Gyms in Japan? (For bodybuilding)

[Nachosamurai]

Currently enrolling in JET, and I'm curious as to how their gyms compare to American gyms. Am I going to have a hard time finding familiar stuff? Are the weights in metric?

Also, anyone else here interested in body building? =D

[B MacD]

Currently enrolling in JET, and I'm curious as to how their gyms compare to American gyms. Am I going to have a hard time finding familiar stuff? Are the weights in metric?

Also, anyone else here interested in body building? =D

It will really depend on where you go. I generally train everyday, although not to the "bodybuilding" level..could never fully get my diet under control. Anyways here's my thoughts on Japanese gyms..

If you are somewhere rural, your gym might be a problem. I started in Japan in a small city in Saga, which is pretty darn country. This gym was really more of a fitness museum. Rusting weights, no idicator as to what they weighed, shockingly old pressure-designed weight systems, (I had never even seen these prior to coming, and they SUCK!), and just an appalling lack of equipment in general. I could cobble together a workout, but it was very limited. There were no dumbells over 50 lbs. And this was the best the city had to offer.

When I moved to Fukuoka, it got better. I found a very modern club, and although a bit lacking, was light years ahead of the relic in Saga. Still not as much in the way of equipment and dumbells as you'd find back home (no barbell incline bench, decline, etc) but overall decent. The focus really was more on cardio..they devoted ridiculous amounts of space to cardio, to the neglect of weights..only one bench press for the whole gym.

Based on my experience, Japanese guys aren't really into weight training..so the demand for good equipment is less. 90% of the people there didn't have a clue what they were doing either. Doing 5 reps for bicep curls and calling it a day isn't going to make you big..they didn't seem to grasp that. I'm only 185 lbs, and bench around 205..yet almost always, I was the biggest guy there. Weird.

The hours were also really poor..my gym didn't open till 9:30am!! WTF. It closed at 10 as well, so I'd really have to hustle my workouts on days I was working. If you're doing JET it shouldn't be that much of a problem for you though (I was with Nova). There were no 24 hour gyms in Fukuoka. Its also expensive. I was paying 10,000 yen a month for my membership. Costs extra to use the tennis courts, and I was banned from the pool after they discovered I have 2 tattoos.

Supplements are pretty pricy too, and in small quantities. If you are going hardcore, it might be cheaper to have them sent from home. Everything will be in kilograms. If you're a serious bodybuilder you may have a hard time finding weights heavier than 70-80 lbs or so. If you're sent in/near a big city, access to something decent shouldn't be too big of a problem.

B

[nice gaijin]

The nicest gym I found was in Osaka (the name escapes me but i think i have a brochure around here somewhere) and membership cost the equivalent of $220 per month. ouch.

Other than that, I saw gyms at the universities that had some decent equipment and cheap membership, but they are for students. Like B MacD said, it'll really depend on where you're placed.

[hanacker]

There was a pretty good gym in Nara that was something like 600 yen per visit or 3000 yen per month. Might have been a tiny bit more expensive (10000-12000 for 3 months maybe) but definitely good enough for me. Mostly old people went there and did cardio so there weren't that many people using the weights so that was good too. Not much eye candy with all the old people but oh well.

[Pierrot le Fou]

I go to a gym with modern weights and American machines. It costs 10k a month. I live in Kansai in a city of 80,000. However, as said, there is a lack of really heavy dumbells, as well as only one bench for the whole gym. The weights are generally lacking (though not for me, I'm not looking to get truly huge).

The dumbells go up to 30 kilos (66 pounds), and the weights for the bench go up to about 140-150 kilos (that's a bit over 300 pounds).

The public gym was far cheaper, but only had weights going up to 50 kilos (110 pounds), and even I can lift that no problem on the bench.

There are far better gyms for weightlifters and the like in major cities. You just have to find them. If you don't mind the lack of a pool, you can find some good gyms with lots of weights for cheaper than what most of us pay for a gym membership, because of the inclusion the pool, and cardio programs (and yoga and whatnot) in a normal gym membership even if you don't ever use them.

[chinesejycc]

"The public gym was far cheaper, but only had weights going up to 50 kilos (110 pounds), and even I can lift that no problem on the bench."

What the? Japanese public gym have lighter weights than American public schools.

[Pierrot le Fou]

Weight lifting is not a very big thing in Japan. And it isn't generally a part of High School sports training either. Endurance and cardio training are far more popular.

[drdan]

This all sounds so funny because in my high school, lifting was pretty popular. Heck, our school had a bodybuilding competition every spring to say the least. But I remember one guy who benched 405lbs. which was pretty damn good.

[YukataNinja]

I went to Japan summer '04 to Hiroshima, and one of the guys from my school who also went was really into bodybuilding. He hooked up with the weight lifting club there, and would go to the gym daily (They had adequate free-weights for him, but this will ofcourse vary on location). There is atleast somewhat of a body building scene (if that's what you call it?) at the college level, I do not know outside of that. He went to a competition with the club, but I cannot comment specificly on what that was all about. He said all the japanese weight lifters were awesome and had a great time. Check out http://jh4933.tripod.com/illinipowerlifting/members/cantrell/cantrell.htm
and at the bottom there are pictures of him at the event and some links to weightlifting clubs.

[six-eight-ten]

I'm living in a fairly small city (population about 100,000). The city's sports center has a fairly good weightlifting facility (though I wish they had larger dumbells). There's also a Noah fitness center, but they don't really fit my schedule. You should be able to find something, though the quality may depend on where you end up going.

[hanacker]

Sounds like I found the only good, cheap gym in Japan. I'm not that into lifting but my Singaporean friend and this other guy were and they didn't seem to have a shortage of heavy weights.

[JSwede]

I go to Konami Sports Club myself, but it's a bit more oriented towards general fitness than pure bodybuilding.

You'd want to check into the local Gold's Gym, which is more bodybuilder oriented. Depending on location, they generally have a good selection of equipment.

[Nachosamurai]

I'm requesting either Osaka or Kobe, so hopefully I can find a gym that will fit my needs. I'm a bit wary of the cap on heavier weights... and I always order my supplements online so I shouldn't have too much trouble over that. (That is, if they will mail them to Japan for me... Hrmm...)

In any case, hopefully I can find a nice hellhole that has heavier weights than normal and no pool. A sauna would be nice, though...

Thanks for the responses! Hopefully I won't end up getting tiny when I arrive... :eek:

[Pierrot le Fou]

Aieeeeeeeee! Don't request Kobe or Hyogo prefecture! You can get stuck in the bumfuck sticks of nowhere!

Osaka PREFECTURE, not city, is a good pick (city is also good, but unlikely to be gotten). Kobe can get you stuck on Awaji island.

[Nachosamurai]

Appreciated!! Would you recommend Kyoto instead?

[Uska]

lol there's a gym next to my house that has awesome machines and free weights for like 30$ a month. And not to mention the gym i've used the most, the gym in the military base(Ft. Buchanan). That's FREE if you're a military personnel or family, but I went with my friends and I had to pay 3$ per visit. Gyms are so expensive in Japan, 220$ sheesh!

[Pierrot le Fou]

Kyoto ain't that good of a choice either. You can get shoved in the middle of nowhere in Kyoto as well.

[Nachosamurai]

After reviewing, I noticed I can request Kobe City, or Kyoto City. As such, I'm requesting Kobe City, as I heard its a bit more westernized and equally close to Osaka City. That makes my choices 1) Osaka City 2) Osaka 3) Kobe City

Is this looking pretty safe from being stuck in the middle of nowhere? Because I'll die if I'm not in an urban area... growing up in West Virginia has left me with a strong hatred for the rural.