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Last weekend, Jackie Chan was in town to officiate the third California Fitness branch in Sunway Pyramid. It’s been a long time coming. It’s been nearly a year since the new fitness outlet was announced. It’s been nearly two years since I last signed up with California Fitness. It’s been more than two years since the previous branch opened in Wisma Standard Chartered. Well, yesterday, I was in the vicinity and paid the new gym a visit.

It’s located on Lower Level 3 of Sunway Pyramid, right next to the ice skating rink. As far as first impressions are concerned, I felt the place was a little cramped. The entrance and lobby area was small and made use of existing space while the main facility itself was reached after passing through a tunnel like passage and walking down a flight of stairs.

The Good
First thing I noticed was a group of people gathered around three computer terminals. They were providing free(?) internet access. That’s interesting.

The great thing about the place is that it’s new. That means all the equipment are new. If you’re lucky, you’ll probably be the first person working out that newest free weight or machine. Being new, there’s also relatively fewer people compared to the other outlets. I was there from 9.00pm to 10.00pm and it wasn’t the least bit crowded. You won’t get any burly guys frowning down on you, snickering, while you try your miserable best to complete your rep on the measly amount of weights that you can handle. That’s a plus.

I loved the shower. They’ve done away with the nasty steel shower heads that trickled water down on you and replaced it with an adjustable head that you can twist to concentrate the force of the water. And the water pressure is ZOMG!!11 Unlike the first branch in Mid Valley where you intermittently get little to no water pressure, or the Standard Chartered branch which occasionally gives you a cold shower in between hot ones, the water pressure and heat is constant. That’s another plus.

The Bad
On the downside, the workout area can get a little cramp. I’m not sure but the floor space seems a little smaller in comparison to the first two branches. There’s less space in between equipment so it’s highly likely that you’ll bump into people on the way to your next station. Not that it’s wholly a bad thing, mind you.

One of the downsides to being brand new is that you’ll find lockers that have yet to be used. That means they still smell like musty wood and are covered in dust. But I guess that beats lockers that smell like week old sweat socks and are covered in grime. Choose your poison.

The steam room was closed for upgrading work which aroused some questions. What’s wrong with it that it should require renovation? I heard from one of the other members that it was opened the day before, so it must have been working fine. Peeking through the doors, the floor was a mess and the tiles had been pried up. Probably some piping issues for the steam. There were no lights in the sauna (not exactly all bad).

Like the workout area, the locker room feels claustrophobic compared with the other two gyms. Lockers are placed closer together with islands in between to maximise the space. It felt like walking through a maze and the mirrors did not help. I had problems finding the toilets because they had hidden it behind a door near the entrance of the locker room. It looked the same as any other door except that it had a small label on it. If you’re new to a place and haven’t been given a tour, you’re going to miss the restroom. The only reason I noticed was because someone walked out as I passed.

The Beautiful
Sunway Pyramid is actually quite the hip and happening place. That means more eye candy. Both guys and gals. If you like to look and be seen, the Sunway branch isn’t half bad. There was plenty while I was there. But since I’ve only been there once, it could be down to luck.

Aside from some small nuances, I can imagine myself coming here for gym sessions. Too bad it’s a little bit out of the way from my usual haunts. Now if they’ll only open a branch on my side of the world…