women's gym

If you go to an ordinary gym and are always approached by strange men to "guide" your movements, are embarrassed to wear sportswear that exposes your skin, and mind sharing the shower and dressing space with men, then a dedicated women's gym is definitely a very cost-effective option.； But if you are a high-level strength trainer who needs to prepare for competitions, has a limited budget, and has extremely high requirements for a wide range of equipment, then it is most likely not the optimal solution for you.

Last month, I accompanied a friend to visit a women's gym that has been open for almost three years near Jing'an Temple in Shanghai. When I opened the door, I smelled a faint citrus aroma. It was not the weird smell of ordinary Shangjian that is mixed with the smell of sweat, disinfectant and cheap sports supplements. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the place was 80% full, and they were all girls. Some people were picking at Pamela's belly in front of the mirror, some were squatting next to the Smith rack and doing hip thrusts, and there was a little girl in Lolita sportswear squatting in the corner using a foam roller. No one came up to talk to her about her legs, and no one was taking pictures with her cell phone. Even the spare items at the front desk were sanitary napkins, cleansing oil, and high-ceiling hairpins, things that girls really need, not the mineral water and paper towels that ordinary Shang Jian showed off.

My friend Xiao Xia, who makes fitness content, is a die-hard fan of women's gyms. She has been training at a chain store near her home for a year, and her deadlift level has reached 100kg. However, she always encounters strange men who come up to her to "kindly" guide her movements, saying that her waist is collapsed and her knees are buckled. When she turns around, she sees the man shaking like a tumbler while lifting 80kg. What's worse is that one time when she was changing clothes, she found someone secretly filming her under the door of the locker room. She went to the front desk to ask for surveillance, but nothing happened. Then she changed her annual membership card, doubled her budget and got a membership card for a women's gym, where she is now working as a part-time butt trainer. Practice, "It's really comfortable here. Everyone is talking about whether you can do core training during pregnancy and how to improve postpartum diastasis recti. No one will think that you are doing butt training to please men, and even the content of the private training class will not force you to lose 90 pounds." ”

But Ah Shuang, who has been doing powerlifting for four years, feels that women's gyms are "purely IQ-taxed". Last year, she accompanied her cousin to experience it. The largest barbell in the room was only 15kg. She had to practice 120kg hip thrusts with eight plates in a stack. She asked the coach if anyone knew about strength. When it came to the plan to prepare for the competition, the three coaches looked at each other and said that we specialize in "girly back" and "one-shoulder", and the annual pass costs 5,800, which is more than twice as expensive as the old iron gymnasium downstairs that has been open for ten years. After the experience, she took her cousin and left, "Isn't it good for me to go to the iron gym? The bosses all know me and know that I am here to play iron, and no one bothers me. I can get as many pieces as I want from 2.5kg to 25kg. After practice, I can also exchange preparation experience with the girls in the gym, which is better than being taken advantage of here. ”

I specifically checked Dianping’s local fitness industry report for 2024. The closure rate of specialized women’s gyms is 12% lower than that of ordinary commercial gyms. The core is that the user repurchase rate can reach 62%, which is much higher than the 38% of ordinary commercial gyms. More than 70% of card users’ demands are “no harassment and low social pressure.” But the shortcomings are also obvious: more than 60% of women's gym equipment is equipped with light weight and aerobic equipment, and less than 10% can meet the needs of high-level strength training. There are also many stores with the banner of "women-friendly", but in essence they still follow the same old personal training sales routine, using body fat scales from the beginning. They will detect a bunch of "problems" for you, saying you have fake hip width, rib valgus, and high body fat percentage. They will trick you into buying tens of thousands of yuan worth of personal training classes. There are even some shops where pictures of extremely thin models are posted on the walls. Instead, they will create new body anxiety for users. They are no different from the deceptive ordinary businessmen.

I have tried both myself. Last year, I stayed in a women's gym for two months in order to film a fat loss content. The biggest feeling I felt was relaxation. I practiced until my face was red and my hair was fried, and I was so tired that no one looked at me even when I was panting on the yoga mat. I could wear a sports vest that showed my waist, and I didn't have to worry about naughty men staring at you or filming me secretly. But in the later stage, I wanted to increase the weight and practice deadlifting, but I really couldn't find enough barbell plates, and no one I consulted with the coaches could give me a professional progression plan. Later, I switched to an ordinary gymnasium near my home, and specifically chose a female coach who had won a powerlifting award. I have been practicing for more than half a year now, and I feel quite comfortable.

In fact, there is really no need to worry about whether to choose a women's gym, and there is no need to bite the bullet and apply for a card just because of the so-called "supporting women's business". Your core need to go to the gym is to train, not to join in the fun of some concept. As long as this place allows you to step in without any burden and be willing to keep practicing, whether it is a women's gym full of girls, an old iron gym full of sweat, or even the yoga mat in your living room, it is the best choice for you. Oh, by the way, if you apply for a card and can’t go there three times a year, any gym will be useless, haha.