Weights!

Hi,

Has anyone seen a place where I could get some small leg weights that are suitable for running? Basically, you wrap these things around your ankles or wrists and then go for a jog; gives you a great workout. I’ve used them before in Oz for martial arts training, but haven’t seen them here…

Cheers,

The Big Babou

I think I’ve seen them in sports equipment shops. I even bought some wrist weights (and used them about twice :blush: ) I bought mine in a shop in Kungkuan that has closed down in the meantime. But I think they’re all over the place. There is one on the Eastern side of Fuhsing Sth. Road, a little down from Hsin Yi Rd. towards Heping. There are also several shops around Kungkuan, I believe, possibly also around Shida.

HTH
Iris

Babou, I’ve always wondered about such weights. I figured it might be dangerous as it would put unnatural stress on the joints, but you seem to have used them successfully. How much weight are we talking about here, how often do you use them, and have you ever had any negative side effects from them.

Thanks for the advice, Iris! I’ll be sure to check out some of those stores.
Hakkasonic, IMO there’s no danger as the weights are actually very light. I’m planning to use them for short runs only. A good way to practice would be to run with a couple of small free-weights in your hands (maybe 2.5lb each). You’ll get a “feeling for it” pretty quickly.

Cheers,

The Big Babou

i’ve seen them in “ai mai” stashed about the 1800 NT bicycles. about 200 nt for a pair. “ai mai” is GIANT (i think).

Hi, I’m a newbie to Taiwan. I’m also an old gym rat who can’t seem to give up the habit. I’ve spent a good deal of time looking on this website and on others, and I can’t seem to find a good place for exercise in the Chungli/Nei Li area.

My problem is that I like mindless, numbing, alienating exercise with free weights (weights that are free of machine control; you have to use your own muscles to guide and control them). Does anyone know of:

  1. Any gym/workout/anything-with-free-weights place in Taoyuan County, preferably near north Chungli?

(however, if you know of any good gym/facility in Taiwan, please post its info here)

  1. A good place to buy free weights in Taipei? Better yet, in Taoyuan Co.?

(I need the Olympic style, 20kg big plates down through the 5kg’s, with an Olympic barbell, too-and a good bench that will double as a squat rack. I live in a new housing maze near Nei Li and I’m pretty sure that I can put these weights in an exercise area already maintained by my building. I only need a starter set, maybe 150kg or so, including the barbell. I’m only interested in building & maintaining upper- and lower-body strength for climbing, hiking, riding, etc.).

Thanks in advance from an old gravity beater!

1 Like

You can buy wrist and ankle weights in the sports goods shop in the ground floor of NTNU/Shida’s “white building” (zonghe dalou).

Anybody know where I can buy my own free weights? I only need a starter set, 150kg or so (Olympic-style weights, including Olympic-style barbell). I am new to Taiwan, don’t know much, so any outlet is better than none, but closer to Taoyuan county would be better.

Anyone know of such a shop, in Taoyuan, Taipei, or elsewhere?

Richardm wrote:
I don’t know why anyone would want to work out in a shop window.

???

I am only asking for any information anyone might care to share about a place (an outlet, as in retail outlet–sorry if this is unclear) where I can buy my own free weights in Taiwan.

Again, if anyone knows where I can buy free weights in Taiwan, please post any info you may have.

Thanks (in advance)!

Why would you buy free weights?

Oh, you boys! Leave deanminns alone. :wink:
I don’t know about Taoyuan County, but there are many, many sporting goods shops around and most of them have free weights (free weights are those flat, round plates that get screwed onto bars of various lengths, right?) There’s one that has them for sure on Shida Rd. and another on Leli Rd. just off the Keelung/Heping intersection.
I don’t know if they’re Olympic standard though.

Why would you buy free weights?[/quote]

Tigerman, I don’t know about you, but I always wait for free. I’d love to get paid for it.[/quote]

HS, you’re lucky… My time is money, and my rates are high… if I’m forced to wait for free, I’m in effect losing money…

We had a rant in another thread that I can’t find now about how all the weight bars in Taiwan have screwy ends instead of collars, which means it takes an age to change the plates. It’s one of those cases where they do make the good stuff here, but it all gets exported so we can’t buy it. The same is true, for example, of bicycle dynamos and professional quality power tools. Annoying! I know Taiwanese companies make the stuff because I’ve spent countless thousands of hours translating and editing their export trade ads.

If anyone knows where you can get weight bars with collars, I want to know!

Thanks, Juba, for the barbell info. That should limit the time I might have spent standing on knowledge I brought here, loudly insisting that my barbell must have collars–collars, dammit!

Screwy system. (Just getting a head start on the bad puns. Take it away, gentlemen! That’s you, Richardm, Tigerman, HakkaSonic, et al. But please remember: it’s quality, not quantity, that counts. :wink: )

deanminns,

I don’t remember the exact location, but I believe Alexanders has opened a place about a ten minute walk northwest of the train station. It’s past Chung-Hwa Telecom, there is a main street that runs east and west and I believe it’s on the corner of one of those streets northwest of the trainstation. Ask someone in Chung-Li City where Alexanders is, someone will know. I am not sure that this branch has all you need, but maybe you can check them out.

JeffG,

Thanks for the response. The Alexander’s gym you mentioned won’t actually open until December. Instead I found a much better place, a place that more closely meets my needs. It’s on Xinchung Bei Rd. in northern Chungli, near Chung Yuan University. It’s actually about 1.5km past (east) of the university’s “sports complex,” i.e., the swimming pool, basketball/tennis/handball courts, and track & field area that sits near the train tracks on the southern edge of the campus.

I like this place because it’s small-ish, there seems to be a limited amount of pretention among the members (not much spandex, anyway), and in general it looks like a good place to sweat, not preen. Of course, it’s a free-weight gym, not a cardio-centered place (not socially centered, either). The weights are Olympic-style, no screwed ends. Also fairly cheap: although there are a number of payment plans, the one I chose is nt$3000 up front and nt$600/mo. thereafter. The nt$3000 is a one-time initiation fee. No contract. Owner’s English name is Jack, and he seems to be ok. It looks like this place has been there forever, so I’m basically concluding that stability (cash flow) is no problem. Still, I haven’t really put that much at risk, just the nt$3000. That said, if anybody’s interested I can post the phone number and you can talk to Jack.

Now I’m just waiting for the butt/leg pain to fully set in and then go away from yesterday’s first-time-in-4-months squat “routine” (about 8 reps followed by a big yelp out of me as my rubber-band hamstrings seized up). Sheesh, just trying to get out of my chair ain’t no fun now, stairs are gonna be impossible tomorrow…

deanminns,

I thought Alexander’s opened last year, the signs were placed months and months ago… Well, I guess that doesn’t mean anything…

I forgot about that place and thought you wanted somewhere in Chung-Li City proper. The place you mention about near Chung Yuan University is pretty good.

Anyway good luck and have fun!

Hi, I was wondering if some kind Forumosan sports expert could give me some advice on the following situation.

I do weights training five times a week (Mon - Fri) in the morning. This is going fine, but that’s not what I need info about. Due to an up-coming change in my schedule, I will have more time in the mornings for exercise and want to include some cardio (running/cycling) into my morning routine. What I want to know is:

  • can I do the cardio so close to my weight lifting?
  • if so, should I do it before or after I train?
  • can I push it when doing the cardio exercise or should I take it easy?

Thanks in advance!

teggs

My coworker is an ex-trainter, and he has given me lots of advice on strength training and fitness. What I learned from the book he gave me is, that if you must do cardio and weights on the same day, be sure to do weights first, or the quality of your strength training will suffer.
I followed the advice, and do those on seperate days. The book he gave me is called Body for Life. He has an extensive fitness library, and that’s the one he chose to share with me, so I figure it must be good advice.
Next time I see him, I’ll ask for his personal opinion.
Oh yeah, and this book also says that yes, you should push it, in the form of interval training for about 20 minutes.

Thanks! By interval training, you mean running/cycling and varying the speed, right?

teggs