Vietnam - Hero's gym, Hanoi

Location: Hero's Gym, third floor, 77 Nguyễn Thái Học, Điện Biên, Ba Đình, Hà Nội

Google maps: Click here

Tel: 04 3747 6543

Website: Hero's Gym

Opening hours: Mon to Fri - 6am to 10pm

Sat and Sun: 7am to 9pm

Price: 75,000 VND

Review: As mentioned in my previous post, it has actually been pretty difficult to find a gym in Hanoi which will let you train on a day pass. Both World Gym and True Gym have terrible attitudes towards backpackers and once they realise you aren't interested in a membership, they basically refuse to let you have a day trial pass, or even sell a day pass to you.

This can be very frustrating, because both franchises have branches in almost all the major cities and they look like good gyms. Given that Vietnam's economy is largely based on tourist, it seems mystifying that they would take this position in relation to tourists who want to train. Anyway, thats a rant for another post.

Having done a little more research online, I managed to locate Hero's Gym, which was about a 25 min walk from my hotel. As ever, I decided to jog to the gym and as soon as I set food out of my hotel, the heavens opened up. Yet again, I ended up soaked to the skin, before my workout even started. Hero's gym is a little hard to find as it is set back off of the road and kind of hidden in an office block. See the tips section below for directions to the gym.

At 75,000 VND, this gym is pretty expensive compared to X-men gym but it is well stocked with relatively new equipment and a yoga studio on the second floor. There is also a small sauna located in each of the changing rooms. In addition to this, the gym has:

• Dumbbells up to 28kg
• Adjustable benches 
• Flat barbell bench 
• Incline barbell bench
• Decline barbell bench 
• Squat rack 
• Olympic bars 
• Easy bar 
• Preacher curl bench 
• Cables 
• Shoulder press bench and rack 
• Leg press machine 
• Leg extension machine 
• Chest fly / Reverse fly machine 
• Small kettle bells 
• Treadmill 
• Static bikes 
• Cross-trainers 
• Yoga studio 
• Sauna  
• Changing rooms and showers 
• Lockers 

The changing rooms, sauna and yoga studio are found on the second floor. The changing rooms were ok, and there were also lockers and a shower in there. They aren't chain gym clean, but they certainly aren't the worst that I have seen.

The gym on third floor of the building, so you can see down onto the street from the cardio machines which is pretty cool. It means you can people watch whilst you run, which is always fun. The gym itself is on the smaller side, and the equipment is pretty tightly packed, but it means there is a lot here. I managed to get a decent push/pull workout in here and the only thing they are really missing is heavier dumbbells. 

Who is this gym for: Whilst I was here, there were a mix of men and women training here, as well as male and female personal trainers working with clients of all levels. The gym felt more professional than the X-men gym, and was mainly full of Vietnamese locals. Single female travellers should note it is some way out of the city centre, so you may want to book a taxi if walking back in the dark is an issue.  I would also recommend this gym for anyone looking to do yoga, as the yoga studio looked clean and the class I saw looked like it was being well run. 

Tip: The gym was initially a little hard to find. It is located on the third floor of what looks like an office building. There is one sign on the street to mark the location of the gym, but there is no signage in the lobby. Check out the photos below to see what the entrance looks like. Once you walk in you need to take the lift to the third floor. The lift is located at the back, straight in-front of the entrance area. 

Photos: