Open Letter To Gym Owners
Hey Everyone. Happy New Year. Let’s start this one right, shall we?
I decided to head to the gym today, just to change things up and get under the barbell (cuz I don’t have a barbell in my home set-up and I happen to love those babies).
I don’t know when I’m going to learn my lesson. Man, commercial gyms make me insane.
The things I witnessed today inspired this little tirade.
And, this has needed saying for a long time.
This is an Open Letter to all the Commercial Gyms in the World:
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Dear Gym Owner:
I am a client of yours and I’m sick and tired of you treating me like I have no idea what goes into getting fit.
I’m tired of you treating me like I’m weak or a wimp and I’m tired of having all the ‘broken’ and substandard equipment winding up in “my” area.
That’s right! I’m a woman. I like to weight train, and your “Ladies Area” is an INSULT!
How dare you provide me with only pink plastic and shiny chrome dumbbells that only go up to 15lbs (and sometimes not even that high)…
Yes, I’ll squeal in delight, “Look!! Sooo prettyyyyy, sooo shinyyyy, sooo CUTE and tiny !! Look, the colour matches my outfit!! eeeeeeeee l!!”
Umm… NO! I will not stand for this. I’m putting my foot down here.
I want to build some lean muscle, I want to create definition, I want to burn fat and I want to get ripped.
I do NOT want to waste my time swinging weights that will not progress me one iota.
Give me some dumbbells that are HARD to lift, not something that matches my outfit (and for the record I wouldn’t be caught dead in pink).
And what about barbells?
The “Ladies” (as you call us) don’t need to lift a barbell? Not even a pink one? Why not? Can’t we handle it?
I have never, ever seen a barbell in any “Ladies Area” in any gym I’ve stepped foot in.
Again, this is wildly insulting.
We’re not weaklings and we’re not stupid… and those of us who are truly serious really want to get under that bar and lift heavy stuff, man.
Please, PLEASE give us a barbell or two. And, how about a squat rack and a bench press that is not a machine while you’re at it?
Thanks man… now you’re trying to make friends with me.
Finally… OH… MY… GAWD !!!
Stop giving us machines to spot reduce…
… especially adductor/abductor machines (also known as the “Hip Toner”). Those things are useless!! You know it. I know it. Get rid of it.
The only thing spot reduction machines do is build muscle under the fat and make the area I’m trying to reduce look BIGGER!! Complete opposite of what I’m trying to achieve.
And get rid of that cotton pickin’ ab cradle, too.
I want ripped abs not something to rock me comfortably back ‘n forth. Been there, done that, grew out of it by age TWO.
So, what do you say? You want to be friends with me again?
Ah, never mind.
I’m one of the serious ones so I work out in the big boy area with the heavy, grey dumbbells, barbells, squat racks, bench presses and not a sign of the color pink in sight (except for the sweaty faces of the heavy lifters working out around me).
Just because I’m a “chick” does not mean that I’m not strong enough to lift heavy equipment or equipment that is in good working order, got it?
‘Nuff said. Over ‘n out.
Sincerely,
ME
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HAHA!! Boy, when I get on a roll, I really go for it, eh?
But, hey!! You know what? Here’s an offer for you. If you’ve got a gym that’s making you nuts for the exact same reason, I invite you to copy this letter out, put your own name on it (or do it anonymously) and send it in to the offending gym owner. Feel free!!
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest with you today. I feel better now!
Have a fit, fun and fantastic day!
Girlwithnoname
January 1st, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Hi Jackie, Great letter, but hang on to it for about 6 mo until all the \resolutioners\ (is that a word?) have fled the gyms for whatever reason. I bet right now they are so swamped with new business that your ranting would fall on deaf ears. Not that it wouldn’t anyway because we live in a \one size fits all\ world. Those guys cater to whatever they perceive will satisfy the majority. I dislike gyms also, for a lot of reasons. You tell’em girl! I have just recently discovered your site and it is great. Keep up the good work! Tom
January 1st, 2010 at 1:05 pm
HA! Thanks Tom. I don’t actually expect any gym owners to even SEE this much less respond to it!! I was just letting off a little steam!! LOL. And I still invite ANYONE who wants to use it with their own gym to go ahead, with my blessing!! LOL
Welcome!!
January 1st, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Nice…..
January 1st, 2010 at 2:18 pm
I had to laugh at this one.
1. Quit bitching and get out of the “ladies area”. Why are you over there ANYWAY?
2. Most club owners would laugh at you. Namely, because health clubs AREN’T funded by people like you… they’re funded by the people that go once a month… but still pay – and the “fairy” equipment is what ropes them in because they are INTIMIDATED by people like you. LOL – there, I said it.
January 1st, 2010 at 2:21 pm
awesome letter Jackie.
I don’t mind working in a womens only area at 2am when no one there (the womens area had everything that the open gym area had).
I left that gym because it wasn’t cleaned as well as it should have and they kept raising our membership fees so staff could get uniforms.
January 1st, 2010 at 8:49 pm
HAHA Brad!!!
1) I NEVER spend time in the Ladies Area of my gym. But I wandered thru it today to see what they’ve got going on there lately. Same old insulting crap. It just made me see red enough to slap this tirade down on paper!! ha!
2) Yah, I know. Sad really. They could AT LEAST put a barbell in there tho. Ya know? Even a pink one is better than NO barbell! haha. Like I said at the end of the tirade, ‘ah never mind, I’m one of the serious ones, so you’ll find me in the big boy section…”
thanks for the comment! ;-)
January 1st, 2010 at 8:51 pm
HAHA!! and did THEIR uniforms make YOUR workout better? Not likely. That sucks. Hell, there’s a million other ways to get fit out there than to put up with that bull…!!!
… you workout at TWO AM??!?! good lord, I can’t even imagine being in a gym at that hour (although mine does have a 24hour branch near me.. hmm…..)
:-)
thanks for the comment!
January 2nd, 2010 at 12:34 am
I laughed a bit at this. Our gym is setup so that it’s unisex. There’s a weight room upstairs and one downstairs that has machines. None of that pink sissy weight stuff. I live in a small town so it’s a small (and new) gym. It’s actually the only gym I’ve ever belonged to. Prior to that I just worked out at home with freeweights. Some of the people that show up are pathetic though. They’re the typical types that go there to help subside their guilt in the fact that they never workout. The types that would be content using frilly 15lb pink weights.
Sub-standard gym equipment is a pain. The main thing I’ve seen at the gym I attend is usually bent pins because people apparently don’t know how the hell to put them in properly. The gym has only been open a few months too. I also find myself tightening the screen on the end of the military press handle as well. Minor but annoying (how the heck do those even come loose anyway?).
January 2nd, 2010 at 6:59 am
Like it!
Trouble is that the vast majority still think this is the route, get no results and give up (while still being debited each month by the useless gym!).
In contrast my client list use kettlebells, sandbags, battling ropes, barbells, big bodyweight movements and love ’em. I think 2010 will see another swing towards gyms that can provide such things.
Thanks for the article x
Mike
January 2nd, 2010 at 10:34 am
GNN
It would appear that this issue is rampant in the gym business. Women influence 80% of all buying decisions worldwide. To any business owner whether he owns a gym or she owns a bakery getting feedback and input from women can only help him/her out.
Perhaps a sideline for your blog can be assisting gym owners in better addressing the desires of there female members. I find it hilarious that industries are inbred when it comes to marketing and sales thoughts. They get all their information from other gym owners and associations of gym owners.
Perhaps instead of letting this situation make you apoplectic you can turn this into a solution that makes gyms better and enhances your wealth at the same time.
Paul
January 2nd, 2010 at 11:41 am
Mike, that would be great so see a trend like that. I doubt mine is going to go that route tho, somehow. At least they have a decent selection of dumbbells and barbells in the big section (ie, not the Ladies Section!).
Paul, thanks, I saw your tweet to that effect. It’s a good thought.
Daryn, sounds like your gym at least has some decent equipment to play on! But you are right about those that only show up to fool themselves into thinking they’re doing the right thing. Half of them don’t even lift heavy. It boils down to the fact that most people don’t really want to WORK at getting results. sad really…
January 2nd, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Oh man, such a shame that gym owners just don’t get it.
One of the best gyms I ever went to used to be bangin w/business.
The owner came in and revamped it all, making it more appealing to general public
Got rid of the tape deck and only played radio, NO rock music allowed
painted equipment blue & white
posted rules everywhere for no chalk, no boots, no dropping weights, bla bla bla
drove everyone away and drove himself out of business!
i wish gym owners read your post!
–z–
January 2nd, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Beware of the US vs. Them mentality. It shows no matter how well you try to hide it. In my business (computer tech) an administrator who thinks users are morons is spotted rather quickly by clients. They call and tell me not to send that arrogant ass to their office again (most folks are a bit gentler but you get the point).
My attitude is to honestly and genuinely give all the help a client wants. No matter how much more information or training he/she needs. If they don’t want to learn that doesn’t make them bad people just folks who will call a little more often than others.
I often laugh when I realize a client is intimidated by me and my knowledge of computers and technology. 98% of the time they are considerably more intelligent than me they just didn’t have the time to study technology the way I did.
Personal fitness trainers sometimes get too focused on the body and forget to work with the mind. There isn’t a one size fits all motivation approach. The toughest part of your job is to discover what motivates each of your different clients.
Win their hearts and minds and their bodies will follow. “It boils down to the fact that most people don’t really want to WORK at getting results. sad really…” you shouldn’t be concerned with most people as they are not your clients. Your clients are those who have limited to no understanding of personal fitness and are looking for a guide/coach/trainer/mentor. Some will take it all the way others will drop right when they are making progress but all will be a better person for having worked with you.
Paul
January 2nd, 2010 at 1:49 pm
HAHA Zach!! Yah, I remember you telling us about that in that interview you did with me last month.
Anyone who hasn’t checked that interview out yet, really should: https://www.truthaboutabstruth.com/blog/2009/12/interview-with-zach-even-esh-underground-strength-manual/
thanks Zach!! You rock, man!!
January 2nd, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Thanks Paul. I see your points, all valid. But I didn’t write that from a trainer’s perspective. I wrote that from a GYM-CLIENT’s and WOMAN’s perspective. And my frustrations stand. The Ladies Area of most gyms is an insult and a joke.
:-) Thanks for the comment.
January 2nd, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Only reason why I would go at 2am was cause I use to work graveyard and sometimes I got off at 2am most of the time 6:30 and the gym was right there so I went there, instead of going home and then heading to a gym at 5:30/6am when most open.
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Nice post! If the adductor/abductor machine is angled just right it does have good value.
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:46 pm
yah Jay? what does it do that gives good value if it’s angled right? …and to be honest, this isn’t a pic of the EXACT machine I was thinking of… the one I wanted to get a pic of is one you do standing, pushing against a foam roller with either the inside or outside of your leg. I’ve used it, it’s useless. But I’d love to hear what this one does if you do it right, other than what I described!!
thanks!!!
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:51 pm
LOL I think you missed my point completely. Lets just say if somebody was to use this machine they should really have a towel with them unless they are trying to attract a date for the night.
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:53 pm
HAHAHAHA!!! OMG…
thanks for the visual!!! and my laugh for the day!!
You rock, Jay.
hahahahaha…..
January 10th, 2010 at 6:38 am
nice!
my gym is a 625 sf room with a power rack, barbell, plates, medicine balls, plyo boxes, kettlebells, bands and a bunch of stuff I’ve made from steel pipe fittings.
75% of my clients are women.
I do have the neon 3 to 10lb dumbbells but they are being used as a door stop to keep the side door from smashing into the wall.
January 10th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
HAHA! Perfect use for them!
June 18th, 2013 at 10:22 am
Go to a unisex gym instead, you’ll find everything you need, and no pink stuff anywhere :)
June 18th, 2013 at 11:22 am
Thanks… I’m referring to a unisex gym. They’ve always got a lame ladies area… ALWAYS.
January 18th, 2014 at 10:27 am
I just read your rant and I am a commercial gym owner in Charleston, SC. I think you and a lot of other people are missing the point of a commercial gym. It is VERY expensive to own and operate one. I personally do not have a ladies only section but if I did and I received your letter I would dismiss it along with every other gym owner. What you are asking for only applies to a very small percentage of women and what you probably pay for your membership would only cover a fraction of what it would cost to have that equipment in the ladies area. Not to mention free weights in a ladies only area would result in an increase in insurance as well. (bet you didn’t know that one). Commercial gyms can only cater to the masses in order to make any money at all. It is a business after all. When you walk into say a Target you see 50 of the same item don’t you? They could not afford to cater to every customer. I get complaints ALL the time. One person will say it’s too cold in the gym while another will say it’s too hot. One will say can you play less hip hop while another will say play more hip hop. As a gym owner it is literally impossible to cater to an individual. If I did I would already be out of business. All I can say if you don’t like your gym then don’t go there.
January 18th, 2014 at 2:03 pm
Well, I understand why you feel the way you do but you missed the point of the rant. You don’t have a women’s area so this doesn’t really apply to you. I’m speaking to all gym owners who DO have a women’s area… every single one I’ve EVER been in SUCKED for equipment, little tiny pink or chrome dbs, nothing over 20lbs, the hip adductor machine and a few stability balls and a cardio machine or two. That’s BRUTAL. Women are capable of more than that and it’s an insult to walk into the ladies area and find only this limited amount of equipment. If you’re going to HAVE a ladies area at ALL, then at least stock it with good, functional and heavy equipment so we can actually get RESULTS.
Over ‘n out.