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.

Eastwood Fitness Gym – Gym Review

Eastwood Valley Fitness at Eastwood Valley lah.. where else? hahaha

I used to workout here when there weren’t much things to play other than broken down treadmills and stationary bicycle, constantly broken down lat pulldown machine multi-station. But one thing for sure, I love the smith-machine and the full sets of dumbbells here. Other than the warm air-conditioner and insects I guess it’s not too bad to workout in. I’ve heard that they bought new toys recently and I’ve been dying to come over to have a look.

New kid on the block.. should I say KIDS… lol

Now that’s a giant. One look and you know it’s out of fitness concept’s showroom. Let’s see what they have here for you to play with. Most prominent you have the Bench Press on one end, Lat Pulldown and Seated row on one, Padded leg raise & dip station, Pec-dec and Back hyper-extension on the far end facing the mirrors, combo leg extension & leg curl station and adjustable bench. Pretty complete for an upper body workout. But one thing I notice is the placement angle is it’s in accordance to the walls. Running parallel with the wall to be exact. That won’t be a problem if there is a huge space but for this case the lat station would prove to be a problem. You can’t fully extend when performing the seated rows. And you can’t DIY it into triceps Extensions or seated cable curl cause there is no room behind. Other than that the rest is fine.

Overall, it’s a very good machine. Just the angle.

the Lat station

I saw that they fixed extra wall fans. Good idea since it’s much more filled up now and with a crowd it will be too stuffy to even sniff. I asked a few friends who was working out that night when I visited how they feel about the new gym. They told me it can get too stuffy at times and waiting for the equipment is an issue during peak hours. I suggested them that it would be a great idea to take out the 2 rooms by the side to extend it and both of them agreed. 😛 Just my 2 cents.

Extensions and more

Funny bit, I notice they kept the old broken down machine on one corner in the small room. I guess it would have been better if they throw it out of the room since it’s not being utilized. Heck, it’s not even functioning. Why waste space?

Pectorals station

Oh, I notice they even threw in some kettlebells. Nice touch as kettlebells is a great way to workout. But it can be dangerous too since it’s pretty taxing on the wrist for one who has no knowledge on how to use it. A good poster should do the trick. No wonder Fitness Concept Miri was out of Kettlebells when I drop by to get 1 the other day.

Dumbbell station.. look.. kettlebells 🙂

There is a new industrial grade treadmill on one corner and stationary bikes on the other end. Love these spinning bike as it’s easy to control the speed. Word of caution, be careful when you use these bikes. I once saw a trainer crack his knee trying to stop with his legs. The brake knob, button or handle just by the bottom front of the handle is there for a purpose. The wheels are made of steel which is weighted. Stopping with the leg in high speed will not only injure your knee, worst scenario it might break your ankle. So ask for instructions on how to use a spinning bike before playing with it.

New Cardio toys – Spinning Bikes

I would say it’s a great upgrade to the gym with more things to play. So be sure you can get a great workout out of this gym. Just certain safety might be an issue with some equipments inside. Other than that, it’s fully recommended.

Here’s the new Price list

Entry: Rm10

Monthly Membership: RM80

Student Membership:RM65

3.5/5 stars for Miri gym standard