I tried doing some online research in Chinese and English but still have not found what I am looking for in Hualien:
A place to do weightlifting. I came across this place, Yawei, but it seems like it just has cardio equipment (treadmills, bikes) and exercise classes. Does anyone know if it has a weight room? I tried translating but maybe I am missing something. Or if there is some kind of community gym like the Taipei YMCA fitness centers?
Update so far: A Hualien resident told me that the only place is the Yawei place (yawei.com.tw/) I mentioned above. They have two locations, Hualien and Ji’An, but he says only the main gym in Hualien has weight lifting equipment. The Ji’An branch just has a pool.
If anyone knows of any other places please let me know.
Here’s a good place: http://yawei.com.tw/
Hai-An Road No. 1-100
Pool and weight room (both free weights and machines). A bit pricey (I think 400 for one visit), but you can buy a booklet of tickets that work out to 250 NT per visit. They have various classes and they are just full of people, but the weight room is not so crowded.
by a coincidence, I was wondering about this only today.
yawei in Meilun is expensive if you just want weights, and I’ve heard issues with the pool not being that well maintained (contractors leaving pieces of metal, screws, on the bottom). The Ji’an branch is indeed only a small pool and spa, no gym there.
But I can’t believe that’s all there is here, there must be some sweaty, smelly, non air-conned backstreet shack where you can lift iron.
Gonna to get the wife to do some investigation…
Thank you so much! As a female and relatively new to lifting I still am a little intimidated. I know I probably won’t find anything like Formosa Fitness, but once I move to Hualian I will check out these places. I will report back by the end of the month, I hope. Thanks for the information.
In Hualien? Not that I know of. It’s not a big town.
There’s a good chance even the places I listed are anything but weightlifting joints, although I haven’t checked them out.
I still have to check these places one day but they are a little out of my area:
[strike]2. 健康瑜伽中心 973花蓮縣吉安鄉中山路1段72號 03-8541972[/strike] Yoga
4. 中華日健(股)成美健康中心 970花蓮縣花蓮市華民街6號 03-8233376
I checked the following places but nada:
[strike]1. 健身院 970花蓮縣花蓮市中山路316號4樓 03-8342543[/strike] This number is no longer in service. Also, see note re: #3
[strike]3. 太陽神健身院 970花蓮縣花蓮市中山路314號3樓 03-8338006[/strike] The woman who answered knew I was looking for the Taiyang Gym since she said many people have called about it in the past. But she said it seems like the information posted online is wrong. It is a clinic. I though maybe it was just the phone number that was wrong however when I rode to the location it is a definitely a medical clinic, not a gym.
[strike]5. 徐名揚 970花蓮縣花蓮市中山路314號3樓 03-8338006[/strike] Same as above.
Yawei seems okay. The weight room was at the very back and a few people were using the equipment. It seemed to have the basics. The busiest areas were the treadmill/stationary bike area and the workout class studio, as well. But all these are near the front. I like that I can walk to the very back and hide out in the weight area. I will check out the other places (#2, #4) but I like that Yawei is across from the beach bike/walking path. It opens early (5am-10:45am, lunch break, then reopens until 11:30pm). It also as an outdoor track next door with some bleachers. I am not sure if it is part of Yawei or just part of a the outdoor stadium. They are advertising 2500NT a month, or 5000NT for three months, 7500NT for 6 months. That includes usage of all facilities as well as classes. I still have to find out if the monthly fee allows you to use the pool at the Zhongzheng location. I might try it out for a month and keep looking. So if anyone knows of other places I am still interested!
I was afraid that would happen when you checked out those places , but hey, at least you have Yawei. I’ve never used the weights area, but agree that the place itself is well located. If you join the Zhongzheng pool (which is far cheaper), then you definitely don’'t get reciprocal use at Yawei, but it is worth checking if that could work in reverse.
Still find it surprising that there’s no other place to do weights here. Yawei has only been open 4 years or so, what did people do before that?
There is and a gymgoer today mentioned one. I tried to get the name for you but he didn’t remember it or even the address. He described it as a tiny place that has nothing but free weights and a power rack. Apparently the owner is a ex-Olympic lifter and he and his friends lift there with a few other gymgoers but it’s not widely known. I’ll let you know if I get more info.
That would be so great if you could get more information! Thank you. My already non-existent muscles are withering away and with all the noodles and sticky rice balls I’ve been eating I am turning a bit QQ myself! (The STX is still in the box, I confess).
So what happened with the info? Keeping it small by not posting it public eh? Would you mind sending me the info on where this small weightlifting place is?
I just moved to Hualian and this seems like the perfect place for me. Any info on prices etc?
You can buy a booklet of 10 tickets for 2,500 NT at that Yawei place. That’s still not cheap but if you relax in the spa for a while after the weights it might be worth it to you. They also have an outdoor pool that mostly empty most of the time. The weight room is not bad there with a decent amount of free weights. The tickets expire after one year.
SunGod Gym on the third floor of a place around the corner from Linsen road; find it by looking for a chinese medicine pharmacy store front. The gym entrance is next to that.
There is another place on Jung Shan down from the Starbucks. I’ll try to get addresses today or tomorrow.
BTW, SunGod gym is rigged wth serious equipment. The owner used to compete.
, but hey, at least you have Yawei. I’ve never used the weights area, but agree that the place itself is well located. If you join the Zhongzheng pool (which is far cheaper), then you definitely don’'t get reciprocal use at Yawei, but it is worth checking if that could work in reverse.