Gym Bros Experience, HCMC (December 10, 2025)

After reading Peter Attia’s book Outlive, going to the gym is no longer “optional” or “when I feel like it.” It’s become a way of life. Or, more accurately, for the past few years while living in Port Washington, NY, it has been my minimum 3 day a week habit and often 4-5 days a week. Traveling these past 5.5 months has challenged this standard and I’ve been inconsistent (as my muscle mass will attest to). So when I looked for a gym near my hotel, I was intrigued by “Gym Bros.”

Curious what the “Gym Bros” experience will be like? I was.

Now, I’m going to show you a video of what I saw that had my jaw drop. Rather than try and describe it, I spoke with Hoang Viet’s and got his permission to record the most insane core work I’ve witnessed. It’s 25 seconds long. Do yourself a favor and watch it:

It turns out that Hoang Viet is a fitness coach and when I asked him how the hell he got to that level, he took the time to show me. He gave me a number of “starter” exercises which still kicked my ass, but now I have a goal of the level of fitness I can aspire to. Granted, I have 24 years on him (he’s 29 and I’m 53) and while have historically sat on my ass for most days at work, he not only works out 2 hours a day (since he was a kid), but also trains others at the gym and plays badminton and at least one other sport.

The vibe of “Gym Bros” isn’t full on gym rat experience like you might expect. In the back of my mind, I was expecting to see:

What I was visualizing when I heard the name “Gym Bros”

And yes, witnessing Hoang Viet’s regular workout routine was like watching a Marvel Superhero workout. Mostly unreal with just a touch of “how long would anyone have to train to get to that level?” And then you see that this location doesn’t take itself so seriously … at least when it comes to the locker rooms:

Super Hero locker rooms … change into your favorite!

So yes, I’m going to be sore tomorrow. And yes, I’m also going back for more tomorrow. Now that I know what I need to do different and better, I have a new workout routine to practice. It might take me a few months (who am I kidding, years? ever?) to get to Hoang Viet’s level of fitness, but then again I’m just trying to extend my life into my 90’s and this is one way that seems to consistently bring quality of life while reducing the risk of the four horsemen of death: (1) Type-2 Diabetes, (2) Heart Attack, (3) Cancer, and (4) Alzheimer's.

More than that, I’m feeling inspired. It’s amazing what the human body can do … even if my body isn’t at this level … yet.