While working as a personal trainer for a national gym chain, Lara Americo was expected to conduct fitness assessments on all new members. The goal: use information about strength, endurance, and flexibility and compare the results against averages for others of the same age and gender to establish a baseline fitness level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone has an individual level of fitness, and everyone needs an individual level of programming,\u201d Americo explains. \u201cI would do away with those, and there would always be pushback from the gym.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fitness assessments were just one of the \u201cproblematic norms\u201d that Americo, a trans woman who uses they\/them pronouns, experienced in mainstream gym culture. They also felt that the emphasis on performance, appearance, and achieving gendered body ideals was especially damaging to LGBTQIA+ members\u2014and even prevented some in the community from joining a gym at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMainstream fitness can be pretty toxic,\u201d Americo adds. \u201cIt\u2019s not a fun place to be in a gym where everything is about grunting and hating your body.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than one-third of LGBTQ+ Americans experienced some form of discrimination in the past year and often reported altering aspects of their personal lives to avoid the experience of discrimination. A separate study found that half of LGBTQ participants felt uncomfortable at the gym as a direct result of their sexual orientation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some gyms and fitness brands host special programming in June in honor of Pride Month. Still, a growing number of fitness facilities are using gender-neutral language, asking clients about their pronouns, and promising inclusive classes and safe spaces all year long. Some gyms even cater exclusively to LGBTQIA+ members.<\/p>\n
Oakland-based The Queer Gym, which bills itself as \u201cAmerica\u2019s 1st<\/sup> queer gym,\u201d opened in 2010. Mark Fisher Fitness in New York and Everybody in Los Angeles promise inclusive spaces, diverse trainers, body positivity, and gender-neutral locker rooms. The OUT Foundation created an Inclusive Gym Finder to help the LGBTQIA+ community find inclusive spaces to break a sweat.<\/p>\n \u201cLGBT people need a space\u2026to get away from toxic gym culture,\u201d says Americo. \u201cYou get to the point where you can\u2019t do it anymore, and you\u2019re working out at home [and] there are so many people [who] want to get away from that. These inclusive spaces have a demand.\u201d<\/p>\n Creating inclusive workout spaces is about more than boosting membership; it\u2019s a commitment to prioritizing the health and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community.<\/p>\n Research shows that those who identified as LGBTQIA+ were up to 76 percent less likely to participate in team activities and reported up to 2.62 hours less of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week than their heterosexual peers. Lesbian and bisexual women have higher rates of overweight and obesity than straight women.<\/p>\n Exercise isn\u2019t just important for physical health. It\u2019s also an essential component of mental health. It has been shown to ease the symptoms of depression and anxiety, which the LGBTQIA+ community experiences at rates up to 2.5 times higher than their straight or gender-conforming peers.<\/p>\n While classes like Mr. Broadway Body, Hard Core Homo, and Bicep-Tuals target the queer community, Americo believes there are also subtle cues that signal the gym welcomes diverse membership.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tiny Gym, a diminutive fitness studio in the West Village neighborhood in New York that Americo founded in 2021, was designed to be a safe space \u201caway from toxic gym culture\u201d that welcomes LGBTQIA+ members and allies. Americo was intentional about marketing, using terms like \u201cbody positive\u201d and \u201cperformance based\u201d and including their pronouns on flyers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThose things alone attract queer people because those are things a lot of people in the community prioritize,\u201d they say. \u201cI present everything in a way that a queer person would want to go to the gym without saying it\u2019s queer.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to providing a supportive, safe space to work out, LGBTQIA+ fitness spaces are also about letting go of gender norms and expectations and finding the joy in moving your body.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main rule in Tiny Gym is it has to be fun,\u201d says Americo. \u201cMy goal is to subtly, in a small way, change the narrative of fitness.\u201d<\/p>\n This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or condition. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, altering your sleep habits, taking supplements, or starting a new fitness routine.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tNorth Carolina-based freelance journalist Jodi Helmer has written about health topics for WebMD, AARP, HealthCentral, Health, Woman\u2019s Day, Shape and Women\u2019s Health. When she\u2019s not writing, Jodi loves hiking with her dogs and gardening.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tJodi Helmer\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n
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