Ask anyone even remotely into fitness and they’ll preach the same mantra: you cannot out-train your diet.

Starting this May 5, Bangkok’s Crossfit Ten500 gym is running a new eight-week nutrition and training program that’s all about maximizing nutrients and training for optimal fat loss.

Read that correctly: “fat loss,” not “weight loss.” According to head trainer Didac Cuevas, the diet and training plan he’ll structure for you is set to encourage your body to burn fat while retaining its muscle mass.

The gym, a Crossfit specialist on Silom Soi 9, has past form with these kind of challenges. One of the BK team actually joined its last fat-loss challenge back in Aug-Sep 2018 and says they shed 4kg over the eight-week program—or, in terms anyone can understand, enough to just about have a six-pack without needing to flex.

We were part of a class of 23, who between them lost 82kg, which also means our 4kg of fat loss (we did indeed manage to retain our muscle mass, in fact even gaining some) was average for the class.

Sign-up for the eight-week program costs B7,500, and for that you’ll get a body composition analysis (percentages for how much of you is muscle and how much is fat), from which Didac and his team will calculate how many grams of protein, carbs and fats you need to eat on a daily basis.



These are called macros. You can either a) take the numbers away and structure a diet of home-cooked meals around them (there are apps to help you with this like MyFitnessPal), or b) put them in the hands of Ten500’s resident chef to whip up meals that hit exactly the right numbers—for an additional fee per meal, of course.

You’ll also have a group training program of four classes per week that’s mixed between high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and strength training—so no scary Crossfit tire flipping or Olympic weightlifting—as well as a home workout regime. For anyone who wants to go the extra mile, there’s full access to open-gym hours and regular Crossfit classes, although Didac highly recommends sticking to HIIT and Be Strong (strength training) for this particular challenge.

The other benefit here is group mentality, with all members of the challenge added to an active Facebook group and trainers on hand to answer messages throughout the day. Each member also gets a weekly one-on-one with Didac to monitor progress and fine tune the diet for better results. These elements, we found, were what really made the difference. 

Crossfit Ten500 is one of Bangkok’s first Crossfit gyms. Regular monthly membership costs B4,200 for unlimited classes (on top of Crossfit they run HIIT and strength-training sessions).

Silom Soi 9, 093-020-1250. www.facebook.com/CrossfitTEN500