Taiwan - Fitlife

Taipei, Taiwan is one of my favorite cities in the world and one I tend to frequent and see as a homebase. With that in mind, this list will likely constantly be growing and added to as I add new gyms I utilize, based on the location I'm staying at.

January 2023

Xinyi Anhe

One of the places I tend to gravitate towards (and was where I originally stayed when I first when to Taiwan) is my old flat at Xinyi Anhe. And luckily for me, just a short 3 min walk away is an Anytime Fitness

Anytime Fitness 信義安和店

+886 2 2703 2803

https://maps.app.goo.gl/z9CBTBXRoZ3QGuoH8?g_st=ic

To be honest this isn't my favorite Anytime Fitness. Located in the basement, it's definitely one of the smaller Anytime Fitness branches. I do like that there's a good number of squat bars and 2 benches for dumbbells, but otherwise I feel like the equipment is lacking. There are a few cardio machines and like 5 strength machines...and that's pretty much it. The best thing I can say about this gym is that it's close and it gets the job done.

Because it's a bit too basic, final rating: 3.5/5

Soulfit

+886 2 2704 2177

https://maps.app.goo.gl/jBbMu6tPC1EUkfEU6?g_st=ic

Another basement gym but what makes this one great is that it's one of the few pay by the minute gyms! At only 1.3 NTD per minute and all paid through the easy card it's honestly a great deal and perfect for the digital nomad. You do have briefly sign up but after that it's just a swipe in.

Now in regards to the gym itself - not bad overall! I think after going to anytime fitnesses for so long it's a nice change to see more machines, including 4 squat areas AND 2 smith machines. In general, the space is pretty large and feels spacious even when there's a healthy daily crowd working out. Overall, feels clean. My only complaint is that it felt a bit stuffy. Not sure if the temperature was higher to adjust to Taiwan's sensitivity to weather and I'd hate to imagine if was the usual temperature even during summer.

Great selection and variety of machines and I absolutely LOVE that it's pay by the minute. But because of the stuffiness and the fact it's in a basement, I'm giving this place a 4/5

March 2023

Stayed around Yongchun MRT this time and found this gem

核心肌地

+886 2 2726 7376

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ss4Lh7cpr1Rf7oyM7?g_st=ic

Although they mainly offer monthly passes, they also do pay by the minute memberships which for me was perfect, as I was only staying for a week. At 1NTD per minute, and a minimum deposit of 500NTD, it was a no brainer for me! the gym was a little hard to find at first (google maps location is a bit off), but after walking into what I thought was the location, a receptionist was nice enough to guide me to the correct entrance.

Setting up an account was easy enough in Chinese (might be a bit of a struggle in English), but basically you download an app, they set up an account for you using your email address and phone number and you pay 500NTD (they take card!). From then on you can use the app to enter/exit the gym. The gym itself was decent. Another basement gym, I did put up a sweat but it didn't necessarily feel stuffy. Good amount of equipment and squat bars and clean. For the price and convenience - it was well worth it and I've only had great experiences here. If I settle in this area it'd likely be my go to gym, especially with its generous hours (7am-midnight).

4/5