Rx Performance River Valley: S$99 Barbell Club Trial

Rx Performance sells a S$99 two-week trial with unlimited access to its FitRx strength classes and LiftRx Olympic weightlifting sessions, with no lock-in, and that trial is the only sensible way to start because LiftRx itself is not a drop-in class. The barbell club trains at 5 Mohamed Sultan Road, Singapore 239014, in River Valley, about five minutes on foot from Fort Canning MRT on the Downtown Line. It opened in 2023 and is an affiliate of the Singapore Weightlifting Federation.

Mohamed Sultan Road runs between River Valley Road and the Singapore River, a strip better known for bars than barbells, so the gym surprises people who come for a night out. Fort Canning station on the Downtown Line is the closest MRT, and the club puts the walk at five minutes. The road is short and lined with low-rise conservation buildings, which makes it easy to spot a ground-floor room with platforms and bumper plates behind the glass.

Staffed hours follow a weekday-heavy pattern. Monday to Thursday the doors open at 6:45am and close at 9pm. Friday is 8am to 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday run from 9am to 1pm. The early Monday to Thursday start suits CBD workers who want a session before the office, while the weekend window is short enough that late risers should not count on it. Public holidays follow a separate schedule, so check the class booking page for those dates.

Beyond the S$99 trial, the gym publishes a S$45 single drop-in for a strength and conditioning class, valid for one week, though this does not cover LiftRx. Memberships with access to all weightlifting and strength classes plus open gym run S$350 for one month, S$975 for three months and S$1,890 for six. Class packs suit people who travel for work: an all-access pack is S$420 for 10 sessions, S$800 for 20 and S$1,140 for 30.

Personal training costs S$150 a session for strength and conditioning and S$190 for one-to-one Olympic weightlifting coaching, and there is a three-session intro pack for S$399. The honest assessment is that Rx Performance is not the cheapest lifting option in Singapore. What the money buys is federation-affiliated coaching, structured programming and a clean, staffed space with towel service, rather than a key card to an empty warehouse after midnight.

Head coach Cass Lau leads a team that includes Faith Lim, weightlifting coach Chad Wang and Dennis Ng. The weightlifting programme describes itself as powered by the team at Venus Weightlifting Club in Shanghai, which explains why technique work leans on the snatch, clean and jerk progressions used in Chinese clubs. Physiotherapy partner Thrive Healthcare works with members on niggles, a useful extra for desk workers whose hips and shoulders complain during their first overhead squats.

The gym's own beginner material, including its 2026 guide to Olympic weightlifting in Singapore, makes the same point the coaches repeat on the floor: start light, learn positions, then add load. Expect a mixed crowd of first-timers from nearby condos, CrossFit converts who want cleaner technique, and a handful of lifters preparing for federation meets. Nobody expects a beginner to snatch heavy in week one, and the technique bars come out often in the first classes.

Classes start on time, with a five-minute grace period, so arriving late means warming up quietly at the back or missing the session. Cancellations are free up to eight hours before morning classes and up to 1.5 hours before the rest, and anything later carries a S$10 late fee. If the LiftRx slot you want is full, the honest workaround is to book the following session rather than paying for a strength class you did not plan to do.

After training, the facilities are a cut above most small strength gyms. There are clean showers, a towel service and a Dyson hairdryer, which matters if you are heading straight to the office along the river. Bring flat-soled or weightlifting shoes and a water bottle, since Singapore humidity makes a ground-floor gym warm by mid-morning. Belts and wraps are personal choices, but the coaches will want to see your positions before you strap anything on.

A practical plan for the trial fortnight is to book LiftRx three times a week and fill the gaps with FitRx strength classes, since both are covered by the S$99 price. That gives a beginner six weightlifting sessions to learn the clean and the snatch, plus enough squats and pulls to judge whether the full S$350 monthly membership is worth it. Lifters who only want a single strength session while visiting Singapore are better served by the S$45 drop-in.

If the schedule here does not fit, the nearest alternative with a published walk-in price is the Barbell Club at Dao Fitness in the Downtown Gallery basement on Shenton Way, which charges S$80 for a single drop-in and also teaches Olympic weightlifting. It suits CBD workers better on weekends, because Rx Performance closes at 1pm on Saturday and Sunday. Either way, book ahead rather than turning up with your shoes and hoping for a free platform.

Fort Canning Park is a short walk away, and its shaded paths and old fort gate are a gentle cool-down after heavy front squats. Walk the other way down Mohamed Sultan Road and you reach the Singapore River at Robertson Quay, where the riverside promenade runs towards Clarke Quay. For food, Zion Riverside Food Centre is the nearest hawker option, a reliable stop for char kway teow or a cold sugarcane juice after training.

Address: Rx Performance, 5 Mohamed Sultan Road, Singapore 239014. Nearest MRT: Fort Canning, about five minutes on foot. Hours: Monday to Thursday 6:45am to 9pm, Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 1pm. Trial: S$99 for two weeks of unlimited FitRx and LiftRx. Drop-in: S$45 for a single strength class, not LiftRx. Late cancellation: S$10. For more training spots near River Valley, ask Karpo in the Karpo APP.