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I wasn't sure where to put gym reviews. So I created this thread and will post links in the sticky threads above. Long review but I appreciated all the info when I was planning my trip and so trying to return the favour.
Summary:
- Gym has good facilities
- Located between Karon and Patong (Phuket) so lots of options for your non-training time
- “One on one” training approach may be overemphasized but you WILL get at least 1 hour of one on one training at every session
- I don’t have anything to compare the gym to, but I was very happy with my time there and would train there again
- I recommend that you stay at the On-The-Hill Hotel which is 500m from camp
Context: I trained at PBG for 2.5 weeks. I am brand new to Muay Thai and my goal was to try a new sport, get some conditioning, etc. Around here, I believe that I would be classified as a n00b fatcamp tourist muppet. I haven’t trained in any other Thai camps yet and so I can’t compare PBG to other gyms. I am planning on returning for more training in a few weeks after I wrap up some business in Hong Kong. I’ll update the review with anything new then.
Facilities: Open air gym with pavilion style roof. 2 rings. A shadow boxing/warm up area with a large mirror. A lower level with 6 heavy bags, a stretching area and some weights. Gym was reasonably clean. The weight equipment was all pretty old and beat up. But everything worked and I didn’t have any problems (20Lb weights are pretty much the same whether they are shiny or rusty).
Trainers: There were about 10 Thai trainers on staff while I was there. I don’t know their ages but the youngest (looking) was about 19 and most of the other guys were in their late 20’s or early 30’s. Most of the trainers are still active fighters. In fact, over the course of 3 weeks, 5 or 6 of the Thais had fights (along with 2 foreigners). Everyone was friendly and became even more so after I kept showing up day after day. The manager (Anita) is there all the time so there doesn’t seem to be much messing around (other then the usual Thai high jinks).
Training: PBG really plays up the “personal training” angle. From speaking to other people at the gym, that is probably less of a differentiator then they like to advertise. In any case, everyone is assigned a personal trainer when you first show up. You show up at an assigned time (8, 9, 10, 11 in the morning; 2, 3, 4, 5 in the afternoon) and you get about 1 hour of dedicated training. In practice, I usually showed up 20-30 minutes early for skipping, stretching and shadow boxing (the trainer will be keeping an eye on you if you are new and need some advice). Then 5+ rounds of pad work, sparring, clinching, etc. Then some wrap up work on the bags and ab/core work. After that, you are generally left on your own to finish up with weights and stretching (again, the trainers will answer any questions that you have).
I found the set up fantastic for a beginner. I had constant coaching and feedback. Obviously I did pretty much everything wrong the first time around (and, in most cases, the subsequent 20 - 1000 times as well). My trainer was patient and corrected me constantly. He was also very good at monitoring how much I could do. Although I started in reasonable shape, I was not in any way Muay Thai fit and I found the heat & humidity very tough to adjust to. So for sure many of the rounds were cut short or he would shift me to other stuff when I was so gassed then I was losing all technique. I learned more then I thought that I would in a short time and I found it a really positive environment. Make a mistake and you get instant feedback. Do anything remotely correct and they are really positive. I was expecting more of a bootcamp mentality. Instead my trainer focused on slowly increasing the workload and warned me about not trying to do too much too soon. Of course, every trainer probably has a different philosophy.
Obviously, if you don’t get on with your trainer, they just switch you.
The gym didn’t offer a training once/day weekly pricing option for people not staying on site. I thought that this was disappointing but I don’t know what other gyms do. All rates are on their website
Running: Outside of the one on one training mentioned above, you are pretty much left to your own devices. Nobody is going to get on you to run and so you have to be self motivated for that (this refers to the tourists, one of the foreigners who fought told me that their entire focus was on conditioning going into his fight. I can’t speak directly to that.). Apparently the fighters run at 7:00 and “after the afternoon workout” and everyone is welcome to join them. That didn’t work for me because I trained at 9:00 and never made it to 2 times/day workouts.
On the plus side, I prefer to run alone anyways and the late start for training in the mornings let me run at about 6:00 when it was cooler and then rest up before my training.
From the gym, you can either run to Karon or Patong. Either way you are running along a fairly busy road. In each case you are going to be going up and down some steep hills. Very tough. The positive side is that you can keep the runs shorter and all the hills are great for getting in shape.
The only real variation that I found was to take a short cut down to Karon Beach (there is a small road near On-The-Hill hotel) which leads to some steps which takes you to the beach. The trail is about 500m from camp. If you want to avoid the hills (mostly) and run on the beach, this works. Running the stairs back from the beach is a bitch but it is over fast. The negative with the beach run is that there are several places where they have cut drainage channels on the beach. So you will get your feet wet a couple of times on that route.
Atmosphere: This will be different for everyone of course. I found my trainer excellent. Most of the other trainers were pleasant. Because all the trainees are one on one training most of the time, you may be a little more isolated then at other gyms. But if you want to meet new people, it is easy enough. Place was quite busy at 8 & 9 but slower after that.
Accommodations: I highly recommend On-The-Hill-Karon Hotel (OFFICIAL WEBSITE : On-The-Hill- Karon RESORT - Seaview Resort in Karon, Phuket). Family run place about 500m from camp. The people running it are just amazingly helpful and they will do everything that they can to make you feel at home. You get a comfortable room, great view of the beach, Wi-Fi, swimming pool, cheap laundry service, etc at a reasonable price. I wouldn’t consider staying anywhere else when I return. Email the owners directly (email is on their website). You will get a better deal, especially if you tell them you are a fighter and will be staying for a while. My room deal came with a great breakfast. In addition, there is a great restaurant next door that serves the usual mix of Thai and western food. I just left if up to the owner to cook whatever they felt like and I was never disappointed. Thai dishes are about 80 – 150 baht.
There are also places right at the camp which you can book through the gym. I stayed there for 3 nights when I first arrived. Clean, basic accommodation. If you are on a super tight budget, it is certainly an acceptable option. Prices are on the gym website and you get a good deal if you take the monthly stay/train deal.
There is also a fancier place across the road from the gym called Secret Cliffs. High season prices are around 3000 baht/night. I wanted to check out the rooms there but the staff that I dealt with were always disorganized and so I just gave up. I suspect that the rooms are nice and they have a couple of restaurants on site as well.
If you don’t take any of the above, you will need to stay in Patong, Karon, or one of the other towns. All those options would require you to get to camp by taxi or scooter.
I appreciate all the people who have posted gym reviews when I was preparing for my trip to Thailand. Please let me know if you have any questions on the above.
Summary:
- Gym has good facilities
- Located between Karon and Patong (Phuket) so lots of options for your non-training time
- “One on one” training approach may be overemphasized but you WILL get at least 1 hour of one on one training at every session
- I don’t have anything to compare the gym to, but I was very happy with my time there and would train there again
- I recommend that you stay at the On-The-Hill Hotel which is 500m from camp
Context: I trained at PBG for 2.5 weeks. I am brand new to Muay Thai and my goal was to try a new sport, get some conditioning, etc. Around here, I believe that I would be classified as a n00b fatcamp tourist muppet. I haven’t trained in any other Thai camps yet and so I can’t compare PBG to other gyms. I am planning on returning for more training in a few weeks after I wrap up some business in Hong Kong. I’ll update the review with anything new then.
Facilities: Open air gym with pavilion style roof. 2 rings. A shadow boxing/warm up area with a large mirror. A lower level with 6 heavy bags, a stretching area and some weights. Gym was reasonably clean. The weight equipment was all pretty old and beat up. But everything worked and I didn’t have any problems (20Lb weights are pretty much the same whether they are shiny or rusty).
Trainers: There were about 10 Thai trainers on staff while I was there. I don’t know their ages but the youngest (looking) was about 19 and most of the other guys were in their late 20’s or early 30’s. Most of the trainers are still active fighters. In fact, over the course of 3 weeks, 5 or 6 of the Thais had fights (along with 2 foreigners). Everyone was friendly and became even more so after I kept showing up day after day. The manager (Anita) is there all the time so there doesn’t seem to be much messing around (other then the usual Thai high jinks).
Training: PBG really plays up the “personal training” angle. From speaking to other people at the gym, that is probably less of a differentiator then they like to advertise. In any case, everyone is assigned a personal trainer when you first show up. You show up at an assigned time (8, 9, 10, 11 in the morning; 2, 3, 4, 5 in the afternoon) and you get about 1 hour of dedicated training. In practice, I usually showed up 20-30 minutes early for skipping, stretching and shadow boxing (the trainer will be keeping an eye on you if you are new and need some advice). Then 5+ rounds of pad work, sparring, clinching, etc. Then some wrap up work on the bags and ab/core work. After that, you are generally left on your own to finish up with weights and stretching (again, the trainers will answer any questions that you have).
I found the set up fantastic for a beginner. I had constant coaching and feedback. Obviously I did pretty much everything wrong the first time around (and, in most cases, the subsequent 20 - 1000 times as well). My trainer was patient and corrected me constantly. He was also very good at monitoring how much I could do. Although I started in reasonable shape, I was not in any way Muay Thai fit and I found the heat & humidity very tough to adjust to. So for sure many of the rounds were cut short or he would shift me to other stuff when I was so gassed then I was losing all technique. I learned more then I thought that I would in a short time and I found it a really positive environment. Make a mistake and you get instant feedback. Do anything remotely correct and they are really positive. I was expecting more of a bootcamp mentality. Instead my trainer focused on slowly increasing the workload and warned me about not trying to do too much too soon. Of course, every trainer probably has a different philosophy.
Obviously, if you don’t get on with your trainer, they just switch you.
The gym didn’t offer a training once/day weekly pricing option for people not staying on site. I thought that this was disappointing but I don’t know what other gyms do. All rates are on their website
Running: Outside of the one on one training mentioned above, you are pretty much left to your own devices. Nobody is going to get on you to run and so you have to be self motivated for that (this refers to the tourists, one of the foreigners who fought told me that their entire focus was on conditioning going into his fight. I can’t speak directly to that.). Apparently the fighters run at 7:00 and “after the afternoon workout” and everyone is welcome to join them. That didn’t work for me because I trained at 9:00 and never made it to 2 times/day workouts.
On the plus side, I prefer to run alone anyways and the late start for training in the mornings let me run at about 6:00 when it was cooler and then rest up before my training.
From the gym, you can either run to Karon or Patong. Either way you are running along a fairly busy road. In each case you are going to be going up and down some steep hills. Very tough. The positive side is that you can keep the runs shorter and all the hills are great for getting in shape.
The only real variation that I found was to take a short cut down to Karon Beach (there is a small road near On-The-Hill hotel) which leads to some steps which takes you to the beach. The trail is about 500m from camp. If you want to avoid the hills (mostly) and run on the beach, this works. Running the stairs back from the beach is a bitch but it is over fast. The negative with the beach run is that there are several places where they have cut drainage channels on the beach. So you will get your feet wet a couple of times on that route.
Atmosphere: This will be different for everyone of course. I found my trainer excellent. Most of the other trainers were pleasant. Because all the trainees are one on one training most of the time, you may be a little more isolated then at other gyms. But if you want to meet new people, it is easy enough. Place was quite busy at 8 & 9 but slower after that.
Accommodations: I highly recommend On-The-Hill-Karon Hotel (OFFICIAL WEBSITE : On-The-Hill- Karon RESORT - Seaview Resort in Karon, Phuket). Family run place about 500m from camp. The people running it are just amazingly helpful and they will do everything that they can to make you feel at home. You get a comfortable room, great view of the beach, Wi-Fi, swimming pool, cheap laundry service, etc at a reasonable price. I wouldn’t consider staying anywhere else when I return. Email the owners directly (email is on their website). You will get a better deal, especially if you tell them you are a fighter and will be staying for a while. My room deal came with a great breakfast. In addition, there is a great restaurant next door that serves the usual mix of Thai and western food. I just left if up to the owner to cook whatever they felt like and I was never disappointed. Thai dishes are about 80 – 150 baht.
There are also places right at the camp which you can book through the gym. I stayed there for 3 nights when I first arrived. Clean, basic accommodation. If you are on a super tight budget, it is certainly an acceptable option. Prices are on the gym website and you get a good deal if you take the monthly stay/train deal.
There is also a fancier place across the road from the gym called Secret Cliffs. High season prices are around 3000 baht/night. I wanted to check out the rooms there but the staff that I dealt with were always disorganized and so I just gave up. I suspect that the rooms are nice and they have a couple of restaurants on site as well.
If you don’t take any of the above, you will need to stay in Patong, Karon, or one of the other towns. All those options would require you to get to camp by taxi or scooter.
I appreciate all the people who have posted gym reviews when I was preparing for my trip to Thailand. Please let me know if you have any questions on the above.
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