There are many things that are different here in Panamà. I won’t say they’re better or worse, just different. There’s one thing, though, that’s definitely better, and it’s something I really didn’t expect.

Gyms.

Normally this wouldn’t be an entry, but it’s so different from our experience in the US I thought it was worth documenting.

We had a membership in one of the large US national chain gym for many years. It wasn’t terrific, but the monthly fee included all classes, and the equipment was mostly okay. Since we were working, most of our workouts were in the early evening, which meant crowds and often waits for machines.

We live in a high-rise apartment building in Panamà City. Most apartment buildings, including ours, has a gym available for residents. However, calling these spaces gyms in most of them (including ours) is a rather optimistic term. (Three treadmills and some free weights do not a gym make.)

So we found a chain gym here in Panamà. Unlike many things here, the cost of the membership is not less than the US – it’s about the same. But the experience is so much better!

The staff are always happy to greet us, and remember our names when we come in. At the front door, there’s a sign showing the different employees at the gym.

I’m not used to colour coded gym staff, and everyone is so nice! The staff in the yellow shirts wander the floor. They stop and introduce themselves, and ask how things are going, and if you have questions. I was really skeptical the first few times it happens – in the US, the only times a gym staff member approaches you is to try to sell you something.

If you have questions and don’t see a yellow shirt, most machines have a little button that you can press and someone will come help you.

Another astonishing thing is that the equipment is actually maintained and cleaned on a regular basis. At the US gym, machines were “cleaned”, but out of the way corners would gather dust – enough so that you wonder about how well, or if, cleanings were happening at all.

Here, the gym is spotless, and everything is sparkling. We see cleaning staff regularly, during the day, and they even have vacuum cleaners. I’ve even been working out on a machine to have one of the staff dust around the back of the machine while I’m on it.

Then there’s maintenance! That’s something I’ve never seen in a US gym. Here’s someone doing maintenance on a Smith machine. And also note: there are three Smith machines!

Another nifty little feature of some of the machines is that they count your reps for you, and provide a 90 second countdown between sets. Plus, you have to use the full range of motion on the machine for a rep to count. No sandbagging allowed!

Our membership is good for any location in the country, and like US gyms, includes classes. Though it’s interesting that Zumba classes here are called “Rumba”. I’d heard that was the case in Colombia, but it’s the case here Panamà, too.

We also have the benefit of being able to work out in the middle of the day, which is a luxury we didn’t have in years past. Therefore, no wait for machines. It’s great! We have, however, noticed the gym crowd here skews younger. We are usually the oldest people in the gym by at least 20 years.

Maybe that’s why the staff remembers us by name?