Would you go to a woman only gym session?

[GentleOliveFatball]

Just a light hearted post! 🫶

My local leisure centre does woman only nights in the health suite once a week and there is talk of doing a women's only gym session as well.
I used to go to the gym with a friend on occasion, I really enjoyed going, however we both became busy and were unable to find a time to go together anymore. I tried going on my own however I felt a bit uncomfortable and quite insecure (I know it's all in my head, but still)
I would love to go to a women's only gym session as I think I would feel more comfortable wearing my gym clothes and working out if I was just surrounded by other women, I also think it may be a good opportunity to make new friends.
What do you think? Would you be interested in women's only gym sessions? Have you ever tried them and were they good?

Yes! Definitely!

Always feel a bit miffed when there’s a man in my yoga class…. It’s fine, but I love relaxing into exercise with only other women!

Yes I used to go to women’s only strength training sessions. They were really great when I was getting into weight lifting.

A gym I was a member of 20 years ago or so had a women’s section of the gym floor!

Im not bothered either way. I've been to mixed and single sex classes and gyms and enjoyed both. Give a try and see if you like it!

Was it a women only yoga class? If so, then that's not on, if not, then he has every right to be there.

On the flip side, my pilates class is predominantly women, and a male member of the running club I go to went for two weeks before he asked whether he was allowed to be there. He was assured by the instructor that he was welcome.

To answer your question op, I would go to a women only gym if it were available.

I used to go to a women's only gym. I loved it!
Very different vibe to previous gyms i've been to. I was gutted when the owner moved away and closed. I've never found a place as good.

No it wasn’t a woman only yoga class so he did indeed have every right to be there!

But inside my heart sank a bit as he changed the dynamic of the yoga class for me - not at all the poor yogi blokes fault! He can crack on with his downward dogs. But I do prefer women only classes, when available.

Not bothered, the women are more scary than the men at my gym!!

Yes I’d love it, I’ve moved away now and none near by, but my old gym was mixed but had a womens only room with a good mix of lots of weights and cardio equipment which I loved.

My local gym is women only. And it's great.

I would love a women’s only gym session. Not because I’m bothered by the men in any way, but I’d like the expertise.
ive had trial sessions w a PT in the gym - some 20 something lad who was nice enough but didn’t give me the impression that he had any understanding of the ways my body was different from his. I’d love to see what other women my age do in the gym.

I often use the women's section at my gym, for no particular reason other than I like a change of scenery. It's much more friendly than the other sections, I have to say - women talk and get tips from each other in there.

I think it sounds great. I'd hope most gyms might offer at least a few of them.

I haven't been for ages and the classes like body pump seemed always only female. But I think that was just by chance.

But I could easily feel a bit intimidated by someone much more experienced and confident and buff, in tight gym gear. Regardless of their sex.

Yes definitely! Could so live without all the hogging machines, grunting and sweating all over everything and not cleaning it that men do!

Why not? I don't understand what the issue might be.

I go to the gym, & even when there is just women’s gym classes going on there is always men in the same room , it’s just the women’s classes are going on the same time if that makes sense ..
I much prefer working out with just women there being honest aswel OP 😊

This is really interesting. I belong to a nice gym with health club and I've never thought about this!

It's never occurred to me that the gym and the classes I attend might be more pleasant if they were women only.

I'm on the fence actually. I do yoga, pilates and HIIT classes and it doesn't bother me at all that there are men there. Yoga and pilates is 90% women anyway.

I was about to say ‘no’, but then remembered that I used to belong to a women only gym. It is closed now, if that’s any indication of the market preference.

All the classes I do - sprint, grit, circuits, yoga - have about a 50/50 split and I like it that way. The men sweat more but chatter over the instructor far less.

I do yoga and Pilates and I really like when men come along as it’s so few and far between. Especially doing things that are grounding and work towards balancing yourself mentally.

i like when different sexes buck the norm it reminds people that they can do other things and exploration and being our your comfort zone can encourage growth.

so many men are intimidated by classes and never go.

to be honest I go to my nearest gym and it does mixed weight classes. The. Men tend to be on the heavier weight side of the room but there are 2 or 3 blokes who aren’t who pair up with whoever is free and it all works. There is a woman only gym which gets rave reviews but it’s too far for mr to be arsed to drive.

I wouldn't not go. Depends what the class was. My combat class is usually predominantly women. I actually think for any men who are newbies it could potentially be a bit daunting even though everyone is really friendly and welcoming.

I feel really fortunate with my gym. I like the fact its mixed and there are people of all ages and abilities and back grounds. It instantly makes you feel like you belong there and you dont stand out being a woman or middle aged or should stick to the cardio section or what ever.

I understand this isn't the case for everyone though and I expect for many a womens only session would be extremely popular. What kind of class would you be talking about though? I would say that if anything maybe a womens only weights class would probably be a good idea. Things like yoga , pilates, body pump etc seem to be very heavily female dominant anyway at my gym. I would say the focus of this class should be to steer woman away from the stereotypical cardio stuff and encourage more confidence and interest in weights.

And hopefully they too will then realise the weight section isn't as scary as they think.

I would love women only gym sessions!

There is a local women only gym near me that does small group PT sessions and it’s thriving. I’d love to join but it’s expensive, so I stick to classes at my chain gym, which tend to be 90% women and led by women instructors.

I wouldn’t ‘not’ go but I like a variety of people
in the gym.

I actually like a busy gym as it motivates me.
if it was women only I couldn’t go with my husband so I guess that’s a negative me me.

I go with DH to his gym which is a bit muscle-heavy. To be fair, the blokes are friendly and it's a get-on-with-it vibe. I'm mainly in the unisex areas because of working out with DH, and would substantially use them anyway. The downside is having to strip down heavy bar bells and shifting 20kg plates is a workout for me in itself.

I'll go in the women's only zone if the machines are busy. The decor is softer and more modern (wood ambient strips rather than grey painted brick work) but more importantly the machines tend to be in better nick because they don't get piled up and slammed around so heavily. The range of free-weights and plates is lighter in there. If I wasn't with DH, I'd spend more time in there and default to that where the machines exist in both zones.

I go to a women's circuits class somewhere else and prefer that to the male dominated crcuits class that I once did. There's chatter about women's health and family life. The weights are ranged to what we need (no squabbling for the 4kg kettlebell or have to struggle with the 8kgs) and over time the instructor's had to add heavier weights as we've got stronger. There's no going all-out and rushing out of the exit to vomit

Women's only options in fitness are useful because too many women have low confidence in body image and negative experiences of physical activity/sport. It's very easy to feel behind the men in the room and unisex spaces often lack provision for women coming in at entry level making it hard to get started.
Unisex spaces easily become dominated and default to more masculine. A couple of women in a masculine environment tend to change the tone less than a couple of men in a more female environment.

Choice is useful.

It's very easy to feel behind the men in the room and unisex spaces often lack provision for women coming in at entry level making it hard to get started

I would say that is down to poor differentiation by class instructors. All the ones I attend, the instructors offer " levels/options " in pump fir instance there's range of weights from 1.25kg to 10.kg. people are told they can just use body weight. Poses in yoga are also given option those who struggle to do things standing up or who have hip issues or whatever.

And ultimately shouldn't we be focused on what we are doing. And and not comparing ourselves to what a man who's been going years longer is doing.