Baseline Gym

This is Baseline, the gym I belong to. It’s pretty basic, as you can see – open-air because there is no air conditioning. You'll note it's mostly weights -- Filipinos seem to be much more into strength training than cardio-vascular; none of the gyms I've seen that cater to locals have much cardio equipment – this one has two stationary bikes and two manual treadmills (the treads are on rollers). That’s it – everything else is weights.

I should mention that the workout areas for men and women are separate. The pictures are of the men’s area – the women’s is smaller, but about equally equipped given the very small number of women I’ve seen using it. In fact, there usually is nobody there -- Filipinas (mostly) don't seem to be into fitness or sports.

The only gym I’ve seen with much cardio equipment is located in one of the high-end hotels catering to expats. I considered joining it – the cost was only about 1000-1200 pesos/month ($25-$30), as I recall, but Baseline is so close to my apartment that I joined it instead (450 pesos -- $11). Friendly people, so I’m happy there.