So guys, I am back to reviewing another fitness facility in Phuket, Thailand. Unit 27 is one of the top facilities in the city, especially if you are a CrossFit fan and want to get your dose while staying in or visiting Phuket. Unit 27 is situated in Chalong, on a street called Soi Taied (or Fighter’s Street, in simple, and very apt, English).
The place is a one-stop pit stop for a fitness vacation, if that’s your plan. Unit 27 will take care of your accommodation, as they have tied up with a hostel in Chalong. There is also a café called Muscle Bar, which will cater to all your nutritional needs while you stay. The food is tasty and healthy, so you don’t have to worry about adding too many calories while losing weight, toning up, or generally staying fit. All you need to do is to book your ticket to Phuket, along with the duration of your stay with Unit 27.
This amazing facility opened its doors to the public around 4 years ago. They have huge indoor and outdoor areas available for workouts. As soon as you enter the facility, you will be blown away with the graffiti on the walls, and no, they are not your everyday artist graffiti. These graffiti are motivational and inspirational slogans, along with a lot of other stuff. In terms of other facilities, they also have ice baths and a sauna room, to cool your muscles down and relax, after a heavy training session.
Their weight-section gym is called Primal Fitness, which was one of the best weight training facilities I visited during my stay. The first thing I noticed while visiting was that all machines are by Hammer Strength, which is one of the best names, if you think of weight-training machines. It has got every machine you might have ever wanted to work out on, and a huge amount of weights to satisfy every kind of weight lifter, from beginners to professionals. People who pick up 5 lbs dumbbell to people who move tonnages, are all welcome at Primal Fitness.
The space is highly focused on CrossFit, and the trainers here are also mostly CrossFit certified. They have around 7-8 trainers on the ground, from various parts of the world.
Although CrossFit is their strength, they also hold classes in yoga, strength workouts, and training. One can go to Unit 27 and either opt for just the weight-training gym, or just one of their classes, or even take a package which includes both. You can also avail the facilities for a single day visit.
Don’t worry if you are a newbie to fitness, and are scared or nervous about going to a fitness-focused place such as Unit 27. Their trainers are extremely approachable, and their mission is to make people perform correctly and better, rather than just instructing class members without giving them personal attention. In case you need a one-on-one personal session, private training sessions are also available.
Their classes range from beginner-level ones to advanced-level ones, and include:
- Mobilize – This is a combination of all that they offer. Beginners to experts, all can take part in this class, whether one categorises oneself as an athlete, a powerlifter, a yogi, or anything else. This class is all about stretching and building up core strength. This is the first class in the morning at Unit 27.
- Morning glory – This is also known as Drill Sergeant, and is about high-intensity pyramid training.
- The Punisher – This is an advanced-level class, which is held on Monday mornings. A difficult one, it definitely isn’t a walk in the park. This class will make you push your body to limits you never imagined before.
- Death Row – This also is an advanced-level class. It’s a 40-minute class that will test your strength and speed. It is a full-body metabolic conditioning workout.
- Ab Scene – This class is only for the ladies. It’s a 1-hour session, which is AMRAP-based and every session is finished with a signature abs burner.
- Kalorie Killa – As the name suggests, this class mainly targets fat loss with HIIT training. With the heart rate dropping and then increasing at intervals during the session, it boosts metabolism and fat loss.
- Tour de Unit – This is a Unit 27 signature class, which includes a little spinning, a little Tabata, and a little bit of partner workout.
- Revolutions – This is a high-speed 45-minute spinning class. But again, it’s not just spinning. Expect some surprises like lifting weights, while staying on the bike.
- Rapid Fire – This class has been formed by the whole Unit 27 team. So you can expect a little bit of exercise of each kind. It is an overall body development class. It includes plyometrics, speed, and core stability, while doing weight training.
- CrossFit Phuket – No two sessions of this class are the same. It includes various functional movements at high intensity, and the session is always finished with WOD (workout of the day).
- Basic Lifting – This class, as the name suggests, focuses on primary fundamental movement in weight-lifting such as squats, dead-lifts, and overhead shoulder presses. This is recommended for people who are beginners, as this will help you improve your body movements, learn the correct forms for each exercise, and lessen the risk of injury.
- Olympic Lifting – This class concentrates on the movement of snatch, clean, and jerk. There are only a limited number of seats available, so that the instructor can supervise everyone personally, so be sure to book this one well in time, if you are interested in this.
- Grenade (super-advanced level) – This is a 30-minute HIIT class, which is supposed to be one of their toughest. And they won’t allow anyone below the age of 18, or someone visiting the facility on their first day, to take this class.
- The Executioner (super-advanced level) – This is another one of their toughest classes. It’s a 9-station class, with 2 movements each in a 3-minute working time, followed by 1 minute of rest.
- The Yard – This is an outdoor class, suitable for all levels.
- Core-ruption – This class focuses only and only on your core. Each session is different, focusing on building and strengthening the core. It is held every Tuesday and Thursday at 5 pm.
Unit 27 has a nutritionist at the facility who will check your body composition and guide you into making changes to your diet and lifestyle, in order to turn your life and eating habits around. One day at Unit 27, with any of their classes, will make you crave more. With their all-round approach, Unit 27 is definitely one of the best fitness centres in the city!