Gyms in Guatemala

I visited two gyms in my month in Guatemala. The first was in Xela, the second biggest city in Guatemala and the second was in Antigua.

Xela

There are a few options for gyms in Xela. I usually try running outdoors if I can but sometimes it’s not always safe or the streets aren’t runner friendly. I didn’t find Xela runner friendly although there is a running track at the complejo deportivo. It has a standard size track, soccer pitch, baseball field, tennis courts, basketball courts, swimming pool, and climbing wall. The track, fields, and courts are free to use, but the pool and climbing wall have monthly fees. Complejo is open 6am to 6pm during the week. On Saturdays they open 6am until 12pm and are closed Sundays. They have reduced hours Saturday, 6am to 12pm, and are closed Sunday. There are always people put running and there is security on the gate so it’s very safe.

Gyms

Gimnasio Shaddi– this was the first gym I checked out as it was the cheapest and near my house. On further inspection I decided that would not be where I would choose to work out for the week. It’s small, over crowd and its equipment is straight out of the 70s. It has a few spin bikes, a few cross trainers and a really crowded free weights and machine area. It’s cheap though and for good reason, 100 Q a month with no sign up fee.

Energym– this is where I went during my week in Xela. It is the middle of the road option but was near my house and also cheap so I went with that. All its equipment still hails from the 80s but its well maintained and very clean. Downstairs has treadmills, cross trainers and fairly new looking spin bikes. Upstairs has an area for aerobics classes which blast music from 5pm on and you see some very funny shapes been thrown, two squat racks, a few bench and incline bench press, a good selection of dumbbells, cable and weighted machines.

It gets very busy from 5pm onwards and can mean queuing for certain equipment. Get there before 3pm though an dits basically empty.

They are open from 5am to 9pm Monday through Friday, 7am to 2pm Saturday, and closed Sunday. Costs are Q20 per day, Q50 per week, and Q125 per month with a Q50 sign up fee.

They have two hot showers and a small changing area. There are never enough lockers at peak times so avoid bringing valuables.

Antigua

Antigua has a few options for gyms. I tried out Scandinavia gym. It is a modern gym with new equipment.

It has two floors spread across two different rooms on both levels. Downstairs has a cardio area with treadmills, steppers and ellipticals, a free weights and machine weights area and a separate astro area for free weights. Upstairs it has a spinning studio where the spin bikes can be used at any time and an aerobics studio.

The changing rooms and shower area is nice and big and they also have a sauna.

It’s 35Q for a day pass and the opening hours are 4.30 am until 10pm every week day. Saturday and Sunday hours are 6am until 6pm. This is definitely the best gym so far in Central America.