Fitness First or California Wow Member here

[MisterMatlock]

California is cheaper by a mile... Just buy yourself a set of sound-blocking headphones to keep the disco music out... The one at Sala Daeng is RIDICULOUS... For the first time ever, I actually agree with Loburt. Can't imagine trying to lift weights while holding my hands over my ears.

[Whitepearl]

Recently joined True Fitness and like it much more than California. Have both membership running, but I hardly go to California anymore...

[bomb_defuzer]

I have been to both gyms. FF at Exchange Tower and CW on Suk 23. FF gets my vote. Much bigger and the equipment is better, more of a professional atmosphere. If you like hip hop blaring on the sound sytem (so loud you cant hear your own iPod) and glitter and chrome go to CW.

BD

[IRISHCREAME]

I own stock in CA Wow so please frequent this establishment.

[Anny]

8) CA wow Changwattana a bit small but close to my work and where i live. i like to dance. So i go for dance class almost everyday. Make myself fit and loose some weight now teehee but my friend often say fitness first have a good service than CA wow. I don't know if u have some money why don't u try both ? just a short term member so u know which one u like the most and don't forget to pick one which close to where you live. :wink:

[JoeyFantana]

http://www.bangkokrecorder.com/magazine/bangkok-life/the-big-debate-fitness-first-or-california-fitness-1043.html

Fitness First definately sounds better, though since I prefer to work out completely alone, I prefer gyms that noone likes . . . Several reasons for that, abormally sweaty and unusually weak are two of them . . .

I used to work out at Nasa Vegas around noon for that very reason and so I can only recommend that place - no hassles, more realistic prices and a TV with each running machine/cross trainer . . . And they have a huge jacuzzi, big screen TV, Billiards table and in house massage . . .

Anyone know of a Gym with a 25m or longer pool?

[dannyboy]

I don't know anything about Californian Wow but i can tell you about Fitness first, Fashion island Ramithra.

I tried to join last week............

For your sir a very special deal, 10,000B joining fee or if you sign a twelve month contract only 5000b. Very cheap for you.

Now i don't know the figures but I'm guessing Thai people don't pay these crazy prices. Why am i pissed off ?

There is a Fitness First in my home town in England, in fact, they are an English company. The price i was quoted in Thailand was nearly double of that in England............

Now i'm assuming that the Fitness First here in Thailand is a franchise and that the owners in England have guidelines of practices for potential franchisees, all across the world.

I'm considering writing a letter to the head of FF in England just to point out this practice being done in FF's name.

Am i being tight, maybe? but i expect this from Mr Somchai on his som tum stall, not from a franchise of the biggest gym chain in the world who also happen to be of English origin..........rant over.

[stegee]

r these bars in patpong, nana or cowboy ?? and how come i haven't heard of them before ??

they screen for STDs.

hahahahaha :!: :!:

[CiaranM]

r these bars in patpong, nana or cowboy ?? and how come i haven't heard of them before ??

they screen for STDs.

hahahahaha :!: :!:

18 months later and Stegee finally understands it !!! still, quicker than usual !!!

[frankenburner2]

I don't know anything about Californian Wow but i can tell you about Fitness first, Fashion island Ramithra.

I tried to join last week............

For your sir a very special deal, 10,000B joining fee or if you sign a twelve month contract only 5000b. Very cheap for you.

Now i don't know the figures but I'm guessing Thai people don't pay these crazy prices. Why am i pissed off ?

There is a Fitness First in my home town in England, in fact, they are an English company. The price i was quoted in Thailand was nearly double of that in England............

Now i'm assuming that the Fitness First here in Thailand is a franchise and that the owners in England have guidelines of practices for potential franchisees, all across the world.

I'm considering writing a letter to the head of FF in England just to point out this practice being done in FF's name.

Am i being tight, maybe? but i expect this from Mr Somchai on his som tum stall, not from a franchise of the biggest gym chain in the world who also happen to be of English origin..........rant over.

well...you're not trying hard enough...we were quoted the same thing, but niggled them down considerably...no joining fee and a fraction of what they wanted per month....took their free week trial membership...and never went back....fitness bus in Thailand is worse than buying a used vacuum cleaner!

[palmyfan]

Is there any Member of fitness first The mall Thapra here?

I join the club a few month ago and i allready made a lot of friend,but it will be nice to see some TFers there as well.

[zinghub]

i am a member of Fitness First Landmark

[Mikee_Moose]

Whichever gym (CAL or Fit First), NEVER give them your real phone number or email address until you decide to join. Unless you like being bothered by pushy sales people at all hours of the day. Frankly, I wouldn't join either of them. They force you into signing 1 or 2 year contracts because they know that the average gym goer gives up after a period of 3 months. Its cheaper to buy your own gym equipment. All you need is: a mat, a bench, and some bar bells. If you can afford it, an elliptical trainer or stationary bike. This gear will last for years and no gym fees for the months when you don't train.

Notice also that these gyms are heavy on equipment (90% of which is never used) but offer NO guidance on nutrition. If you are serious about working out, then you must work out properly and eat properly. Anything else is a waste of time and money. Then again, if going to the gym is for purely social reasons, then ignore this rant :-)

[Sathorn]

Cal Wow with access to 5 gyms in Bkk for 11 000 Baht lifetime membership. How does that sound?

I go to Silom and it seems good. They offer a lot of classes now, different to what the earlier posts say. Certainly a lot better value, equipment and range than I experienced in Aussie.

[palmyfan]

Cal Wow with access to 5 gyms in Bkk for 11 000 Baht lifetime membership. How does that sound?

I go to Silom and it seems good. They offer a lot of classes now, different to what the earlier posts say. Certainly a lot better value, equipment and range than I experienced in Aussie.

You should becarefull with the life lifetime membership Mark.California did change a lot thing in this membership in the pas few years(take off a lot of advantage)and they probably will do it again in a soon future.Also the trainer of WOW are not even close of what they used to be.Wow is cheap no doubt about that,but it s more a weight lifting club than a class gym.

[English_Bob]

I went to California Wow... HATED the salespeople and the ridiculously loud music and the phoney people.

I joined True Fitness at Asoke and thought it was a great place. 1800 baht cash a month (no need to hand over my credit card details) and very helpful pleasant people. No heavy-duty sales people and no queuing for a machine that a Thai girl is sitting on while she talks to her friends on the phone.

There was one incident that pissed me off. I was in UK and missed my 1800 baht payment by 5 days.

The accounts dept called my Dad in Bang Saray and asked him for the money!!! He was listed as a person to call in case of emergency.

I had a little rant at them and threatened terrible things if they called my Dad again for anything less than finding my corpse in a shower cubicle.

No other problems.

[Oo.Cloud.oO]

yea

i been lifting number two pencils a lot lately

i think my peks are startin to show it

definitely helps doin all these reps with these heavy bottles of 100 pipers

that really gets the heart racing and swet drippin

i run the mid day obstacle course on the soi ducking and dodging cars, motorbikes, and beggers (the ones you KNOW dont need it)

for a morning work out i usually have to do some serious hand to eye cordination work outs with my ps3

on another note

i could not pay to work out

kinda like i wouldnt pay to go to the oxygen bars in Vegas either

i understand the equipment and all that

but in thailand i think its easy to find many SMALL gyms at ur place or a friends place with privacy and pools and free to use tho you prolly live there

[Simmo_V2.0]

Cal Wow with access to 5 gyms in Bkk for 11 000 Baht lifetime membership. How does that sound?

.

Your lifetime membership will be worthless when the company is bust - which is quite soon by a lot of reports.

[palmyfan]

AUDITOR?S REPORT ON REVIEW OF INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of California WOW Xperience Public Company Limited

I have reviewed the accompanying balance sheet of California WOW Xperience Public Company Limited as at 31 March 2009, and the related statements of income,changes in shareholders? equity and cash flows for the three-month periods ended 31 March 2009 and 2008. The Company?s management is responsible for the correctness and completeness of information in these interim financial statements. My responsibility is to issue a report on these interim financial statements based on my reviews.

I conducted my reviews in accordance with the standard on auditing applicable to review engagements. This standard requires that I plan and perform a review to obtain moderate assurance as to whether the interim financial statements are free of material misstatement. A review is limited primarily to inquiries of company personnel and analytical procedures applied to financial data and thus provides less assurance than an audit, and accordingly, I do not express an audit opinion.

Based on my reviews, nothing has come to my attention that causes me to believe that the interim financial statements referred to above are not presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Without qualifying my opinion, I draw attention to Note 1 to the financial statements which describes that the Company incurred a net loss of Baht 52.2 million for the three-month period ended 31 March 2009 and as of that date the Company?s cash current liabilities exceeded its current assets by Baht 349.7 million. These conditions indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the Company?s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company?s management is continuously monitoring its operations and cash flows and has prepared their business plans to address the situation.

I have audited the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2008 of California WOW Xperience Public Company Limited in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and in my report dated 20 February 2009, expressed an unqualified opinion on those statements with drawing attention to the Company?s ability to continue as a going concern.The company balance sheet as at

31 December 2008, presented for comparative purposes, are components of the financial statements which I have audited and issued a report thereon as stated above, and I have not performed any other auditing procedures subsequent to the date of that report.

Kajornkiet Aroonpirodkul

Certified Public Accountant (Thailand) No. 3445

PricewaterhouseCoopers ABAS Limited

Bangkok

12 May 2009

http://bangkoklibrary.com/news/174-price-waterhouse-coopers-audit-raises-significant-doubts-over-california-wow-xperience-pcl-

[petey]

I'm looking for a gym to work out for a few weeks while here in Bkk. I am not a workout warrior, and not trying to show off. Just looking for a place to stay in shape.

I just finished reading throught the various gym reviews and the 2 strongest recommendations were:

Fitness First

True Fitness

Do those recommendations still hold and how flexible are these two places with monthly memberships?

Oh, and if anyone can suggest a place to play basketball here a couple times a week, I would be eternally grateful!

Thanks!

[yardiebarbie]

I wasn't quite impressed with Fitness First Landmark Plaza. I didn't like the layout and the changing rooms looked gloomy, but it was just ok. I thought it being 'ok' was good enough for me, until....

I was hoping that FF Thailand would be different from FF India. I read so many bad reviews in India that I only went to hear them out, re the costs, but joined another gym instead (Celebrity Fitness). Now here in Thailand, it seems to be the same...their determination to have your credit card details!!! I don't understand why...

Usually I only sign up for a 3 month expat membership where I pay the cash up front for the 3 months, why the hell do you still want credit card details when I'm paying for the 3 months in advance? Because they have a record (based on customer complaints) of charging people's credit cards even years after they have left the gym. They kept insisting...I told them 'I don't have one'. My husband's credit card? I told them 'I'm not allowed to use it for that purpose'. So they decided to tell me that with the credit card details provided along with the cash upfront I'll be getting a special promotional rate, without the credit card it will cost me much more. What crooks! I just got up and left them there.

If I have to travel to any other country that has fitness first, I'll be sure to pass them up.

I signed up with California Wow Siam Paragon, 3 months, cash up front, no credit card details, (they didn't even ask me for my credit card details after I told them I'm paying cash), and much cheaper rate. And the gym has more life, nice changing rooms. At Fitness First it was so boring, just like 3 people around...I could imagine myself falling asleep doing cardio...Fitness First agents and gym instructors could hardly speak any English, but at Cwow I never had problems getting my questions answered. Yes I noticed there were more Thais than Farangs, just a few Farangs, but I could work with that. I just didn't want to fall victim to Fitness First's credit card scam.

[FarangFarang]

I wasn't quite impressed with Fitness First Landmark Plaza. I didn't like the layout and the changing rooms looked gloomy, but it was just ok. I thought it being 'ok' was good enough for me, until....

I was hoping that FF Thailand would be different from FF India. I read so many bad reviews in India that I only went to hear them out, re the costs, but joined another gym instead (Celebrity Fitness). Now here in Thailand, it seems to be the same...their determination to have your credit card details!!! I don't understand why...

Usually I only sign up for a 3 month expat membership where I pay the cash up front for the 3 months, why the hell do you still want credit card details when I'm paying for the 3 months in advance? Because they have a record (based on customer complaints) of charging people's credit cards even years after they have left the gym. They kept insisting...I told them 'I don't have one'. My husband's credit card? I told them 'I'm not allowed to use it for that purpose'. So they decided to tell me that with the credit card details provided along with the cash upfront I'll be getting a special promotional rate, without the credit card it will cost me much more. What crooks! I just got up and left them there.

If I have to travel to any other country that has fitness first, I'll be sure to pass them up.

I signed up with California Wow Siam Paragon, 3 months, cash up front, no credit card details, (they didn't even ask me for my credit card details after I told them I'm paying cash), and much cheaper rate. And the gym has more life, nice changing rooms. At Fitness First it was so boring, just like 3 people around...I could imagine myself falling asleep doing cardio...Fitness First agents and gym instructors could hardly speak any English, but at Cwow I never had problems getting my questions answered. Yes I noticed there were more Thais than Farangs, just a few Farangs, but I could work with that. I just didn't want to fall victim to Fitness First's credit card scam.

I loathe having to deal with these types of sales people. Scumbags, all of them.