How to Help Your Gym Become More Inclusive
Gyms can be a very intimidating place for many people. It takes a lot of strength and courage to enter different environments, especially gyms.
Unfortunately many gyms, in the way they are currently structured, are not inclusive.
They can exclude people based on body type, gender, race, age, socioeconomic status, and many other aspects.
This could be unintentional. It could be something that the business owner is unaware of.
Thankfully there are plenty of resources to assist gym owners in creating more inclusive spaces. Just like how there are courses to learn how to coach the squat better, there are also courses to help create safe and inclusive gym spaces.
But what can you do as a gym-goer to assist in the process of promoting inclusiveness in gyms?
Here are 5 steps you can make as a gym member to help make gyms inclusive for all.
Ask questions. Maybe you will bring up something that the gym owner or staff member has never considered.
Does your gym have gendered washrooms? Have you ever asked why?
Does your gym have gendered workouts or gendered exercise prescriptions? Have you ever asked why?
Does your gym run weight-loss challenges? Have you ever asked why weight loss is a necessary challenge?
Does your gym have diversity in its staff? If not, have you ever asked why?
Be less tolerant. Exclusion can be the norm if we tolerate it. It doesn't need to be that way.
Hear someone speaking in a way that promotes dangerous diet culture? Ex. talking about burning off calories, shedding fat, earning “cheat” meals. Flip the narrative, mention why you are in the gym (self- improvement, mental health, socialization, etc). Provide alternative and more positive reasons for being in the gym.
Hear someone speaking negatively about others? Ex. They are so slow, so fat, etc. Say something positive about their target right away. End their judgement.
Hear someone speaking in gendered terms? Ask them why. Maybe they are unaware of the way they are speaking.
Speak positively about yourself. You deserve kindness. Let that spread.
A comment directed at yourself like “I am so weak” can be challenging for someone else who has aspirations of getting where you are in the training process. And that negativity doesn’t help you either.
Branch out. Meet new people.
If you are in a group fitness program do you always work out with people who look like you or have similar fitness abilities? Gyms don’t need cliques, this isn’t high school. Branch out, meet new people.
Support others. Offer support, not unsolicited advice. Keep your opinions to yourself.
This is just about being a good person. It’s a fair assumption that everyone is in the gym trying to improve themselves in some way or another. Offer words of encouragement, not judgement.
Being supportive does not require you to comment on physical appearance. You do not need to comment on anyone's physical appearance. Even if it may seem like a positive comment towards that person, to a bystander who does not look like them, it can be damaging and exclusive.
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