Coming into the New Year, new resolutions and goals are made for the following months, with having a healthy and balanced diet and exercising two of the most common resolutions made each year. De La Salle University at Taft avenue is home to students, athletes, and student-athletes alike. In addition to the slew of various gym facilities around Taft, there are two new fitness centers which also aim to help residents along Taft reach their fitness goals. These two new gyms around the block are Gold’s Gym Taft, located at the 6th floor of Enrique Razon Sports Center, and CrossFit, which is located in Sherwood.
Pumping iron
When it comes to bodybuilding and getting that body aesthetic, people prefer to go to gyms which have complete and state-of-the-art equipment. For years, DLSU students would usually go to the Iron Works club in the 10th floor of Razon to work out until news about Gold’s Gym started to go around in 2015. It was not until the latter part of 2016 that Gold’s Gym finally opened its doors to Taft.
Gold’s Gym DLSU is the newest branch of Gold’s Gym. It boasts of the newest gym equipment from Hammer Strength, Star Trac, FreeMotion, and Human Sports. Its large space allows members to focus on their workouts and quality locker rooms are available for members to take a shower after exercising.
While other gyms may have the same amenities, the difference with Gold’s is, according to club manager Jerome Sarmiento, the quality of training. “Gold’s Gym is really focused on trainings and we’re [very] serious when it comes to training,” Sarmiento explains. “We really do keep track of the member’s records, the member’s work out routines. We see to it that their fitness goals are actually right and properly met.”
A Gold’s Gym membership costs around Php 29,000, which gives a member unlimited access to the DLSU branch for a year and four months. It also includes three sessions with a trainer plus access to group classes such as yoga, zumba, pilates, and dancing. Membership also gives you access to other Gold’s Gym branches, 12 visits per branch out of the 26 branches in the country, plus 14 visits abroad.
Inside the box
While some prefer aesthetics, some also argue that function is better than form, and that improving the way their body moves is more important than improving the way it looks. This has given rise to the popularity of CrossFit. A mix of weight lifting and circuit training, CrossFit, which started in 2000 in California, is in the fitness radar today in the Philippines.
What other people would call a gym is called a “box” in CrossFit. One enrolls in a class and works out in a “box”, and may choose between two kinds of workouts, CrossFit and CrossFit Lite. CrossFit includes weight lifting and circuit training while CrossFit Lite, formerly known as Boot Camp, includes the same workouts but with lighter weights.
Each workout is usually divided into three sections, starting with stretching and warm-ups with the coach. Second is the stringed cycle where weight lifting takes place, which includes deadlifts. Finally, the Workout of the Day (WOD), a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) type of workout where people do weight lifting and circuit training which usually lasts around 10 to 20 minutes.
A workout usually lasts an hour but every afternoon, whenever there is no class scheduled, the box in Taft offers “Open Gym” where members can go to the box and workout however they want.
The Taft box was established in 2014. Since then, numerous DLSU students have enrolled in CrossFit. Membership in CrossFit Taft costs around Php 3,500 for a month.
Taft life, tough life
For Lasallians, it may be hard to find time to work out due to time constraints and busy schedules. However, the convenience of Gold’s and CrossFit changes this.
Ryan Chu (IV, ECE), one of the new members of Gold’s Gym DLSU, mentions, “It’s really near my place plus it’s in Razon building, so during my two hour breaks I could go to Gold’s to lift some weights.” Chu also adds that the gym’s complete equipment allows him to train all his body parts efficiently.
Chu joined Gold’s with a goal of having a fit and healthy 2017. Fatima Santos, (III, BSSTT) a Crossfitter, on the other hand, joined CrossFit hoping to get stronger. She explains, “I wanna workout not because I wanna lose weight but I wanna workout because I wanna get strong, and Crossfit was one of the best options for me.”
Both Chu and Santos have noticed changes in their body as well as their lifestyle since joining their gyms, especially their food intake. Although eating healthy in Taft may be challenge due to all the fried food around, their motivation to meet their goals has helped them to do so. “I think fitness is 80 percent healthy eating and 20 percent working out.” Santos continues, “People who work out a lot but don’t watch what they eat won’t get what they want.”
Getting out of bed or the sofa truly is a challenge, but for those who want to improve their body’s aesthetics or function, setting a goal will help one finally stand up and pick up those weights.
