I’ve spent around 7 or 8 months living in the Philippines across several visits. Mostly based in Manila, but I’ve also managed to get myself to Boracay and Palawan as well.
It should be quite easy to find a gym to train at during your visit to the Philippines because a) English is widely spoken; and b) negotiation and haggling are generally accepted. You should be able to negotiate some kind of visitor pass even at the “membership-only” chain gyms.
On the other hand, many gyms focus on group classes such as Zumba, Yoga and the like – it may be hard to find a decent free weights area.
Below is a list of gyms that can be used by short-term visitors to the Philippines (i.e. gyms that offer trial memberships, daily / weekly / monthly rates, visitor passes and the like). Some of them have good free weights areas, some are machine-focused. Check out the links for details.
Gyms in Manila [click for detailed information]
Gyms in Angeles City / Subic / Olongapo [coming soon]
Nationwide major chain gyms
- Gold’s Gym
- Location: Major chain with 30 locations in the Philippines: 22 locations around Manila, 3 around the Angeles City area, 2 in Cebu, 1 in Cagayan de Oro and 1 in Olongapo. Search for a location near you.
- Prices for short-term visitors: 500PHP (single visit), 2500PHP (week), 3800PHP (month) [This price was offered at the Gold’s Gym Glorietta (Manila, Philippines) location. [Read my review] of that location.
- Opening hours: Check the official website for the opening hours for each facility.
- Facilities: As far as I can tell Gold’s offers the biggest and best free-weights facilities of all the chain gyms. However the gym I frequented myself was a little old and unclean.
- Fitness First
- Location: Major chain with 13 locations in Manila. Search for a location near you.
- Prices for short-term visitors: 550PHP (single visit) [This price was offered at the Robinsons Place Manila location]
- Opening hours: Check the official website for the opening hours for each facility.
- Facilities: The primary focus of this gym is its group classes – yoga, cycling and TRX. In the gym I visited 80% of the floor space was dedicated to these type of classes and there was a smaller free weights area located in a separate upstairs area. The facilities were generally nice and clean. (Note: the images below are from the Robinsons Place Manila location)
- Anytime Fitness
- Location: Major chain with 49 locations in the Philippines. Many of the locations are in Manila, but there are also Anytime Fitness gyms in Cebu, Davao and Angeles City. Search for a location near you.
- Prices for short-term visitors: 500PHP (single visit) / 4000PHP (month) [This price was offered at the Paseo Center (Makati, Manila) location. [Read my review] of that location]
- Opening hours: 24/7. But if you’re a casual visitor, you will need to visit while the gym is staffed (or sneak in when another member uses his/her key pass to gain access).
- Facilities: Small free-weights area, but you should generally be able to find a squat rack and bench, etc. Cleaner and newer than the Gold’s I visited.
- Slimmers World International
- Location: Major chain with around a dozen locations around Manila and in Cebu. Their official website [http://www.slimmersworld.com.ph/] doesn’t seem to work, so you’ll have to rely on Google maps.
- Prices for short-term visitors: Seems to vary by location. I was quoted “800-1000PHP” for a single visit or “1500-2000 PHP” for a monthly pass. They also offered me a “free trial visit” on the phone.
- Facilities:, I have little information about the facilities at Slimmers World International. The reviews amongst the locals are generally not good. Some of the quotes I’ve read are “very few, if any people there actually look like they work out”; “They don’t really have state-of-the machines and equipment”. I’d probably only try this chain if there were no Gold’s or Anytime Fitness locations nearby.
Have you been to any of these gyms? Leave a comment and let us know what you thought!
Do you know any other gyms in the Philippines suitable for short-term visitors? Submit a gym review!