Alright, the new year has started and to no one’s surprise, one of the most common New Year resolutions is to get back in shape. Gyms all around the city are busy recruiting new members while the new year’s resolution hype is still buzzing, but there’s one fitness studio that’s playing it cool.
Supermonkey has been around for a few years now, and in my circle of local Chinese friends, it’s nothing shocking or new. But the lack of an English interface has made the Supermonkey mini-program less than user-friendly for those of us who’ve yet to master reading Chinese.
Supermonkey has fitness studios in all of China’s major cities. What makes them different from other fitness studios is that they don’t charge an annual fee and their studios are fully WeChat automated. Which means, no sales representative calling you on a regular basis asking you to renew memberships, no worrying about moving and having that expensive annual gym membership go to waste, and no personal trainers coming up to you while you work out giving unsolicited advice and asking for you to sign up for classes with them.
The classes are booked through their WeChat mini-program and a few hours before your class you’ll receive the studio’s door code to enter, and once the class is ready to start, the instructor will ask you to scan a check-in QR code on WeChat.
Each Supermonkey is slightly different but offer similar lists of classes. Some are designed for aerobics while others have a spinning studio. Classes range between RMB 69 to RMB 159 based on time and demand. My personal favorite is their spinning studio in Raffles City. While other spinning studios in Beijing will cost over RMB 100 per class and require a minimum commitment, Supermonkey charges RMB 89 per class with no membership or minimum class requirement. Spinning burns a ton of calories each class and helps you build toned lean muscles – a long-time favorite for Hollywood bombshells like Jennifer Aniston who looks stunning at 50.
How to use Supermonkey
Step 1: Follow Supermonkey on WeChat (ID: Supermonkey-Fitness)
Step 2: Click Book and select the studio you that’s most convenient to you. You can search all the locations in China by selecting the city and district.
Step 3: View the list of classes available each week and select the one that you want. The names are always displayed bilingually. The classes that are still available will be in yellow. Any class that’s already ended or is full will be in grey.
Step 4: Reserve your spot for the class and proceed to WeChat payment. It gives you the option to reserve up to 3 spots so if you’ve got friends who want to get in shape with you, bring them along!
Step 5: Once you’ve successfully paid for your class you’ll receive a confirmation text.
So, in five simple steps, you can keep your New Year’s resolution alive and get back into fighting shape.
Photos: Mina Yan, weibo.com, walkthechat.com
