After the Eid holidays (if I’m totally honest I wasn’t that active for a couple of weeks before that either) I definitely needed to get back my urge to work out. My jeans agreed with this plan wholeheartedly. If you’re also looking for somewhere to get motivated, give Gold’s Gym a try. Located in Avenues Mall in Muscat, it is big and super colourful – go up to the third floor in the mall and you’ll see the iconic logo. Started in Venice, California in 1965, Gold’s Gym is the largest full-service gym chain in the world so they should definitely know what they’re doing.
The general gym area is frankly massive, I’ve never seen anyone waiting by a machine – if you’re a gym bunny you will know the joy this brings. There is also a very decent size ladies only gym (rather than a small one which is fairly common). If you think it’ll be full of huge body builders and intimidating muscles, don’t worry – it doesn’t have that vibe at all. In fact, I actually kind of made a friend which is a gym first for me. If you’ve listened to the show you may understand why…
The class timetable covers all the usual bases like Les Mills’ body pump, circuits and bootcamp. I prefer classes to the gym for two reasons. Firstly, if I book I’m so much more likely to turn up. Secondly, I know I’ll stay until the end of the class. When I work out alone my brain works harder to come up with excuses to go home than my muscles work. Hey, at least I’m honest.
It’s easy to book with Gold’s and the area is large so you don’t have to worry about getting a space on the classes. The instructors have a special platform so you can see and hear them easily which is great if like me you're stumbling around without glasses or much of a sense of balance. The Zumba class was by far my favourite as it had a real party atmosphere. I really enjoyed the circuits as well, they are tough (otherwise they're not proper circuits!) but also a bit different. In one class we did a pyramid challenge which I'd never done before - it helps to change things up and you can tell the instructor had put some thought into the circuit. For ladies, there is a choice of mixed classes or females only ones.
It’s the kind of gym where you can get as involved as you like with challenges and personal training, or you can just turn up and do your own thing if you prefer the solo work out. Everyone is friendly and welcoming, even to this idiot off the radio. The size of the place and the amount of instructors means there's loads of choice which is a big advantage. Plus I'm a sucker for a cool logo!
