Total Fitness is launching a new concept gym this Monday 8th January in Whitefield, Greater Manchester. ‘The Women’s Gym’, designed for women, has been developed to transform the health and wellness landscape for women across the region and builds on Total Fitness’ commitment to providing members with spaces and opportunities to achieve more than they thought possible.
Total Fitness, a leading UK health club brand with a proud legacy dating back to 1993, conducted extensive research into women’s fitness to develop The Women’s Gym—an entirely new fitness experience.
Two years in the making, this new concept has been informed by in-depth interviews with over 150 women with a range of fitness needs and attitudes.
Also, a wider research study, in which 3,800 women detailed their preferences and attitudes towards fitness and what health clubs and other providers currently offer.
The Women’s Gym offers a fresh approach. The design process started with no preconceptions about women’s fitness preferences, instead basing the space entirely on what women told us would empower them.
With a strong emphasis on fostering empowerment and personalised fitness journeys, The Women’s Gym provides customers with the flexibility to customise their workout environment to suit their individual preferences, whether opting for working out in designated spaces or alongside other members.
Users of the space can also choose from mirrored or mirror-free individual workout spaces, allowing women to choose an environment they feel is most motivating.
The Women’s Gym also includes lockers, bathrooms, and relaxation areas, ensuring a holistic and seamless workout experience.
Total Fitness has also enhanced staff training to better support female members. The Fitness Teams will be better able to advise and guide women through key life stages including how menstrual cycles, childbirth and menopause or perimenopause can affect fitness and exercise needs.
It will also be expanding its range of educational content and digital workouts, allowing members to access information and workouts at home or on the move.
The Women’s Gym is a separate facility from Total Fitness’ existing Whitefield club, accessible on a pay-as-you-go basis or as a bolt-on to existing membership.
These options will be available for members of the public to purchase online from the 15th of January, while access to the gym can be purchased on-site for the launch week.
Sophie Lawler, CEO of Total Fitness comments, “We’re delighted to bring the launch of The Women’s Gym – a statement to women that we take their needs seriously.
This has been a challenging project but one we take great responsibility for, and I believe that we’ve found several common themes to unite an incredibly rich and diverse customer segment.
“We listened to thousands of women through our research and have applied what we learned in a very thoughtful way that is designed to help women feel at ease whilst working out.
A space to build confidence, elevate progression and enjoy a full, uninterrupted workout no matter the occasion, frame of mind or life stage.
“Our dedicated and purpose-built spaces help allow women to take control of their fitness journeys and perform at their best, whatever their best means to them in that moment.
“The Women’s Gym aligns with Total Fitness’s overarching promise to provide the spaces and opportunity for members to achieve more than they thought possible.”
Growing Demand from Women
The Women’s Gym provides an additional facility in response to escalating demand for dedicated fitness spaces for women. Total Fitness points to an 82% surge in online searches* for ‘women-only gyms’ in the past year as evidence of this pent-up demand.
Total Fitness already offers separate spaces for women in all of its 15 health clubs, with 36% of current female members using these spaces. Total Fitness’ existing women’s workout spaces will remain available as part of its normal membership.
However, The Women’s Gym has been designed to meet the additional needs of the high percentage of women who either don’t currently exercise (or limit how often they exercise) because they find a traditional gym environment off-putting.
Total Fitness points to the huge numbers of women seeking to restart regular exercise who don’t feel the industry currently caters to their needs at a price point they can afford. For example, data shows that 69% of UK women say that they have had to take a break from exercise (often due to lockdown, family or work commitments) and wish to restart**.
Its research and existing data also reveal a myriad of reasons why women find dedicated female workout spaces desirable, including low confidence and concerns about unwanted attention or intimidation.
A staggering 1 in 3 UK women currently not exercising cite low confidence as a barrier to fitness, and as many as 2 in 5 women avoid gyms due to concerns about intimidation or harassment**.
Through ‘The Women’s Gym’ Total Fitness is hoping to make starting or resuming a fitness routine, seamless and enjoyable. As well as enabling those who already work out to do so without unnecessary limits or concerns.
Opening and Membership Details
The inaugural ‘The Women’s Gym’ will make its debut in Whitefield, Greater Manchester in January 2024,
For the first time, Total Fitness will offer a ‘pay-as-you-go’ membership option (£10 per session) alongside a bolt-on subscription for its members (£12.50 per month on top of an existing membership).
Find out more about The Women’s Gym on the Total Fitness website.
* data from Google, based on year-on-year UK search volumes.
** research conducted by Strava and This Girl Can (2000 women surveyed in November 2022)