Vietnam - X-Men, Hanoi

Location: X Men Gym, 88 Tran Nhat Duat, Hanoi
Google Maps: Click here
Website: N/A
Tel: 0914828042
Opening hours: 6am to 9pm. Closes at 8pm on a Sunday. 
Price: 40,000 VND

Review: Finding a gym in Hanoi which was willing to sell a day pass actually turned out to be pretty difficult. Several of the gyms listed on google maps have either closed down or were never gyms in the first place. X-Men gym saved me on a Sunday evening when the first two gyms I went to were closed. 

X-men Gym benefits from being close to the tourist area in Hue, and form having long opening hours. The gym itself is on the smaller side, but has just about everything that you need for a decent workout. 

The gym has:

• Dumbbells to 35kg 
• Adjustable benches 
• Flat barbell bench 
• Incline barbell bench 
• Decline barbel bench 
• Shoulder press bench 
• Squat rack 
• Olympic bars
• Easy bars 
• Hammer curl bar 
• Cables 
• Leg press machine 
• Leg extension machine 
• Lower back extension machine 
• Dips bar 
• Lat pulldown 
• T bar row machine 
• Oblique abs turner thing 
• Punch bag 
• Treadmill 
• Static bikes 

Strangely, bucking the trend of other asian gyms, the whole floor in this gym is made of padded material. This means that it is a little weird doing things like deadlifts or squats because the ground under you is not 100% firm. So be careful if its leg day!This gym doesn't have air conditioning or wifi, but the weather in Hue means that it doesn't get too hot in this gym. 

There is some cardio equipment here. It is pretty old but it is functional. It is also probably worth knowing that the punch bag hanging in the middle of the gym is full of sand. This means that the top is of the bag is usable, but low kicks or hooks basically feel like kicking concrete. It also means that a jab, cross, low kick combination gets progressively more painful. 

The gym does sell water and other isotonic drinks, as well as grips and gloves. They did have some protein near the front of the gym, so you may be able to grab some here if you don't have time to hit up a supplement shop. You can check out my article on finding protein and supplements in Vietnam here. 

Who is this gym for? On both days I trained here, the gym was full of shirtless local guys and a couple of local women. The atmosphere was friendly enough, but there is no doubt that this is definitely a local gym. This might be a little off putting for single travellers or beginners, but go and have a look and make up your own mind. 

Tips: The gym doesn't seem to have much signage on the street. You need to walk into the building and the gym is kinda hidden at the back of the ground floor. Check out the photo at the top and the ones below to see what the entrance looks like. 

Photos: