The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

On your way up to the sixth floor of the
Platinum Mall on Mohandiseen’s busy Shehab Street, you’ll get the perfect
warm-up as you stretch your calves, making your way up on the mostly broken
down escalators. After floor upon floor
of dark and deserted shop spaces, you’ll finally reach Platinum Gym.

Treadmills are situated right at the
beginning of the cardio area. They look somewhat basic and stripped down
compared to other versions of the machine, but they are also easy to use and
program. The machines face the windows facing Shehab Street, and televisions
are placed in between each pair of treadmills. Behind the row of treadmills are
rowing machines, which, if used on a busy day, may feel a little too close to the
runners behind you. Similarly to the treadmills, the rowing machine that this
reviewer used was clean and smooth.

One piece of equipment that we haven’t
always found in gyms around Cairo is the resistance band. It looks like by far
the most unsophisticated piece of equipment in the gym, with different coloured
elasticised rope hanging and swing from it, but it is probably the most
versatile. Each rope’s placement corresponds to a very precise movement of your
body, and you’ll definitely need the guidance of a personal trainer to show you
the best way to utilise the equipment.

The free weight section is a bit of a mixed
bag. The area is broken up into two sections described by staff as free-weights
and light free-weights. True to its name, the ‘light’ section offers much
smaller dumbbells and barbells for a light workout or for beginners. The
problems is that the space overall is quite small, and at the time of this
reviewer’s workout, it was the most populated area, and there was a lot of
shuffling past large Hulk-sized men and timid ‘excuse me’s.

Although the staff are understandably
focused on the ‘personal training’ sessions, there was always someone available
to help at the time of this reviewer’s visit. What was even more comforting was
their etiquette of knowing when they were to leave you to it.

A bright studio area hosts various classes.
At the time of our visit, the schedule included kick boxing, salsa dancing, pilates
and Chinese yoga. All the classes are free to members.

A small complex of sorts holds a steam room
and sauna that can each hold up to eight people at once, and a rather
industrial-looking Jacuzzi. The changing rooms are incredibly small, which is a
forgivable flaw, but what isn’t inexcusable is the state of the toilets and
showers. We wouldn’t even wash a dog in any of the three showers by the
Jacuzzi, while the equally squalid toilets smelled rotten, and the floors were
swamped with puddles of water.

A
one-year membership will set you back 3450LE, and affords you four quarterly
personal trainer appointments whereupon you will be weighed, measured and
prodded to keep track of your progress. You will also be rewarded with a
whopping fifteen massage sessions and fourteen day-use invitations for friends
and family. Six months will cost you 2400LE, three months will cost you 1600LE,
and a measly one-month membership will cost you 750LE.