GYM monthly fees in Singapore

[expat_singapore]

Hello,

Just wanted to know, about the GYM monthly charges approximately. Reason I am asking is , I will be relocating to Singapore next week, and I am currently confused with HDB or a condo.
I require a GYM ( which is a necessity), so if I get rates approximately can go for a HDB and gym membership, rather than CONDO having a gym but higher rents.

Please advise.

[the lynx]

Hello,

Just wanted to know, about the GYM monthly charges approximately. Reason I am asking is , I will be relocating to Singapore next week, and I am currently confused with HDB or a condo.
I require a GYM ( which is a necessity), so if I get rates approximately can go for a HDB and gym membership, rather than CONDO having a gym but higher rents.

Please advise.

Gyms like California Fitness, True Fitness, Fitness First will charge you:
1. One-time joining fee of SGD500-600 (if will be waived if you stand your ground)
2. One-time admin fee of SGD150-200 (normally will not be waived)
3. Monthly fee of between SGD75 (the cheapest offered to me by True Fitness for one-branch membership, followed by SGD90 by California Fitness) to the usual SGD100-170 range (usually for Platinum membership that gives you access to ALL branches)

Hope this helps you to do your math.

Check your condo gym first before you decide if you really need those external gym membership. Some condo have really nice gyms, so good to check first.

I personally prefer Fitness First for quality facility, space, staff and good experience. Sales personnels from CF and TF have been very rude and intrusive to me in their attempts to hard sell so I'm very happy to reveal their costing here.

Oh by the way, boutique/independent gyms give much better experience in terms of personal training, machines and crowd control, but VERY EXPENSIVE.

[Sergei82]

One-time joining fees for CF and TF are 1/5th-1/4th of what was quoted above. 500-600 would be scaring people away and is not reasonable.

Fitness First has poorer variety of equipment compared to CF and TF, but they have swimming pool (personally I never need it even for free) and better (???) service (even though I'm sure they employ the same marketing methods as other commercial gyms in SG).

[the lynx]

One-time joining fees for CF and TF are 1/5th-1/4th of what was quoted above. 500-600 would be scaring people away and is not reasonable.

Fitness First has poorer variety of equipment compared to CF and TF, but they have swimming pool (personally I never need it even for free) and better (???) service (even though I'm sure they employ the same marketing methods as other commercial gyms in SG).

I hope I'm wrong but that's the cost I remember seeing on the documents. I'm willing to be corrected here if there is someone who has personally seen the membership fee list.

Swimming pools in FF is only available at selected branches but yeah, pools. Heck I never even use them the whole time I was with FF.

[Sergei82]

I know. Girls do only yoga and slow walk on a treadmill (even though walking from home/mrt to the gym itself has much better training effect).

[the lynx]

I have better places to train exclusively my swimming...

[expat_singapore]

Thank you all for replies, was of great help.

So I can assume it to be approximately 100 SGD per month. One time fee which can be waived off if I stay my ground, I didn't get that point.

[CaptainBullus]

Do theses memberships have a minimum contract period (12/24months) or can you cancel with a months notice?

[Sergei82]

Cancelling is a problem. Gyms in Singapore try to lock you up as much as possible. In the middle of the contract you can only cancel if you give them some evidence that you're going to live the country within a month. End of contract - beware: some gyms extend your membership automatically (like True Fitness - they will require your credit card details before signing up the membership) unless you notify them at least 1 month in advance that you're not going to extend the contract. So its very hard to get out without some kind of a loss.

[the lynx]

@expat_singapore:

They will tell you it is normal to pay joining fee, which is bullocks. If you call them out of it, they will waive it off because "special for you only". More bullocks. Just another way for them to earn more moolah.

@captain:

Normally, they do have minimum contract period between 12 to 24 months. Of course the longer you sign up for, the cheaper it gets. Some gyms also offer 6-month contract and even per-entry ones (which would be very expensive).

[sundaymorningstaple]

It's the same ruse that the banks use with CC and OD annual fees. They send you the bill hoping you will just pay it, but if you call them, usually their answering system is already programmed to steer you to an automated canned service where you just insert your NRIC/FIN and your account number and Bob's yer uncle. Waived for another year. But next year you have to do the same thing all over again. :-/

[SINexpat]

One of the major decisions of where to stay for me was the fitness center at my condo. Some of the private condos actually have decent treadmills, exercise bikes, and weights. More convienient than having to schlep over to a gym.

Keep in mind if you swim that here in Singapore they have numerous swimming complexs that have dedicated lap swimming. Very cheap entry fees.

[Dert42]

Check with your employer as well.
I have a nice little gym that suits my needs in my condo, but I have free use of the gym at, I think, the Intercontinetal for free. Sponsored by my work.
Had no idea until I was chatting to HR person one day about something unrelated.

[taxico]

Hello,

Just wanted to know, about the GYM monthly charges approximately. Reason I am asking is , I will be relocating to Singapore next week, and I am currently confused with HDB or a condo.
I require a GYM ( which is a necessity), so if I get rates approximately can go for a HDB and gym membership, rather than CONDO having a gym but higher rents.

Please advise.

location of public gyms & hours:

http://www.ssc.gov.sg/publish/Corporate ... siums.html

prices:

http://www.ssc.gov.sg/publish/Corporate ... _gyms.html

bring your own spray, wiping cloth and towels as i suspect the wipe down policy is not strictly enforced.

if you join a social club, they have gyms and pools too. (some companies have corporate memberships to clubs or gyms for staff use...)

[zzm9980]

Do theses memberships have a minimum contract period (12/24months) or can you cancel with a months notice?

Since you're new here, pro-tip: *Everything* in Singapore with a 'contract' usually expects you to pay out the term when you cancel. Coming from the US, I was expecting outrageous ETFs on things like mobile phones and such, but even TV and home internet service here rarely gives you less than 12month contract. It's quite shitty, but captive market with no spine.