Related to Fitness Centres in Taiwan-
I’m a trainer back in the States and NASM certified and just arrived here in town recently and have the following questions…
Thanks in advace and appreciate any feedback comments.
Welcome to the club.
I am NSCA and ACE certified.
When I moved here, I joined the now defunct Alexander. Most of the trainers stood around doing nothing. I had some private clients and no one said anything.
I am now at World Gym. The trainers there seem to do a brisk business.
If I’m not mistaken, the going rate for 1:1 personal training is somewhere between NT$1000 - NT$1500/hr, but I didn’t look into it that closely.
My impression was that the local market was generally unwilling to pay for 1:1 personal training and preferred the group dance classes. One client said culturally, they didn’t like someone hovering over them while they exercised. (That was one person’s opinion, so I don’t know if the feeling is actually widespread.)
FormosaFitness has been much more aggressive at building a training business/clientele than I ever was. I felt there was more economic opportunity elsewhere. He may have more specific tips on setting up a training business.
As for gym memberships, it seems to vary greatly. I’m happy at World Gym where I pay about NT$1000/month. California Fitness (The 24hr affiliate here) is all over the place with locations and rates. Taipei city has been building fitness centers all over the place with per use fees that are really cheap. You can find a lot of gym information on other Forumosa threads. Do a quick search.
People sometimes prefer groups classes because it hides the fact they don’t know how to exercise. They might not like someone hovering over them because then that fact becomes obvious. The classes in general are an extremely ineffective way to work out. They’re bare minimum.
As for prices, I would be very surprised if NT$1000-1500 per hour is net in the globogyms. That’s likely gross before you pay the gym their hefty cut. As for aerobics/body combat/etc. classes, I’ve heard that NT$500 is the going rate per hour.
I’m also at WorldGym and I paid 1200nt per hour 1:1 sessions. My trainer of almost two years recently got into some trouble so there is no longer any English speaking trainer available.
A lot of the people I seem to run into my gym seem to be at two ends of the spectrum. Older housewives there for a walk on the treadmill and some chat time or body builders there every day who don’t need much training.
Do you go to the one in Xindian? What time are you there? I go late mornings a few times a week.
Nope, NeiHu branch.