[quote=“ushneb”][quote=“HomeAgain”][quote=“ushneb”][quote=“HomeAgain”]Hi Ben,
I already arrived in Taipei last weekend. I remember you’ve been to Tai-Da gym. I’m wondering if Tai-Da gym located right inside the Tai-Da campus on Roosevelt Road? And if yes, where in that campus? Thank you.[/quote]
Umm, I don’t remember the street it’s closest to but you can clearly see the freeway. It’s actually a smaller street right next to the freeway. It’s the NTU Gymnasium. Here’s a PDF from the NTU website and it has some pictures to help you locate the building: tx.liberal.ntu.edu.tw/GCotDtp08/ … sf-v22.pdf.
But it’s a really big structure so it’s hard to miss. The gym portion is in the basement level. When you walk downstairs you’ll see a counter with a few windows and that’s where you pay to use the facility.
EDIT: I just did a google maps search for “NTU Gymnasium Taipei” and it brought it up. Make sure to select satellite view. It’ll be the big white circle on the corner of Xinsheng S. Rd and XinHai Rd.[/quote]
Ben,
Thanks for the directions. I really appreciate that.
It’s been almost two weeks since I arrived in Taipei. Since then, besides busy looking for rental, I also spent some time checking out Tai-Da gym as well as 4 different locations of Taipei Gym. Here’s what I found:
Both Tai-Da Gym and Taipei Gym (all 4 locations) are pretty basic with the latter relatively more advanced than the former. But Tai-Da Gym is way bigger space than Taipei Gym and looks cleaner. All 4 locations of Taipei gyms are very cramped – very very cramped in basements. But they’re associated with the Chinese Taipei Weightlifting Association and lots of Taiwanese competitive bodybuilders are / were trained / work there. In fact, I think most managers of their gyms are / were bodybuilders themselves. And they offer free personal trainer sessions to members. So they are both a for-profit as well as a weightlifting / bodybuilding advocacy group. But their gyms are really small, crowded and un-inviting-looking.
However, if you’re / choose to be on a budget and all you want is a functional gym that can give you what you need to work out so you can keep in shape, build up muscles or lose weight, or just stay healthy, and don’t care all the façade that expensive fancy gyms offer, then Taipei gym is for you.
From what Taipei gym told me, they’re throwing a special now – pay NT 12000 for 3 years and 15000 for 5 years. But when visiting them, only the one on Xinsheng S Road and the one on Ba-De Road offered me this special. The other two did not. I didn’t know why but just for your information in case you want to take advantage of this offer after checking them out. Although they’re limited in English capability (I spoke Mandarin with them), I actually saw one foreigner (Caucasian) member in 3 of the 4 locations when visiting them during off-peak hour.
Tai-Da Gym is actually considered a cheaper gym in Taipei but still relatively more expensive than Taipei Gym,. Their rates are (only for weightlifting room) NT 5000 half a year / 9000 a year. But students only pay NT 750 / 1350, Faculty 1250 / 2250, Immediate family members 2000 / 3600, Alumni 4000 / 7200.
I think these two gyms are probably the most economical gyms in Taipei, neither being perfect but doable, each with pros and cons.
I did not check out World Gym because of their high prices and the numerous negative experiences I read over internet. Besides, I believe many Forumosans probably know them pretty well already.
The city of Taipei also has 12 district sports centers that you can use. They normally charge NT50 / visit., if you’re over 65, gym and swimming pool are free 2pm-4pm every day. But check with them first. I didn’t visit any one of them. Their web site is at
taipei.gov.tw/MP_100087.html
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an English version of this site.[/quote]
Mike,
Thanks for getting all the pricing. I don’t think I would’ve been able to remember all of that. lol
Yeah, being a student at Tai-Da brings the cost way down.
I’m really looking forward to going to Taiwan. Still haven’t set a date yet but it’ll definitely be sometime in Oct or Nov so I got a little bit to go.[/quote]
Hi, can you confirm that the cost is 200NT a day for the NTU gym for non-student, non-professor, non-family member? I’m looking for alternatives currently, and will explain in more detail my situation.
Currently I am a member at World Gym, and I primarily go to the Taipei Main Station branch, and live in Gongguan. I had a 24 Hour Fitness membership back in the US (which I purchased for $300 USD, 2 year membership), and converted it into a Calfifornia Gym membership on a full time basis. Since California Gym is now defunct in Taiwan, I am a World Gym member. I made the terrible mistake of purchasing a 1 and a half year membership for my girlfriend for 17,000NT. However bad the old California Gym was at TPE Main, the “new” World Gym is every bit as bad as what has been stated in this educating thread.
I don’t mean to demean the gym, or the business itself, but the whole gym is absolutely atrocious; the lockers are tiny, the changing room is ridiculously small, the bathroom is disgusting with some weird rotten smell permeating throughout the whole place, the gym layout is terrible, and the equipment is basically as everyone said, the same old machines that California Gym was using before exiting this market. This is by far the worst gym I have ever been to in my entire life.
I understand that a gym membership here in Taiwan is considered a “luxury”, so I can only play by the rules. Even though my gym membership doesn’t expire until November, I’m planning on just forfeiting it with my girlfriend if we can find a cleaner gym that is “pay by the hour” or “pay by the day”. However, I find 200NT to be a bit steep since my stays at the gym last no longer than 2 hours at most each time since I don’t get off work till late. This would make the Zhong Zheng District and Da An District gyms more appealing, but I’d have to drive there (no parking there either), as it is not walkable from where I live.
