Regardless of whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, it’s easy for your gym routine to suffer. Even though your home gym has “locations around the world”, most often than not, you’ll be out of luck. This is definitely true if you are the type of guy with a worn passport, who likes to travel and discover less popular destinations. Skopje, the capital city of Macedonia is one of them. Not a single world renowned fitness brand that you can visit and plenty of local gyms you know nothing about. Nevertheless, your fitness habit doesn’t have to suffer, since we are here to point you in the right direction.
If you are travelling frequently for business, those back-to back meetings, that stressful schedule of continuously changing time zones and intense fast tempo can wreak havoc on your body and mind.
Frequent travelers are prone to fatigue, joint pain, migraines, muscle soreness, and disrupted sleep cycles as a result of the continual jet lags. Scientific studies have discovered that exercising on a regular basis can help greatly in regulating the “internal clock” – the circadian rhythm that is affected with every plane boarding. Exercising on a regular basis will increase the metabolic rate and promote blood flow, which will in turn help you to minimize the negative effect of flying.
So which are the best gyms in Skopje?
Many tourists, and more so expats in Skopje, are quite particular about their regular workout routines. They need an access to a top notch gym and won’t settle for anything less. However finding a place for a good workout can be a tricky business when you are far away from your home. That’s why we took a look at the best gyms in Skopje, Macedonia and came up with a list of 5. Without further ado, here are the best gyms in Skopje.
MAGNUS Fitness Center
MAGNUS is a specialized fitness center for men and women, equipped with some of the finest gym equipment like Technogym – Pure Strength, Selection Pro Line and True. It contains a fitness room for weightlifting and another one with a soft surface where professional coaches hold group Pilates, Aerobics, Kick-Fit, Yoga, Self-Defence, Boxing, ZUMBA, TRX and Pole Fitness classes.
The center also includes a number of changing rooms with showers, toilets, clean towels, hairdryers, and of course, hot water aplenty. The complex also has a Finish sauna, which can be used individually or in combinations with your training schedule. It offers a solarium for natural-like bronze, tanned stimulation of vitamin D, and a mini “fitness pharmacy” where various proteins, minerals and vitamins are available upon your request.
Entrance fees for a single workout are between six and ten dollars, depending on whether you arrive in the morning or afternoon/evening.
Here is their location:
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The Gym at Park Hotel & Spa
The gym in Park Hotel & Spa is a spacious and well lit place with industrial and elegant design where you can refresh your muscles and regain your strength. Here you will use top of the line equipment from Techno Gym in a premium class immersive ambient, with soothing music and micro climate that provides a high-end experience. There are several shower rooms, spacious wardrobes, and the locker rooms are clean with a nice, refreshing smell. The equipment is in prestine condition, and diverse enough to perform a wide range of exercises. The elliptical machines are top of the line, so you can even catch up with some of your YouTube entertainment while running..
At this gym you can engage in activities like Omina, Pure Strength, Cardio (Step, Kickboxing, High/Low Impact), Circuit Training and Core and Abs Express. More and above, sauna and spa is available to all visitors upon request. The staff is friendly and competent and members can also engage in personal training with one of their Certified Trainers. They will even provide nutritional guidance and create a dedicated personal program. Late working hours are very convenient at this gym at Park Hotel & Spa if you want to avoid the congested streets in the City Center.
Here is their location:
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The gym CYBEX at Sports Center Jane Sandanski
The Fitness Center – CYBEX located inside the Sports Center Jane Sandanski, next to Hotel Russia, is one of the most visited and professionally equipped gyms in Macedonia. The first impression of this high-end gym is quite a thing. It is medium sized and properly equipped even for professional body builders. Here you can engage in a variety of activities such as Bodybuilding, Functional Training, Aerobics, Pilates, HIIT, Total body workouts, Yoga and Rhythmic Gymnastics for children in a very neat environment. There is also a top of the line ventilation system and a comfortable, high-end atmosphere.
Most of the time the gym is packed full, since lots of professional athletes go there for a workout. You can almost say that the professional Macedonian athletic scene favors the CYBEX facility over most of the others. While playing sports, you can also enjoy the carefully selected music that contributes to an even higher motivation and the general experience as a whole. Hotel Russia also has an high-end and very popular spa center which we definitely recommend, for a full mind-body experience. It includes a swimming pool, infrared sauna, Hamam (Turkish bath), steam bath, various massages and physiotherapy.
If you don’t want to make a commitment, a single entrance fee would cost you $6, and a club card will save you a buck every time you make a visit by lowering the price to $5 per entrance.
The location is less convenient, but relatively close to the center nevertheless.
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Synergy Fitness & Spa
If you are looking for a good place to uphold your healthy lifestyle, while enjoying a positive atmosphere, you should definitely book your next training at Synergy Fitness & Spa which is widespread on a surface of 2500 m². The gym is beaming with daylight and is equipped with the complete and cutting edge program of Technogym, Pure Strength, Element +, Group Cycle, Kinesis, Selection Med, Excite+ and Omnia.
If you want to run on a treadmill while observing the busy streets of one of the most densely-populated urban areas in Skopje, this is definitely the right gym.
Besides the spacious fitness main-room this club has two more halls for group activities like Power Cardio, Spinning, PLYO, Power Pilates, Fit Fusion, Aerobics, Zumba, Total Body Workout and Jungle Gym. The workout program of the Synergy gym also includes one-on-one personalized training sessions and custom packages with their certified trainers. Synergy is also offering spa services that can help you forget about the accumulated stress of the fast-paced life, helping you to relax and unwind.
If you are unwilling to commit to a full month subscription, one entrance will cost you $10.
The location is somewhat close to the CYBEX center, and much more convenient!
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Sports Center Boris Trajkovski
The Boris Trajkovski Sports Center is a multi-functional indoor sports arena. The gym in SC Boris Trajkovski enables the members to efficiently improve their physical strength, endurance and flexibility as well as to achieve their desired fitness goals. The fitness centre rests on an area of 300 m² in a comfortable dynamic ambience and modern design. It is equipped with high quality fitness equipment that meets the standards of the world bodybuilding and fitness association. The entire area of the fitness club is air-conditioned and it also has a number of wardrobes with spacious shower cabins.
Within “Boris Trajkovski” there is also an Aerobics and Pilates Center, featuring a hall that is professionally lit and prepared for superb audio reproduction, with an option for visual presentations. The centre also features an Indoor Pool, Bowling tracks, Tennis courts, a Boxing ring, Table Tennis, sauna, Rhythmic gymnastics for kids, an outdoor Ice ring as well as an Aqua Park. By joining this center you will have access to plenty of activities, all joined together into what is perhaps the best fitness center in Macedonia.
The entrance is somewhat hard to find, but the location is convenient and close to the center of Skopje.
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Conclusion
There is really an abundance of professional gyms and sports clubs in Skopje, Macedonia where most of them offer monthly memberships at super affordable prices. Most of them are in top locations across the city. In this article we’ve tried to present only 5 of the best gyms in Skopje, setting the expectations for what you are about to find in Macedonia.
However, there are other well-equipped gyms that we definitely have to mention. Examples include: fitness center Titanium, Capitol Fitness and Crossfit, fitness and spa centre in TCC Grand Plaza Hotel, club Terminator, Lifestyle Fitness, Fitness & Bodybuilding Club Atleta, Fitness Club Fit and many more. Some of these represent the backbone of the Macedonian fitness scene, where most of the serious fitness competitors go to train.
That being said, if you are staying in this European metropolis and you are looking for some inspiration to hit the treadmill, lift those weights, do some cardio or simply enjoy in the Spa, you should definitely consider our short list. These are the best gyms in Skopje, which is saying a lot considering the athletic interest of this small nation.