Sled, you’re going to love this one.
My gym has recently opened this new workout room For Women Only, which opens off the shower & changing room. Goodness knows what it was before – storage? nothing? This photo shows about 2/3 of the room – there are three other machines to the left. Apparently users of this facility will be given a half-hour routine which will focus on weight loss and getting in shape (so what are the other two floors of machines for?) and, of course, there will be no big smelly men around. Oh, and it’ll cost an extra 5 euros a month.
Current female members can try out this new facility free of charge until May, so I went upstairs this morning to check it out. It was not only small – and purple and pink! – but it also didn’t have most of the machines I use. I couldn’t imagine it being comfortable when full, which would be about six people. So it looks like I’ll be saving that 5 euros a month.
casa azahar 
I wonder if you can guess what my comment is likely to be?
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I must admit – I alwys have something of a problem with this sort of thing – even if they are making an equivalent “men-only” room available.
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Well, I’m guessing there may be some women who feel intimidated working out with men, though I’d be more put off by skinny chicks in lycra *in my face* (notice how the machines face each other like some sort of knitting circle? ick).
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Yes – I had noticed the “circle”.
I understand the thought about intimidation I suppose, but speaking for myself, once I am concentrating on my workout, I really don’t take any notice of anyone else in the gym – male or female.
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ARGGGHGGGHHGGHAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHRRRARRGGGGGGGGGGRRRRR(*&$%*^(*@#^*(^*(^*(%^!*!*!*!*
Um, now that I’ve said that…
Some flannelhead once asked a client of mine, who briefly used my gym, if the new room being drywalled at one end of the facility was going to be a separate free weight room “for the girls”. (It was not.)
“Wouldn’t you like that?” he asked. “I mean, you wouldn’t have to come back here and put up with all the grunting and stuff.”
After a short, expressionless silence, she replied in level tones, “I *like* the grunting. In fact, in a moment, I think I’m going to grunt myself.”
Excuse me while I imagine myself diving into that room, doing eighty Hindu squats and twenty Hindu pushups, using the platforms for a couple of sets of pistol squats and flipping into a handstand against the wall… the wall… WHAT IS THAT CURLY TWIRLY STUFF ON THE WALL?
ARRRHRRRGHGHGHGHGHHRRRRGRGRGRAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can print that out and show it to the management.
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That floral decal really is the icing on the cake, innit? 🙂
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I’m with Sled. Good grief – this is such patronising bullshit. To imagine that women are so stupid that we’ll only exercise if the room is pink, the machines are purple and there is a flower painted on the wall. Next thing you know there’ll be a TV in there, too, and then it will be just as comfy and cosy as someone’s living room… but wait, if we wanted to work out in a place that looked like a living room, we’d work out in our own living rooms!!!
Sheesh.
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I actually think that the Pilates Social Club will love this place and I can only hope that they’ll start using it and leave the rest of the gym free for people who don’t want to listen to their inane chattering. Since I’ve been going to the gym a bit later lately (noonish) I am not being bothered by them yakking across me on the bikes, but at that hour I tend to get young – and loud – USian exchange students instead. Can’t win.
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What were they thinking???
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Blech. I can’t believe they are actually charging *extra* for that! It hurts my eyes.
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