Going Clubbing
By Ira Iosebashvili
Issue 35 Spring Guide


Back in my teenage years, the only affordable gym in Rego Park, New York was run by an old Russian immigrant everyone called Uncle Misha. He was a former champion of something or other, walked around in the stereotypical Soviet sweat suit and ran the place out of a dilapidated synagogue basement. As you can imagine, it wasn’t much of a gym. There was a treadmill – not the electronic kind, mind you – a few sets of rusting dumbbells and a punching bag, but me and the rest of the neighborhood kids couldn’t imagine anything better. We blasted the Rocky soundtrack, hammered the stuffing out of the punching bag, and were happy.
But times have changed. Ironically, I now live in Uncle Misha’s former hometown, and the old guy would sure be surprised. Moscow is becoming a city of health clubs, with new fitness centers opening up every day, each offering services that are more advanced and luxurious than the next. We visited four of the best, and here’s what we found.
A Visit to the Doctor
Positioning itself as an “elegant” fitness club, Dr. Loder has two locations – one on Strassnoi Bulvar (which we visited) and a second near the famous Opera House on Ostozhenka. The club’s namesake, incidentally, was an early 19th century Moscow physician famous for opening several institutes and hospitals around the city.
Cheers: There’s definitely an exclusive feel here – and with membership costing $3000 per year, there better be! You’ll think you’re in the lobby of a hotel when you walk in – the lighting is low and the clanging of iron and blaring of dance music is conspicuously absent. They say the spa here is one of the best in the Moscow health club world, and the cafe offers good (though expensive) food that could pass for homemade. The main cheer, however, is the pool area. Wicker furniture and marble abounds in the relaxation area, and the pool itself is lit from above to produce a beautiful sapphire hue. All of it together looks like what you would find in the home of a minor oligarch.
Jeers: Muscleheads and others with an overabundance of testosterone might find the atmosphere depressing or even downright creepy. Also, the smallness of the place can get annoying, especially in the weight room, which is miniaturized enough to make you feel like a rat in a maze. Almost took a young lady’s head off here while doing laterals, it gets that tight. Treadmills have seen better days, as have the dumbbells.
Year membership (undiscounted): 84,000 rubles
Some random prices: Chicken cutlets – 200 rubles each; personal training session – starting at 5,120 rubles per block of 10; massage – 1,280 rubles.
10/1 Strassnoi Bulvar, 775-7474. M. Tverskaya, Chekhovskaya, Pushkinskaya.
25 Ostozhenka Ul., 637-4076. M. Park Kultury. www.loder.ru
Going for the Gold’s
One of Russia’s first top-flight gyms, Gold’s will celebrate 10 years in Moscow this summer. The original Gold’s Gym was opened in Venice Beach, California in 1965 and made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who trained there during the breakthrough documentary film Pumping Iron.
Cheers: Finally, a gym that doesn’t make you put on bakhily – those stupid blue plastic bags they make you wear over your shoes in gyms and hospitals around Moscow. Gold’s is the perfect place for those who enjoy a high-energy atmosphere – you get the feeling that people are here for working out, and little else. The gym’s huge, cavernous main hall contains 144 machines and training benches. They are extremely proud of their spinning classes, which are tailored to meet individual needs. There’s also a summer veranda on the roof, full-sized indoor tennis and basketball courts, and a cheerfully colored pool with Jacuzzi and waterfall. Trainers here are friendly and helpful. This author highly recommends the Atomic Bomb energy shake.
Jeers: So many machines, and so few weights. I had to go across the main hall to hunt down a 45 lb. plate. The gym itself is a bit out of the way – Dinamo isn’t exactly the center.
Year membership (undiscounted): 52,000 rubles
Some random prices: Atomic Bomb energy shake – 178 rubles; tennis courts – 1,200 rubles per hour.
31 Leningradsky Prospekt, 931-9616. M. Dinamo. www.goldsgym.ru
Straight Outta Sweden


World Class is a chain of fitness clubs started by former Swedish bodybuilding champion Ulf Bengtsson that has its focus on Eastern and Central Europe. The first World Class opened in Moscow in 1993, and today there are almost a dozen operational in the city and several more elsewhere in Russia. We visited the Olimpiisky location.
Cheers: Finally, a gym that doesn’t stack its lockers one on top of the other – here you get six feet of storage space all to yourself. The equipment here is all brand-new, including some space-age, computerized weight training machines that I couldn’t quite figure out. The Caesar’s salad at the cafe is a good cure for those post-workout munchies. Television screens aplenty – a Cheer if you like that sort of thing.
Jeers: The weight room’s not very big, and tends to get crowded. Dumbbells are in short supply. Trainers seem okay, but some of the other personnel have a rather vacant, glass-eyed look you wouldn’t expect at such a high-priced establishment.
Year membership: 83,500 rubles
Some random prices: Caesar’s salad – 280 rubles; personal training session – starting at 1,300 rubles.
16 Olimpiisky Prospekt, Bldg. 2, 755 6522. M. Prospekt Mira.
For other locations, see www.worldclass.ru
Maxi Sport
There are currently four clubs in the Maxi Sport chain, the newest of which is due to open in March on Prospekt Vernadskogo. We visited the location on Sheremetyevskaya Ulitsa.
Cheers: A good combination of luxury and functionality. There are all the machines you could ever want here, as well as classes in everything from boxing to strip-dancing, an excellent cafe and a first-class pool. Trainers are numerous and omnipresent, and just about every single one is a champion of something or other. Both women and men will love the spa area – the masseuses are excellent. The sauna is hotter than the fires of hell – exactly as it should be – and the Ramstore shopping center next door offers several post workout options, including clothing stores, restaurants and a movie theater.
Jeers: Some of the clientele need a lesson in gym etiquette: if you put 700 lbs. on the leg press machine, have the courtesy to take it off when you’re finished! Evenings tend to get crowded, and the lockers could be bigger.
Year membership: 52,000 rubles
Some random prices: Personal training session – starting at 1,100 rubles.
12th Marina Roshcha Proyezd, Bldg. 9 (next to the Ramstore shopping center), 933-7525. M. Alekseyevskaya, Savyolovskaya.
For other locations, see www.maxisport.ru
Some random awards
Healthiest-looking clientele: World Class on Olimpiisky – why some of these people need to go to the gym is beyond me.
Friendliest trainers: Gold’s Gym
Most muscle-bound trainers: Maxi Sport – some of these guys are big. Real big.
Most likely place to spot a minor Russian celebrity you don’t quite recognize: Dr. Loder



This article shows alot of infromation on russian popular culture. it connects strongly to russian social and cultural development. one of their top gyms is Gold's Gym which was first opened in california; and it was made popular by arnold schwarzinager. this shows that they are adopting ideas and culturaly developing based on those ideas of us un the Unuted States. this article describes and goes into detail about their world class gyms and where to go in Moscow for the best fittnes experience.