a 100 times that I have forgotten something in my gym bag. You wouldn’t have to worry if you forget! I also would imagine if you’re bussing to work every day, it’s a huge hassle to tote a gym bag with you. You could theoretically only have to bring your tennis shoes and a sports bra and you’d be set to squeeze in a workout whenever you can! Now that is the Right Fit!

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We grabbed towels and headed to the spin room to set up our bikes. The spin studio was quite nice, with the teacher up front on a platform and a wall size TV screen behind her.

The class was just like any other spin class. It was a good class, though I still think that the best spin class I have taken was Flywheel in Chicago (read about that class here) But this class was a decent workout – pretty standard spin class with hills, intervals, speed, and some stretching at the end.

 

After the class, Adeline gave me the full tour of the gym, including all the fancy new equipment they had, such as this machine:

 

It was set to go for 45 second intervals where a beep and a light would flash on one of the three pads on one of the levels (bottom, middle, top). Wherever it beeped and flashed, you would have to kick it right on the light as quickly as possible. It was supposed to help with agility. I did a few intervals and could definitely see how it would be a good workout!

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Her gym also had a Woodway Curve treadmill. Have you tried one of these? It was weird! They are not motor operated, but rather they work when you run on them- self-powered basically!  There is no max speed and there is no ramp up time. You’re turning the belt with your own power. Interesting! I only tried it out for a minute or two.

It would definitely take some getting used to! Read more about the Curve treadmill here.

 

We also tested a stability plate:

…and a Powerplate machine. Classes are offered on the Powerplate. I didn’t really get it- it just vibrated like crazy. Apparently, you do jumping jacks, burpees, running in place, and more at the class.

 

This gym definitely had all the fun new machines, but the true highlight of Virgin Active was the locker rooms. They were spacious, clean, and basically as nice as a spa. There was your typical sauna and steam room. But then there was also an ice room, where you could simulate an ice bath after a tough workout.

 

The ice room also had a cold rain shower:

There was a therapeutic salt room, (similar to the Salt Cave Yoga that Meggan and I took in Minneapolis last year).There was a bucket for the ice bucket challenge.

And there was an essential oils shower.