T Nation

Gym Choice

Beginners
#1

I need some help with a choice of gym as I am currently living and working in South Korea.

There is a small gym in town that has little in the way of barbells, dumbbells, weight benches (machine orientated the gyms in South Korea) but it does have a metal frame for squatting (not the proper rack but a substitute)

There is a larger gym slightly further away from where I live, has a lot of equipment but no squat rack - only an incline leg press and a smith machine. According to some, these machines should be avoided.

My background - about 130kg (286lbs) maybe 30-35% body fat but very little upper body strength and mass. So I want to obviously fry the body fat to low double digits and get stronger/bigger up top.

However I have read that if you want to lose the bodyfat as many muscles as possible have to be worked, therefore squats.

I imagine there will be a smart arse that will say ‘doesn’t matter what gym you go to just work’, but what’s the point in doing something if you don’t give yourself every advantage to succeed.

So any advice will be welcome.

#2

Will gym 1 have enough weight for you to squat and deadlift with? If you foresee yourself growing out of that gym in a short time, then you might not bother

Is it possible to buy used equipment? I don’t know your financial situation or living situation, but buying might be the best alternative.

On second thought, you could just go to gym 2 and squat with the smith machine. Many, many people do it. Its a tool. Use it. Others will surely disagree, but they’re not in your situation. Tribulus on here is a big user of the smith machine. There is a thread in T-Cell Alpha about this.

#3

They both suck, but since there are apparently only two gyms in all of south Korea, I’d choose the one with free weights.

At 286 pounds you could get by with body-weight squats for a year at least. Or do a butt load of single leg work.

#4

Yeah, free weights for sure, and if that means squatting on the smith machine, so be it.

Also,
It doesn’t matter which gym you go to, just work.

Smart Arse 4 eva,
-Dissonance