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Jolly_Green wrote:

I'm moving to Ho Chi Minh in January and I was wondering about how I would be received as a larger person.  I'm a 6'1" woman and on top of that, not in the best shape.  I've been working really hard to lose weight here and I hope to continue that in Vietnam but I was wondering,
1. Should I expect to have any problems in day to day life because of my size or just the curious questions, stares that I get in other countries I've visited?
2. Will I be mocked working out in public there?  Are the gyms and especially weight rooms female-friendly and generally accepting of anyone who comes to work out or is it only filled with muscly men?
Thanks for any help!

The quality gyms here are like western countries. You pay for quality. Dress modestly until you're trim enough to show it. No one really minds about other folk here. BUT if you go to a cheap gym,there Will be constant stares and comments. Not to mention sweat soaked equipment and the stench of body odour swirling through a fan or two.

Most gyms in HCMC seem to be either male or female with only a relative few being coed.  One problem that you might find is your height.  A lot of the cheaper white framed equipment is not as adjustable as equipment you might find in a gym in the West.  I am only 5'9" and I found that to be a slight problem in the small gym that I used.   I see some "downtown" places have fancier equipment and may be better in that respect.

I wouldn't worry about your weight though.  When I first came to Vietnam about 15 years ago, overweight people were nowhere to be found.  That is certainly no longer the case.

Hey there,

I recommend Titan Gym in District/Quan 6. On a street called Binh Phu, decent gym, nothing too fancy, no muscular men, equal ratio of female/males. And it's $8 per month no contract!

Give them a Google, hope this helps.

Will

Hi,

I still new to Vietnam myself, though not new to SE Asia, but I'd like to suggest that you much are less likely to be mocked here than in the West. Perhaps that is your experience given your enquiry? However, as a tall foreigner, you have to expect stares 

I have started training at California Fitness because they had a large gym close to my office. There's a reasonable number of women who train, though all locals. They seem to have a number of expat PTs working there; just yesterday I chatted briefly to a tall British PT - so there's staff there that will understand your height concerns. (I'm 190cm and manage ok).

Your biggest challenge in losing weight is the 23 hours a day you're not in the gym - i.e. what you eat. It's more difficult (expensive) to get 'clean' food here, but this can be overcome once you're settled and find your way around.

With enough motivation, everything is possible