I ran the half marathon (21km) in the Borneo International Marathon in October last year. And I have since ran the Penang Bridge International Marathon (25km) as well as the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (21km). I plan to run my very first full marathon (42km) in October this year, with perhaps a couple more half marathons before October. Therefore I really need to maintain a consistent training schedule almost throughout the entire year.
The last couple of weeks haven’t been very kind to me. It’s been raining almost daily, and I haven’t been able to do my runs. I know this sounds very much like a typical excuse for laziness, but I really want to run, honest!
I was therefore pleasantly surprised this morning when I received a call from the lady at Core Fitness to inform me of their soft opening. The outlet is actually the former YFitness in City Mall, of which I was also a member. I paid for a 2-year membership, but saw my membership fee gone down the drain when YFitness went bust a few months ago.
It is a good thing that a prominent local businessman decided to buy over what’s left of YFitness and transformed it into Core Fitness. But prominent businessman or not, I have my doubts. You know the saying—once bitten, twice shy!
Don’t get me wrong though, I welcome the reopening of the fitness centre. In fact, I readily admit that Mia and I desperately need a fitness centre close to our house in Taman Iramanis. But we are not sure if we would pay on annual or monthly bases. Either way, I think it is almost certain that we will join.
Anyway, information gathered from Core Fitness on the available schemes are like this:
1) Monthly Payments
RM180.00 net per month, subject to initial single payment of RM90 for processing fee; start anytime and stop anytime.
2) Monthly Payments (12 months commitment)
RM130.00 net per month. Initial payment of RM390.00, i.e. for 3 months and subject to initial single payment of RM90 for processing fee (non-refundable)
3) Annual Payments
Lumpsum of RM1,200.00 for the first 100 members (promotion); RM1,650.00 for the rest (towels provided).
** Towels (Optional)
Members paying on monthly basis may opt for towels to be provided by Core Fitness (optional) at a cost of RM30 per month. But towels are not for bringing home! (Smile)
Core Fitness had a soft opening yesterday; the official opening is scheduled to be on 8 February 2009. It is still undergoing final stages of renovation at the moment but members of the public may come in to try out the equipment free of charge until the official opening.
So come on, y’all, get off your butts and start getting fit again! See you at Core Fitness!
The last couple of weeks haven’t been very kind to me. It’s been raining almost daily, and I haven’t been able to do my runs. I know this sounds very much like a typical excuse for laziness, but I really want to run, honest!
I was therefore pleasantly surprised this morning when I received a call from the lady at Core Fitness to inform me of their soft opening. The outlet is actually the former YFitness in City Mall, of which I was also a member. I paid for a 2-year membership, but saw my membership fee gone down the drain when YFitness went bust a few months ago.
It is a good thing that a prominent local businessman decided to buy over what’s left of YFitness and transformed it into Core Fitness. But prominent businessman or not, I have my doubts. You know the saying—once bitten, twice shy!
Don’t get me wrong though, I welcome the reopening of the fitness centre. In fact, I readily admit that Mia and I desperately need a fitness centre close to our house in Taman Iramanis. But we are not sure if we would pay on annual or monthly bases. Either way, I think it is almost certain that we will join.
Anyway, information gathered from Core Fitness on the available schemes are like this:
1) Monthly Payments
RM180.00 net per month, subject to initial single payment of RM90 for processing fee; start anytime and stop anytime.
2) Monthly Payments (12 months commitment)
RM130.00 net per month. Initial payment of RM390.00, i.e. for 3 months and subject to initial single payment of RM90 for processing fee (non-refundable)
3) Annual Payments
Lumpsum of RM1,200.00 for the first 100 members (promotion); RM1,650.00 for the rest (towels provided).
** Towels (Optional)
Members paying on monthly basis may opt for towels to be provided by Core Fitness (optional) at a cost of RM30 per month. But towels are not for bringing home! (Smile)
Core Fitness had a soft opening yesterday; the official opening is scheduled to be on 8 February 2009. It is still undergoing final stages of renovation at the moment but members of the public may come in to try out the equipment free of charge until the official opening.
So come on, y’all, get off your butts and start getting fit again! See you at Core Fitness!
21 comments:
Umm... just in case you're wondering - No, I'm not getting anything from Core Fitness for this posting! (smile)
Hi Corny,
Glad to know u r planning to do the 42km this Oct. It will be my 2nd try this time and hopefully I can complete it once and for all. Have been doing weights & treadmill (20KM/week).
Hey, I heard about Core Fitness too but I doubt it will last long. I m happy with my membership at Marina Club, at least there is a 5 Star Hotelier backing rather than a so called prominent businessman. Call me if you intend to joint Marina Club. Umm... just in case you're wondering - No, I'm not getting anything from Marina Club for this comment! (smile)
Hi teo,
To be honest, I didn't think Core Fitness is going to last long too. Perhaps it has a lot to do with how quickly YFitness closed shop.
But then I found out that the new owner is Mr CK Tan (not your hunting partner!). Mr Tan is famous because of KFC and Pizza Hut, and he owns Sounthern Bakery too. And by the way, Southern will be expanding its wings to west M'sia. In fact, it is going nationwide. My firm has also dealt with Mr Tan in the past. I would be extremely surprised if Core Fitness fails to make it too! Mr Tan is not a man who would run away with a few hundred thousand bucks! Obviously I can't say the same for the owner of YFitness.
As for the full marathon, I hope to be successful in my first attempt, perhaps with the help of Core Fitness. I was given to understand by Shan that registration opens some time in February. I told her that I will let the Kenyans win. But I will try to complete the 42km within 4:30. Not an easy feat, but it's good to set a target. Otherwise, I might be tempted to take the whole 7 hours to complete the run!
I'm quite skeptical on how the fitness centre will sustain itself.
I got to think twice putting my money upfront for the membership. Like you said, once bitten, twice shy.
Hi Anggun3,
It is a normal reaction to a bad experience. YFitness had several branches in several states in Malaysia, so it was quite unexpected that they'd run away with my money. I paid for a 2-year membership and only used up about 9 months.
Keeping fit is one of my priorities in life, so I need a gym one way or another. Working out at the jogging track can work too, but we have too many rains here in Sabah, especially in the past recent weeks. I sometimes feel too tired or bored to go running, and it's very easy to use the excuse of the rain to forego working out. Most people would say that health is the most important thing to them, yet keeping fit is the last on their priority list.
When I found out that the gym at City Mall's reopening, I knew that I had to sign up. The only question is whether I would pay monthly or annually. At first I had more or less decided on a monthly membership, but later on I signed up for a yearly membership anyway. I made that decision after considering the reputation of the new owner. I may still be wrong, of course, but after taking other factors into account, I took the risk anyway. Like I said, keeping fit is important to me. It has nothing to do with trying to have a nice figure and appear handsome - I am way past that already!
If you are also keen on keeping fit, and if you are close to City Mall, why not try it out at least on a monthly membership first. Then if you find that you like it, you can pay on an annual basis later on. I think it's good that they have those options available. The only thing is that if you pay an upfront annual membership now, you get to enjoy a slightly cheaper rate. But don't make that the main consideration in making up your mind!
I notice that quite a number of people are googling up on Core Fitness City Mall and found their way to this blog. It's been about 2 weeks since I posted this article, so I might as well update a bit now for the benefit of those new visitors.
I have since gone to Core Fitness quite frequently for my runs. The renovation works have all been completed, and just last night I did a short 6km run. It's not officially open yet - I believe the official launching is on 8 February, although people have started to sign up for membership.
I was a bit surprised to see the crowd on the top floor last night; a bunch of men were doing weights. I'd expect more people would sign up by next week.
So far so good, and I am confident that they will do well.
I'm a Yfitness member too (hm.. i mean last time) signing up for a year.. but active for 4months.
Last 2weeks, I get a call from them too. but they refuse to tell me about the price and payment basis. They insist me to go to their office for 'discussion'. (Feeling abit strange.) so i didn't visit them until now.
I wish to try. but i really scare it's another Yogazone cases....
Do they offer any yoga or aerobic classes now?
Hi Erica,
I must agree that it's a bit strange that they insisted on your presence at their gym before they can give you more info on the membership fees. I can only guess that it's some kind of sales 101, i.e. show the product first, captivate the client, and then only talk about the price - not the other way round!
It was a bit different in my case. I myself went to their gym before they were open. I gave my card and asked to be contacted. I think it was fairly obvious to them that I would most probably sign up. So when they called me a few days later, they were more inclined to tell me about the prices over the phone. There was no need to go through the part where they had to convince me on the product.
However, I have just shortly called up Miss Seeto (I hope I get your name correctly) of Core Fitness, and was told the following information:
1) The membership packages as given in the above post still stand, except that the discounted RM1,200 for first year for early birds are almost sold out;
2) Yoga and aerobics classes will be available, but starting only after the middle of this month. The yoga classes will probably be described by other terms, e.g. "stretching" classes etc.;
3) The official launching of the gym has been postponed to the middle of this month. If payment for membership has been made, it will only be counted from the date of the official opening. It means that members can use the gym for free from now up to the official opening.
I will try to invite Miss Seeto to add further comments here if necessary.
then i think i should wait for their class all started first.. If not, just like Yfitness, they keep on saying coming soon.. soon soon soon... until they had close.
Haha. Anyway, thanks for ur info!
Erica,
If the classes are the main reasons for your possible membership, then yes, I can understand why you'd want to delay signing up.
I am different; I mainly focus on the treadmill and sometimes the weights. Throughout the 9 months or so I was with YFitness, I never once joined any of the classes. It doesn't bother me if they decide not to have those classes in the end. I am having my money's worth as long as the treadmills and weights are there.
Hi ppl,
I really understand how you guys feel when Yfitness had closed down after committing either the 1 yr or 2 yrs full payment membership.Ppl hate being cheated!!
Im frm KK and I used to work at yogazone, same group with Yfitness(KL branches)before. I some how know some 'inside story' and how the managements work. I dun blame you guys for being scared and thinking twice/thrice of joining COre Fitness because non of you really know the reason why it's closed down.News from Local newspaper is unreliable, i was laughing at the article during the chaos, what nonsense they've posted. I can ensure that it's not because of the boss running away for your membership fees, thr's legal issues & the company being sued since the owner break the law. That's why any fitness centre under the group is affected. And of course the members become the victims.
I think it's a bit unfair that COre fitness are being compared with Yfitness, I wish to help to build more confident for ppl like cornelius that's keen with keeping fit. Im supporting my friend that are still working thr.I wish you guys can jst give Core Fitness a try, you may just try out the monthly package, i see how it goes.
BTW, i really get nothing out of this!!! I still have to pay monthly payment of RM150,hehe. My bf & I joined together. He uses the gym and i go for the classes. It's really convinient jst 5 mins drive from my office. I oso recommended to my friend(core staff) to hav more dance classes for the ladies, trying to get my friend to teach thr =)
Well hope to be bumping into you guys thr!! adios!
I've been down with flu and cough; and haven't been running for almost 2 weeks. On 1 March, I was in KL (yes, with the sore throat and all) for the Hunters Challenge. On that same day, Core Fitness had its official opening ceremony.
Last Thursday, the weather was fine in the evening. So I went running at the Likas jogging track (I try to alternate running outdoor and indoor if I can). Did a short 5km since I hadn't fully recovered from my flu.
Then yesterday evening, I finally had the chance to go to Core Fitness again after its opening.
Just an update since my last comment on Core Fitness. I was surprised to find so many people there. Most of the equipment - treadmills, bicycles etc were occupied. That's a good sign. The aerobics classes were also in progress.
I'm happy that they're off to a good start. I am confident they're gonna be able to keep up the momentum.
Hi:
I am fairly new to your blog and may be a bit outdated on some of the topics. Hah..but I'm glad there are workout freaks like me :)
I am an avid RPM (cycling) instructor, an advance YogaFit lover and a Bodypumper that workouts at least 6x a week. A friend of mine recommended Core Fitness as a good place to workout when I'm in the country. However, after reading the comments, I am as doubtful as "Thomas". I wouldn't mine trying it out for a month and see how it goes. i'm wondering if there is anyone out there that is a workout freak like me and would like to be my workout buddy. But i would be equally interested in teaching a class :)
Cornelius : keep up the good work on running!
Teo: I was interested in joining Le Meridien's health club but heard it has a waiting list..?? any insights about why they do that?
Anggun3: maybe we could give it a try for a month and see how everything turns outs :) what say you? :)
awesomesunshine22,
I'm afraid this post is a bit outdated now. If you were to go to Core Fitness to check them out, you'd be surprised how many people you'll see there. It is obvious that the volume of membership is increasing steadily, and I can see many of the familiar faces from the YFitness days have mostly come onboard.
Considering that the owner of Core Fitness is a well-known name in KK, with a reputation worth so much more than Core Fitness, I don't think there is much risk of this gym closing down anytime soon.
Anyway, the last time I checked they had a monthly membership too, although it's more expensive than the annual membership.
Hi Mr. Cornelius,
Just to let you know, everybody who googles for core fitness will eventually get to your blog. I am, with God's blessing, going to be a member there. I've given up training at Likas Complex since the weather's here at KK is not ideal for us outdoor people (my opinion). I am going to join the half-marathon (borneo marathon) later this year. It's my first time so i need to make sure i am physically and mentally fit for it. I've never tried Y-Fitness before, probably because i was too late to do so. I still don't really know the full story about why they closed but i don't really care. What i care is my health (amongst others) and i am hoping Core Fitness will not close due to any reasons whatsover. Thanks for your informative post.
Luqman,
You are right, I have at least several hits daily because of this Core Fitness post. I'd like to think that there are many active people out there in KK!
And, yes, you are also right about the weather in KK as far as training outdoor is concerned.
But, Luqman, to be quite honest, I hardly ever train in Core Fitness for the marathon. Last year, when I joined the half marathon for the first time, I trained perhaps half the time on the treadmill and half on the jogging track outdoor. But this year I'm running the 42km and the boredom of training on the treadmill is just too much to handle.
However, boredom is just one of the negative factors in my opinion. I think there is a need to train the body for the actual condition. The thing about the treadmill is the lack of "drag" effort required. The floor runs by itself and you just "follow" the pace. But on the track you need to drag your bodyweight forward. It hardly makes any difference if it's just a matter of few kilometres, but if you're running more than 10km, I've found that there can be quite a lot of difference. So I'd suggest, if I may, to spend at least half of the time running outdoor to train your leg muscles for the "drag" endurance.
Hi Cornelius,
I would like to know your opinion on Core Fitness after you joined as member for a few months.
I worked in KK for < 1 year and I am looking to join gym to keep myself fit. I will move to Inanam soon. So, I am planning to join either the newly opened 1fitness in 1 Borneo or core fitness. Thanks.
Puppytraining,
Perhaps I'm not the best person to make the comparison, because to be quite honest, I haven't been researching the 1Fitness in 1Borneo. Therefore, I'm unable to compare as far as the equipment and monthly subscriptions are concerned. What I can say, however, is that Core Fitness is quite complete for me. I consider they have enough cardio machines like the treadmills, bicycles and what I call the striders. But obviously there are many more cardio machines out there, so it really depends on what you really want.
As for the weights, I can also say that they have enough to work the whole body. I used to do weights quite seriously when I was younger. And if you've been doing weights too, then you will know that MOST people only work on their upper bodies. About 20% or less work on their legs. And even that may be a generous estimate.
Core Fitness also provides classes, but I have never joined one. It's just not my cup of tea I guess. Although I am a member of Core Fitness, I rarely go there for my training. I try as much as possible to run at Likas track. But when it's raining, the gym could be useful.
They provide lockers, huge areas for changing and shower etc. So on the whole, I'd say Core Fitness is good for me.
The only one problem that is a bit annoying these days is it's getting increasingly difficult to get a parking in City Mall. So you will need to choose your time to go there.
Although I have never been to the gym in 1Borneo, I would imagine that they have more or less similar facilities as those found in Core Fitness. But I suspect the cost is much higher.
Hi Cornelius,
Thanks for your input :-)
Puppytraining,
Good luck with your fitness program.
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