Ladies Gyms in Mahboula Area

I live in the Mahboula (which means crazy lady in Arabic) area, the ghetto of Kuwait. When I moved here 6 years ago people in Salmiya didn't even know where it was and those who did cringed at the thought of living here. Oh well I liked it because there wasn't alot of traffic back then but flash forward to today and it is getting to be the same as Salmiya. I guess it's called "progress". The traffic and people have grown but the up keep of the area still lacks. Holes in the road that will swallow your car. No water, only trucked in water that is full of God knows what. It's really bad for my hair but what to do.

Anyways let's talk about the gyms available here for women. I know most westerns are contractors and live in furnished buildings with gyms and pools but for those of us that are just normal folks living day to day we have to find a gym outside.

Not too long ago a sheikha opened up Pilates and more on the corner of Mareena Towers. I must say it is a really nice gym with new equipment and employees who actually know what they are doing. At that time the full package was 360 kd which included massages, vibrating equipment that's supposed to help you tone, I found it only shook up what I already had. They had classes and free water which was cool. Then I got pregnant and my membership ended. Now that I'm ready to get back I went there to see how much the membership was now. Drum roll please........... it's now 640 kd for a year. Gasp! That doesn't include the 40 kd membership fee, I was told I could talk to the manager for a discount because I was a member before. How much does that account for 5 kd? You can take one month for 80 kd "cough".

My sister told me about Body Style gym in Alia and Ghalia towers. I went to check it out. You have to go down to the basement so be careful of the stairs they narrow at the end. To the right is the men's gym and to your left is the women's side. Well the staff is not nearly as professional as Pilates and the gym is so humid you break a sweat just walking in. So the equipment is like 20 years old and some machines don't work but hey for 40 kd a month and 110 kd for 3 months what do you expect? They have a spa and a jacuzzi but I don't think I will be using them, they don't have the feeling of cleanliness ew! I'm just thinking of the 40 kd per month so I will overlook that. The staff, which are philipino kinda look at you with a blank stare when you ask them questions and it takes a couple tries to understand them but being in Kuwait for so long I can understand just about any accent. I ended up joining to give it a try and because it's cheap. I find it better to go in the morning, they open up at 9.

I know there is also the gym at the Hilton but I think it's co-ed so I don't want my goodies shown to strange men. The gym is small but the equipment is pretty good. I think it's around 450 kd a year but I'm not 100% sure. I just hate going through the security check and having to answer the "where are you going" question from the Egyptian guy. Sometimes I tell them I'm going to McDonald's just to have them think about it for a minute, mean I know but fun. I had a massage at the Hilton which was pretty good. They ask me if I'm staying at the hotel, if I gave them some random room number would they charge it to their account? I decided to pay cash and be on my way. The massage was 20 kd that was a couple years ago, I'm sure the price has increased as everything in Kuwait has been inflated.

If anyone has any other gym suggestions let me know and I will post them for everyone to see.

Peace!