Pumped up for the season (First of two parts)

It’s the “ber” months again  that time of the year when we have to prepare for the holiday season.

Since Christmas is when most reunions are held, you only have less than three months to look good and be in shape because it’s also the season when everyone checks out if you’ve grown old and fat. You should start preparing now.

The first step you should take is to shop around for a gym where you can sculpt your body and keep fit for all those Yuletide activities ahead.

In the past several years, I had been making the rounds of fitness centers and I can already give an assessment of gyms in Metro Manila. Here is a mini-guide:

Fitness First  It is the McDonald’s of fitness centers. It is well-lit and the equipment are always being upgraded by management. The facilities are clean and always well-maintained.

Fitness First is actually ideal for those selling insurance and others in sales. There is a comfortable lounge where clients can congregate and relax after a good workout. Of course, I’ve always found it strange that they have bottomless soda there and iced tea that as we now generally know is loaded with sugar. Partake of these treats (sometimes they even have bananas) since you pay for these as part of your regular dues. But please go easy. You don’t want those calories back.

Others bring a tumbler with them and fill it up with soda to take home. So very Pinoy.

Aside from keeping tab on your soda intake while you are in the gym, it is also wise to monitor your credit card because when you put your membership on hold, confusion sometimes ensues. Insist on paying in cash.

You also have to watch your valuables and it is not a bad idea to keep checking your locker in the changing area every so often. The problem with this gym is that it provides clients with a standard key to their lockers and you cannot bring a heavy-duty padlock with you  the best protection you can have to guard your personal belongings.

The biggest downside of this gym, however, manifests itself on the workout area. You need to have a personal trainer whom you pay extra, aside from the dues if you need assistance. Otherwise, you can croak for all they care while you do your exercise routines.

As for celebrity sightings, you can have your fill of matinee idols and some of the most gorgeous women in showbiz there. As far as I know, these are paying clients because Fitness First doesn’t get into exchange deals. The establishment doesn’t even advertise.

The view from outside is already its best advertisement. All branches of Fitness First are physically attractive.

Eclipse  This gym is most ideal for people in show business because it is open 24/7. You can drop by in any of its two branches (in Malate and Shaw Blvd.) in between long taping breaks even after midnight because this fitness center will allow you to perform your exercises even at the break of dawn.

Its nonstop operating hours are also ideal for those who work in call centers and nurses who finish their shifts in the hospital very late at night.

Eclipse, however, is not for the finicky. Its equipment and facilities are Third World. The shower doesn’t have hot water and the carpet begs for major cleaning.

The client is also left on his own and the staff can be inconsiderate (except for two  their names are Bec and Arcie). They apportion the best lockers for themselves and even the most convenient parking slots.

Complaints are not addressed by management and  hear this  one manager is on medication for behavioral problems (a co-manager admitted it). Scary.

Fitness Express  In case the more popular and bigger gyms are looking for their regular hunk and FHM-worthy clients, this is where most of them fled.

Situated in the most unlikely of locations  on top of Lydia’s lechon  it is tucked away along Roces Ave. near Amoranto Stadium.

A lot, lot smaller compared to gyms usually frequented by celebrities, Fitness Express is not for those whose purpose is merely to socialize (the equipment are also far from fancy, though functional). Even if the clients there are buddies, they all mean business  to keep fit and be in shape. Very little time is wasted on chitchat.

Here’s a secret, which I am not even sure I am allowed to reveal, but I am telling you anyway: This was where Aljur Abrenica pumped up prior to his Machete launch. (He slaved it out with personal trainer Billy James Renacia.)

Who are the other hunks hiding here? I can’t tell you. But you will see them in the next Cosmo ball scheduled this month  all buffed up.

(To be concluded)