Ultimate Gym NYC

Welcoming atmosphere, excellent training, and skilled classmates push you to improve! 10/10.

Amazing gym. Friendly for all levels and you will absolutely get better as a martial artist and get into the best shape of your life if you show up and do the work. 10/10 recommend.

Fantastic experience! Kru Nestor and everyone in the gym is very welcoming.
Highly recommend it, even if you don’t have any martial arts experience (like me).

Amazing value, great gym. Kru Nestor is legit. Doesn't mince words, hardcore practice. Been going here for about a month now, in it for the long haul!

Very solid instructor. He's a fighter and pays great attention to technique. I gained a lot more from his class than from others.

If your someone looking to get into prime shape, compete and/or learn traditional Muay Thai Ultimate Gym is the place to go. Kru Nestor’s resume speaks for itself. He is highly professional, patient and will bring out your best. The gym has a very friendly environment that caters to beginners and experienced fighters. If your serious about training you must give this place a try.

Phenomenal experience! Kru Nestor is extremely dedicated to his students and will always ensure that you give it your all and continue to improve on your skill set. Every student is different and we all learn at various paces but I can truly appreciate that Kru Nestor takes the time to help you get better as an individual regardless of the fact that it’s a group class. I highly recommend Ultimate Gym NYC for those interested in learning authentic Muay Thai!

Been training here for about a month, and was welcomed by both Kru Nestor and fellow students.
Great training environment for all levels, but very intense. Training here will push you to the next level.
The atmosphere here is informal, and relaxed but training is hard. Great place to start or continue your martial arts journey.

Eugene Han -

I previously trained at Ultimate Gym back in 2003-2006. Coming out of Covid, I was slow, and overweight at 180lbs. I decided to return to Ultimate Gym. Well shortly after, I am currently in the midst of launching a new business (working 80+ hours per week) and now 165lbs at 15% bodyfat (and dropping). Training with Kru Nestor has been one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I used to think Muay Thai was so simple.kicks, punches, knees, elbows. But in reality, it is mostly mental. Training with Kru Nestor is like being trained by a Navy Seal drill sergeant going through hell week every week. He pushes you to your limit, then keeps pushing you further past your plateaus. That is where all of the growth occurs. Where you are about to give up is actually where you start growing. If you want to develop the Navy Seals personality traits of grit, persistence, perseverence, and tenacity. There is no other place (in today's soft mindset society.). Kru Nestor will never mince words. He will tell you if you are horrible today. He will also tell you if you did great today. The camaderie of the fellow students is incredible also. When you are out of gas and have nothing left in the tank, huffing and puffing like crazy feeling like you are about to faint, your fellow students will cheer you on to complete the remaining 50 reps of muay thai knees! That is awesome! An unexpected outcome from training with Kru Nestor is that continually improving these personality traits has directly translated into significantly improved performance in my new business. There is simply no other martial arts school in nyc where the results are so tangible. You literally are in the process of becoming a different person! That is what separates Ultimate Gym and Kru Nestor from all of the other martial arts schools in nyc. You really have no idea what you are missing if you do not go to this school.

This Gym is the real deal. Expect to be welcomed with open arms by the instructor and students from the start. The training is very intense but worth it as the results come quick. Soo happy I found The Ultimate Gym!

This gym is fantastic. The workouts are some of the toughest workouts I've ever done. Kru Nestor is a genuine Muay Thai expert, and he is super passionate about his students and their development. He always gets around to everyone in class to offer tips and improvements. And the atmosphere is great: everyone likes to have fun while they train, and the more advanced fighters in the gym have been super welcoming and helpful to younger fighters like me.

This is a true martial arts gym that will strengthen both your body and your spirit. Everyone is super friendly and respectful so come stop by!

This is a great gym. If you want to learn real Muaythai from the best In the New York City area check out Kru Nestor one of the pioneers of Muay thai.

I am leaving this 1 star review because I practice Muay Thai in my home state and have tried several Muay Thai gyms using ClassPass because I travel a lot for work. Out of every other place I have gone to, this interaction was the worst. I was taking the Yelp reviews with a grain of salt when people commented that the instructor was openly dismissive of them when they wanted to try a class. I can confirm that he definitely was. I understand needing to run the gym like a business, but the instructor did a couple of things that felt pretty rude:

1) A yelp reviewer said that he looked them up and down, checking them out before being verbally dismissive. I can confirm that he also did this to me.
2) I came wanting to try a class. I would have been willing to pay for it just to try it if I had felt welcome, but getting the information out of the instructor was like pulling teeth. When I've asked other gyms about trying a one off class and they haven't been on ClassPass or had a free trial, they have offered the information freely and have done so in a welcoming way. For example, explaining what to expect, talking about the gym, etc. In this case, I had to ask multiple questions in order to pry out what the options actually were, leading to the appearance that he really didn't want me there.

For more detail:
I signed up for a Muay Thai class using ClassPass. When I arrived, the instructor took one look at me and said that he hadn't accepted ClassPass in 3 years.

Because their site advertises a free trial class, I asked about doing the free trial class and he said that required sign up ahead of time. He then added that if I had signed up ahead of time then he would have said to come on Saturday instead, except that Saturday they had fighters competing and they wouldn't be there anyway. He also said because of the fight, they would be going over fight strategy.

I asked if there was any way I could try the class because I had spent 30 minutes walking there and realistically, I'm interested in fight strategy because I like to learn about how it differs at other gyms. He responded by saying that classes cost money. I then had to ask how much it would be to join the class and he looked me over, paused, then said $40.

At that point, because of the difficulty of getting information and the way he had looked me over, paused, and then quoted an amount, I felt like it was obvious that he didn't want me there and didn't want my business, so it wasn't going to be worth the $40 to try the class.

I know there are reviews talking about how great the instructor is, but my experience really felt like he wasn't interested in instructing new people and was not friendly to people who didn't fit his visual model of a "good" student. The behavior was particularly shocking because my Kru is incredibly patient and friendly while still fielding fighters, so the contrast was extremely stark.

I did a trial run class here and very much enjoyed it. Excellent class size and very nice people who are serious about their training. The instructor was a cool dude and is someone who is obviously extremely knowledgeable/passionate about Muay Thai.

The place is much less "commercial" than other gyms. While this means it may not seem as friendly on the surface when compared to other gyms, it means you can damn sure expect to get spot on personalized instruction and training so that you can actually defend yourself and/or compete.