Beach Republic Gym, Miri – Gym Review

It’s barely 1 month and everything is really new

I had the opportunity to drop by a new gym in Miri town yesterday. It was after gym and my gym was nearby. I have been meaning to check it out anyways. I’ve heard a lot about this gym by some of my friends who stays on the other side of Miri. Oh, if you don’t know where Miri is on how it’s structured. It’s a long stretch beside the South East China Sea Beach. So this Beach Republic is located at Luak Bay.

The older Mirian remembers this place as the Miri Port Club which didn’t do well and so closed down for many… and I mean Many years up till Dato’ Sri Law Kiu Kiong, Woodman Sdn. Bhd’s founder and Managing Director saw a great investment in the location and converted the abandon building into a more luxurious club. The pool was a major hit when it 1st started. I guess for the opportunity to enjoy new clean pool at RM3 was hard to resist. Then the restaurant came in with slightly above average priced western and local food ranges. And I guess it weren’t much of an attraction to me up till the gym came in.

So I did. I’d say it’s pretty impressing. Beach & sea view gym. It’s definitely relaxing. Well, I guess maybe in the future they might face some members who would sit whole day on the stationary bikes stalking the girls swimming in the pool but other than that, I guess it’s all good.

1st thing you catch a glimpse of other than the reception counter are the stationary bikes facing the pool

It’s a 2 story gym with all the cardio machines on the ground floor. 4 stationary bikes, 3 elliptical cross trainers, 2 stepper machine & 6 treadmills. It’s a good strategy to put all the cardio machines below away from the weight room. Plus it’s a culture in miri. Cardio that is. All the machines are / looks brand new and efficiently functioning which is a thumbs up compared to most of the other gyms which either has squeaking, cracking or even making odd noises. All the cardio machines are from 1 brand, Spirit. It’s the 1st I’ve heard of it in miri actually.

Then comes the elliptical cross trainer & steppers facing the walls.

Quite a fare share of cardio machines i’d say. The most in miri so far.

All the cardio machines are under 1 brand “SPIRIT”

So enough of the cardio. Not my best of interest. If you follow my progress you would know I don’t cardio. So As I reach the top I couldn’t help but notice….

YES! FINALLY A GYM IN MIRI WHICH UTILIZE THE AIR-CONDITIONER. lol. It was a good temperature to workout in. Other than enjoying the cool breeze from the air-con, I’ve a certain force pressing against my chest. I’ve a feeling this is a Pectoral Gym. lol. Well, for want there ain’t a lot of gyms in miri which is equipped with a full size cable cross machine. Sure there is one at Marriott which is under millage as it’s more of a fitness center at an exclusive fitness center price for Miri. Then you have Ironworks wish has a hexagonal angled smaller version of the cable cross machine. One beat up Machine over at Cybergym, another at PBC which is another Exclusive Fitness Center priced club. 1 reasonable full scale cable cross at Ace Fitness and finally 1 over at KRP. So to invest in one and at a reasonably priced member fee rate, this gym is gonna be a hit for those Pectoral enthusiast. Loving the machine already. As usual it comes with both the wide-grip and the narrow-grip chin up bars. But this unit comes with more.

Well, the only thing which capture my attention was the CalGym cable cross machine which is very scarce in Miri. Both the brand and the machine.

Paired with a good back units you get a good height on the lat pulldown station since it’s following the height of the cable cross machine. And on the other end, there is the seated row station. Now this is not what you get every day in Miri. A GOOD STACK OF WEIGHTS to really give you an awesome HARDCORE seated row PUMP. Facing out you have a high pulley cable. One which you can do almost everything from Triceps extension, Concentrated curl, Straight arm Lat pulldown…etc.

Apparently the cable cross machine is hook to a multi-back station. With a lat pulldown, single high pulley cable and a seated row station.

A closer look at the seated row. the weight stacks are good for a great heavy back day

Let’s start from one end to the other. So the 1st thing which comes in view when you enter the gym after the stairs is the Abductor / Adductor machine. It’s a good machine once you spot the right angle to really hit deep into the glutes as well as the inner thighs. Most of the time I catch a glimpse of ppl using it to stretch their lower body or just moving the hips without knowing the real power of the machine. Unfortunately I guess.

I guess this CalGym Abductor Adductor Machine will be the favourite among the ladies

Moving on we get another lower body station. This one is no stranger to me as it’s the exact same unit as Gym Rakyat. One which I crafted my quads and hams on. It’s a good piece of Leg extension and curl unit. I love leg stations such as this because you can adjust your weight without getting down to cut short time of rest and fully get the blood flowing and contained in the muscles.

This is the only Leg station I saw in the gym. Leg curl cum Leg Extension machine similar to the one at Gym Rakyat Miri.

Here is one unit I rarely used. Probably I started off with a standing free weight preacher curl station and with machines I feel the restrictions. Maybe it’s the angle, maybe its the rotation of the bars or even the length of the bars. It would have been perfect if they build a piece with length adjustments I guess. But for fitness purpose, this is a good machine for the biceps. And no I’m not checking the girl on the Back hyperextension machine. lol. just waiting to take a pic of it and trying to be careful not to disturb their workout. I know i hate mine being intruded.

I’ve not tried it but most of the preacher curl machine i’ve tried aren’t made for asian size and there’s no way to adjust the arm handle length to suite our arm length.

And so she got off eventually. Probably out of shyness or courtesy seeing that I’m snapping frenzy in the gym. Hopefully not the later cause I’ll feel really bad. So this here is the Back Hyperextension machine. I rarely use it cause I just love my deadlifts. But for those who have minor lower back, weak back problems or just don’t wish to injured their lower backs. this is a perfect machine to work on. As it really get down deep. As always, I’d advice proper technique, posture and always practice safety on this machine as it’s targeting the lower back.

This is a very good machine to work the strength for the lower back. More weights can be added compared to the manual back hyperextension station.

Yup, this here is a rare piece in Miri. Free grip pec dec. One which in youtube videos where IFBB pros sweating their pecs off with. Unless of course more gyms in Miri brings it in. I love this piece because it works like a dumbbell fly without the imbalance. A good stretch and you don’t get to rest with the regular pec dec by resting the whole forearm on the pads. Well, I got a little naughty each time I see this machine. So after testing it out with the normal sitting. I turn and face the back rest to check if it’s back workout friendly too. It’s not too smooth but there are adjusting knobs to shift the angles of the arms which I’ve not tried out. Probably it might just worked as I’ve imagined it.

This is very rare indeed. One machine i was looking for to fully stretch the pecs. I tried the reverse sitting to pull off a back exercise. Might just work. just need a little adjusting

Another reason why I could sense it’s a chest gym was other than the cable cross there was the pec deck. Now we have this seated chest press machine. Not the last machine on chest I assure you. Well, I’m ok with this machine. Don’t hate it don’t love it either but normally I’ll utilize it for my lower pecs. With adjusted form and placement of the arms and elbows, you can get a good squeeze on the lower pecs out of this chest press machine.

another customer favourite in this gym I assume. It’s easier and safer plus with the right angle, it’s a very good machine to work the lower pecs

Whoop. Another preacher curl station? Yeah, But I prefer this one over the other. At least I can adjust the angles and grip to fully cut it deep into the biceps. Not only that, throw in a dumbbell you get isolated preacher curl. Well, the angle is a bit off but nothing can’t be fix with a fix of posture and placement angle of the arms and armpits. A good addition to the gym I’d say.

This gym means business when it comes to biceps. 1st there was a machine preacher curl on the side now a free weight preacher curl station.

Now this is rare. A complete set of up till 100lbs dumbbells on the rack. Non missing. For those free weights lovers, this is to die for

Now this is by far the most impressive view of the gym. Not only it’s complete on the rack. It’s also very complete on the floor sets. Max weight 100lbs. So for those hardcore enthusiast this is a love at 1st sight. I tried the shrugs and Bend-over dumbbell row. and I can hear “I Feel Good” by James Brown playing in my head. And ladies, they have not forgotten bout you all with 5lbs sets.

Dumbbells from Xtrack sure looks delicious 😛

I’ve not heard about this brand “Xtrack” but from the grip and feel it looks like good stuff. Hopefully the members here are well educated in gym ethics and not throw or drop the weights and these dumbbells will be there for a long time.

Impressive. Investing in so many benches is a smart move when there are so many dumbbells to play with. Although it would be great if they have an upright bench for shoulder freaks. But it’s nothing a creative builder would worry about.

3 incline bench (1 at the smith-machine) and 1 flat to decline bench. This gym mean BENCHES! since it’s wide and the full sets of dumbbells, they are smart enough to throw in more bench.

Smith-machine has become a standard equipment in Miri. Thumbs up. This set is a very good piece but the counter weight on both side can only means less work on the muscles. It’s not the end of the world. Just have to know how to adjust the free plate weights to fully utilize the load. It helps a lot for the ladies and the beginners to lift off the pressure. Another weakness of this smith-machine is the safety pins. It’s set too high so for those who wishes to perform a decline bench they might just have to stack on some wood or plates below the decline and flat bench.

A very good smith machine I’d say. Through experience. It’s the same smith-machine as Kelab Rekreasi Petroliam & Gym Rakyat. Although I don’t really fancy the counter weight but overall if you know how to pump it makes no difference. Another thing, it’s not really decline bench friendly as the safety pin is set too high.

Hence the reason why I felt this is the CHEST GYM! lol. Last equipment in the gym to talk bout. An Incline barbell Bench station. This is a fixed angle bench so only means it’s going to target 1 angle of the pec. You can always remove the bar and perform a dumbbell press on this incline bench but it won’t be too friendly for the flies. Even if you lower youself it will still knock into the 2 holders by the side. But for those who have lower back injuries or just want to avoid injuries to the lower back, you can utilize this incline bench to perform a dumbbell pullover. Do not misunderstand but the flat platform behind the bench is not for you to sit and rest but for your spotters to help you when you decide to go really heavy. So don’t sit when there is someone benching. lol

Another Chest station. Nothing much you can do with this as it’s set for the incline. Welded if u know what I mean. It’s a good piece but be sure if you are new, get a spotter.

I didn’t get to try the gym out but from the feeling of it, it’s a good gym. Finally something presentable in Miri. What i find lacking in the gym is a cable rope, cable straight bar & a V-Bar (Probably I missed it or it’s placed in a hidden place) for the cable machine. As said above, an upright bench. Definitely an incline Leg press machine and a dipping station then the gym will be a perfect one.

Membership fees starts at:

Lite – RM75

Premium – RM100

Family – RM180

Walkin (Please confirm cause i just heard it from one of the members) – RM20

For more info please call: +60 85 424 040

This one I’d definitely give a 4/5 stars. (RECOMMENDED)

Meritz Hotel Gym, Miri – Gym Review

Ain't much but it's good enough for general fitness

It’s not open to the public yet so I couldn’t get a hold of the price or when it will be open to the public. Heard its only available for room guest. Well, it’s was quite an experience getting to view this gym. Went the other day but didn’t managed to see it cause the reception told me it’s open from 6-10. So I asked 6pm – 10pm only? and she said yes only to find out from my colleague that they open from 6am – 10 pm. Cause my friend picked up a leaflet. Anyways, i went back again today. I was told it’s on the 9th floor so i went in the lift and took it up to the 9th only to know it’s actually (technically) on the 9th floor but getting off the 8th floor to walk towards the pool and take the stairs up the (so called) 9th floor.

So finally I arrived after all the hassle. The gym is located uniquely on it’s own just beside the pool overlooking Miri. Fully air-conditioned. thumbs up. But it was a little small. I would suggest 5 pax is most comfortable. Being 2 or 3 on the cardio machine. 7 would seem a little stuffy and 10 would be too packed. It’s definitely clean since it’s new. They even provide water dispenser.

Quite a bit of equipment but place is a little small

So let’s take a little look at the big boys’ toys they have. Well on the far left there is a chin-up cum padded dip station and a dip station. Follow by a back / abs extension machine. And it was thoughtful of them to set both the free-weight bench station and the Smith-machine to face the mirror. Now here’s one point I would love to stress as i find that most of the gyms in Miri set the smith-machine wrongly. Most of the time its reversed as to avoid injury, the right motion is to twist the wrist forward to hook and backward to unhook. This gym here got it right. thumbs up. but on the 2nd note, the quality of the smith-machine is questionable as the friction is too high and the rotating bar is a little too loose. One of the Miri favourite biceps workout station is available here. The preacher curl station. It’s a common one around here.

I didn’t notice a flat bench but there is an incline bench (possibly lower to flat) and a decline bench. Giving it a little twist, they choose a U-bar instead of an E-Z bar. There are a lot of advantage of a U-bar cause you get to go deeper with certain exercise with the close facing grip. Thumbs up.

Pitiful selection of dumbbells

Moving on to the Dumbbell rack. I don’t even want to go here but i’ve to be professional. The range was a bit pitiful. There is only 5 sets and it’s not even a complete smooth flow. Speaking of which the weight plates were disappointingly little.

A good size (width) on the Free weight bench press

The usual space saver - a multi-station which looks like ones you get off fitness concept

The only other thing which looks fancier other than the cardio machine is this Multi-station. At least they didn’t forget the lat-pulldown, leg extension, seated rows and looks like this toy could throw in a leg curl. Plus the usual chest press and a mid-pulley. But 1 disadvantage of a multi-station it can only house 2 max pax per session.

This machine is awesome.. wonder why no other gym has it cause it ROCKS both the chest and back

Now this here is the main attraction. I find it hard to believe why not a lot of gym has it. It works so good to cut deep into the inner lat as well as works great for a pec-dec. Most of the time I find people just use it for the pecs but I just love using this one for my back. It’s smooth and in the right angle. Thumbs up.

Can't deny they have nice cardio machines which I don't use... much 😦

And finally the cardio section. There are 2 treadmills, 1 elliptical cross trainer, 1 stepper, 1 bicycle and 1 rower. Looks quite high-tech with digital panels and screens. It’s new so definitely smooth and has not been abused. I personally don’t cardio much but it’s just a common and easy exercise for most.

It's quite up to date with digital screen

i guess the most attractive point is the view... ain't it awesome.. lucky its not being faced to Canada hill

Well, I’ve only give a few machines a few reps so i can’t say much. I guess if they want to stay competitive they have increase the amount of dumbbells and weight plates, and fix the loose rolling bar on the smith-machine. Extending the floor space would be impossible as it’s a hanging floor. So I guess they have to open up GYM ROOM #2 if they want to expand. Getting in more leg stations. Throwing in a cable-cross machine.

Still new so right now I will have to only give it a 2/5. Recommend for those who wants to have a good sweat.