Megagym, Megatlon

When I returned from the US I received this delightful welcome from our cleaning lady:

"Hola Dawn! You look so much better with this extra weight you have from your vacation!"

Wow. Time to hit the gym.

I look like something like this at Megatlon

Good thing we have Megatlon. We had a pretty good thing going with Gold's Gym in Virginia great classes, great teachers, good equipment, close to home and a cool cardio-cinema. We were hoping to find a new good thing, so much so that finding a gym was our #2 priority - after we found an apartment. There are plenty of gyms in the city to choose from, basically one on every corner. After asking around, we got a few good recommendations for Megatlon, which is easily the largest gym chain in the city. There are multiple locations in the city, so chances are that there is a location near you. I was sold on joining as soon as I took the tour. We are closest to the Barrio Norte location, from the outside it's not much to look at, but the inside of the gym has much more space that you would think. There are 7 floors in this location including a large pool, locker rooms with full shower capacities, multiple floors of cardio equipment and a full level of fitness rooms. There is also a full schedule of classes that take place at all times of the week. The downside to this location is that with the exception of the fitness rooms, none of the floors are air conditioned.

There are 4 membership levels, Plan Red VIP, Plan VIP Plus, Plan Platino & Plan Platino Plus. Each additional level of membership gives you access to more of the gym's locations and therefore, is more expensive. We are VIP Plus members which gives us access to all locations except Villa Crespo, Congreso, Devoto y All Boys. Honestly, we have never gone to any other locations, so this is no consolation - but this is the lowest plan that includes our location, so we didn't have a whole lot of choice. Our plan charges $125 pesos (~US$32) per month which is automatically deducted from our debit card each month.

Words of warning for anyone signing up for a gym:

• All gyms require a medical assessment before granting your membership. Generally they have medical staff in-house - just don't be nervous (like I was) when they put you in a small room with a Spanish-speaking man and he asks you to remove your shirt. Ladies, remember to wear a sports bra the day you go to sign up.
• The hours are different that you can expect in the US. Our location's hours are: 7:30 - 11:00pm M-F, 8:00 - 10:00pm Sat and 10:00 - 6:00pm Sun. If you're a before-work-workout kinda person, take note.
• There are random, without warning, days/times when the gym is inexplicably closed. This is actually pretty normal for Bs.As., but good to be aware of.
• The cardio machines are all set to stop for a "recuperation time" after 25 minutes of continuous use. You are able to stay on the machine and start it again, but this is super annoying during any type of long distance training.

We both think Megatlon is great, I've been to a few of their classes and the instructors are good too. It's probably the closest thing to a "Gold's: Argentina", so we are happy with this choice.