More and more women in Jubail are joining gyms to get healthy despite a lack of sports facilities in the city, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported.
As a result, many women are calling for more women-friendly gyms, lower gym membership fees and improved female-friendly privacy at centers.
Noora Al-Harthy regularly goes to a gym. She said that women in Jubail have limited access to gyms as the ones in the city are situated in far-flung areas.
“Some women get discouraged by the high fees while others are discouraged by the very unfriendly locations of these gyms. As a result, many women stay at home and don't bother working out,” said Al-Harthy.
Rana Al-Qahtani said many women have become obese because they cannot afford to join gyms. “I'm sure women will go to gyms and become more interested if they had several options. Unfortunately, there's a large number of women who opt for plastic surgery in order to look slim; they cannot continue living overweight and are unable to visit gyms because of the extortionate amounts that gyms charge,” said Al-Qahtani.
Just like men, women need to work out to feel invigorated and fight stress, she said, adding that many gyms are not suitably equipped to attract women and make them want to engage in physical activities.
Lujain Al-Kaltham feels gyms also need to provide facilities for disabled women and the elderly. “This is an important section of society that needs our moral support and encouragement. There are many physically challenged women who often do not go out and live bitter and boring lives as they do not have many choices when it comes to gyms,” she said.
These views were echoed by Reham Al-Saif, who complained that gyms offer limited services to women and overcharge. “Many women have recently signed up to gyms to lose weight and keep shape; this is a good indicator of high public awareness. The problem lies in the fact that most sports centers are small and are unable to handle the large numbers of women members,” she said.
“I signed up to a gym and shed 13 kilograms. But after a while, I got fed up and stopped going to the gym because I had to wait a long time to use machines. Besides, there's no restricted time for using machines. I found that a great deal of my day was spent at the gym when I should've spent only an hour or two,” she said.
Khloud Al-Zain is a female trainer at a gym in Dammam. “Obese women need to spend a lot longer in order to shed extra weight and improve their fitness. Good things come to those who wait. The more a person works out, the better will be the results,” she said.
She also advised people working out to watch what they eat. “This will ensure quicker results. Some recent studies have shown that working out has the same effect as anti-depressants—working out helps women maintain a good psychological state,” she added.
