Singapore - Bruce Fitness, Singapore

Location: Bruce Fitness, 20 Aljunued Road, Elite Building #01-04, 389805
Google maps: Click here
Web: Click here
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 9am to 11pm 

Sat and Sun: 9am to 8pm
Price: 10 Singapore dollars (approx £5)

Like the look of this gym? If you want to stay nearby then you can check out the links to hotels within walking distance at the end of this article.

Review: As one of the most developed cities in South East Asia, finding a decent gym as a traveller in Singapore can be hard. Whilst there are no shortage of high-end chain gyms throughout the city state, most of these operate on the same monthly membership model as the UK. Gyms here try and discourage casual use by making day passes very expensive, in the hope that it will push you into joining and paying a monthly fee. 

However, I did manage to locate a couple of decent gyms which offered reasonably priced day passes and Bruce Fitness was one of them. Located in the Geylang part of Singapore, Bruce fitness was a great and pretty modern gym, which a wide variety of equipment and most modern training modalities available. 

With cardio equipment and LCD TVs down one side of the gym and resistance machines and free weights occupying the rest, there is something here for everyone. Its evident that fitness culture has well and truly taken off in Singapore, although there was a good mix of expats, tourists and locals in the gym. 

• Dumbbells up to 50kg 
• Adjustable benches 
• Flat barbell bench 
• Decline bench 
• Olympic bars 
• Cables 
• Smith machine 
• Easy bar 
• Preacher curl bench 
• T bar row machine 
• Incline chest press machine 
• Lat pull down machine 
• Pull up bar / drips bar / leg raise platform 
• Lower back raise platform 
• Leg press machine 
• Medicine balls 
• Jumping boxes 
• Swiss balls 
• Foam rollers 
• Yoga mats 
• TRX
• Weighted sleds
• Tires
• Resistance bands 
• Rowing machines
• Static bikes 
• Treadmills 
• Cross trainers

As well as this, the gym also offers lockers and changing rooms for customers to use. I checked them out and they were clean and plesant. As you might expect of a gym of this calibre, it also has air conditioning and wifi throughout. 

 Finally, the gym also has supplements on sale, which is good if you won't have time to go hunting for them. If you do have time however, there are cheaper placed in Singapore to stock up. 

Who is this gym for? Whilst I trained here I was lots of people of both sexes training here, as well as a good mix of expats and locals. The place has a friendly and professional atmosphere and is located off the main road. As such, I have no reservations about recommending this place to everyone, regardless of experience. 

Tips: Also, don't miss the outside training area if you want to try some functional strength training in some fresh air.   

Nearby Hotels:

• Amrise Hotel from £25
• Champion Hotel from £48
• Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy from £99

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Kuala Lumpur - Jatomi Fitness, Malaysia

Location:  Jatomi Fitness, Tropicana City Mall, 3, Jalan SS 20/27, Damansara Jaya, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Google Maps: Click here 
Web: Click here
Opening hours: Mon to Fri: 6am to 12am 
Sat: 6am to 9pm
Sun: 8am to 8pm
Price: 10 ringgits (£2)


Review: Having returned to Kuala Lumpur on the way to the Maldives, we decided to spend a couple of days in the Selangor area. This was the same area that I found the super old school Muscle Gym, which you can read about here.

Close by and on the total other end of the spectrum, is Jatomi Fitness which is located in the Tropicana City Mall. It is a gym so modern that your entrance and changing room access is controlled with a wrist strap embedded with a microchip. Because a turn-style is just too old fashioned.

Everything about Jatomi Fitness screams modern gym, from the slam bags to the battle ropes almost every new training modality is covered here. The brand says it is,  "focused on being one of the world’s most innovative fitness club operators" and it shows. The gym is one of the best equipped that I have come across in South East Asia, eclipising many of the gyms I used to train in in the UK. This gym has:

• Dumbbells up to 50kg 
• Adjustable bench 
• Flat barbell bench 
• Incline barbell bench 
• Squat rack x 2 
• Smith machine 
• Cables x 3
• Olympic bars 
• Easy bar 
• Fixed weight bars
• Assisted pull up / dips bar  
• Lat pulldown   
• Chest press machine 
• Shoulder press machine 
• Seated low row machine
• Leg press machine 
• Leg extension machine 
• Leg curl machine
• Thigh abductor 
• Various abs machines 
• Kettle bells 
• Medicine balls 
• Punch balls 
• Bosu balls 
• Tire 
• Weighted bags 
• Rowing machine 
• Stepper machine 
• Cross trainers 
• Static bikes 
• Treadmills 
• Foam rollers  
• Battle ropes 
• TRX
• A-Frame 
• Two studio spaces 

But it doesn't stop there. The gym also offers a wide variety of group classes, such as the ever popular Les Mills range, to Zumba and Yoga. Group exercise is really popular in Malaysia as a way of socialising and spending time with your friends. It can also be a great way to meet people.

As you would expect, the gym also has lockers, changing rooms and showers, which were all clean and smelled ok. As well as the standard offerings the gym also has free wifi, air conditioning and even free Tea and coffee and water. A lot of thought has gone into this place and is shows.

At the moment you can also sign up for a free day pass on their website by clicking here. Look for the box in the top or bottom right hand corner of the screen.

Who is this gym for? I have no hesitation in recommending this place to everyone and I had a great workout here. The atmosphere was professional, clean and safe. Whether you want to lift heavy or take a spin class, you Jatomi Fitness is worth a visit. If you want a unique training experience in this part of KL, then I would honestly say go check out Muscle Gym. But if you want a workout in a world class gym with all the trimming, then check this place out!

Tips: Tropicana City Mall is pretty hard to get to by foot. Save yourself the headache I has and take an Uber.  And remember: Malaysia conservative country, so dress accordingly when picking out your gym gear.

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Bali - Nathan's Gym, Nusa Dua

Location: Nathan's Gym, Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No.4, Benoa, Kuta Sel, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361

Google maps: Click here

Web: Facebook

Opening hours: 7am to 8pm.

Price: 20,000 IDR (approx £1.25)

Review: Having spent a few days in Ubud, I hadn't managed to train because the gym there was closed for a religious holiday. So when we got down to the pristine beaches of Nusa Dua, it was time to head off and find a gym.

Nathan's gym is located on one of the main through roads in Nusa Dua, which can make getting to it a little tricky. You may want to rent a moped to get here. If you are thinking of renting a moped in Bali, you really should check out this article that I wrote on renting and riding mopeds in South East Asia.

If you don't fancy braving the chaotic roads of Bali, you can use Grab or Uber as both these apps work in Bali. But you need to be a little careful. These apps are not illegal in Indonesia but using them publicly could lead to hassle with the local taxi drivers.

Once you get there, the gym itself is located above the IndoMart. The gym is a decent size with a wide variety of weight machines and free weights. The gym also has cardio equipment but this is somewhat dated, but it is in functional order. However, Nathan's gym is much more of a body builder's gym.

This gym has:

• Dumbbells up to 30kg 
• Adjustable benches 
• Flat barbell bench 
• Olympic bars
• Smith machines x 2 
• Cables 
• Easy bar
• Preacher curl bench
• Lat pulldown 
• Chest press machine 
• Shoulder press machine 
• Seated low row 
• Dips / leg raise bar 
• Pull up bar 
• Leg press 
• Leg extension 
• Leg curl machine 
• Weighted row machine 
• Cross trainers  
• Treadmills 
• Static bikes
• Cross trainer 

From its front desk, the gym sells water as well as some accessories and supplements. The gym has free wifi which works well. However, there is no air conditioning here and despite having large open windows it still gets really hot in here. You need to remember to bring a towel because you will sweat buckets here. 

Who is this gym for? This is very much a local's gym, and I was the only tourist in here when I visited. However, there were both men and women  training  here. Whilst it was a little strange training here, everyone was friendly and made me feel welcome. 

When I got stuck at the gym because I couldn't get Uber to work due to my phone dying, one of the locals even offered to drive me back to my hotel. If you are new to the gym, or a single female traveller who doesn't like attention, you might find the atmosphere here a little intimidating. Other than that, I had a great workout here and see no issues in recommending the gym, provided you can get to it.

Tips: The gym also sells protein by dose for 13,000 IND per dose. (£0.80). Its a great place to stock up if you don't want to have to buy a whole tub of protein.

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