4TheGirls Gym will be opening its doors in Polmadie with a launch event on Saturday, January 17 for women starting the year with a health kick.
Sophia is launching her own female-only gym on January 17(Image: Provided)
Women looking to get a head start on their new year health kick are in luck, as a brand new female-only gym is to open on Glasgow south side in January. 4TheGirls Gym will be opening its doors in Polmadie with a launch event on Saturday, January 17.
Brought to us by 25-year-old personal trainer and CBT therapist Sophia Hassan, the new work-out spot aims to give women a place to exercise without fear or intimidation. Her new space will operate as a gym on weekends with private classes running from Monday to Friday including Pilates, Yoga and strength training classes, as well as a specific class for busy mums to bring their wee ones along.
Sophia has been working as a personal trainer for six years, but she has always noticed- and felt herself- an element of anxiety and intimidation that women can face in mixed-gender gyms. Now, she is self-funding her dream of opening her very own women-only work-out space.
She said: “For six years, I’ve always seen that no matter what we did or what sort of changes we made to the environment, there was always an element of discomfort. So I decided to open up a female-only gym that so my clients can have a place to train without the pressure and judgement they may experience in mixed gym environments.”
The idea came from Sophia’s personal anxieties about going to the gym, particularly as a woman who wears a hijab.
Sophia is preparing the space which will soon be a fully furnished gym(Image: Provided)
She continued: “I started fitness at a young age, about 16, and when I started wearing a hijab I noticed the discrepancy of how I felt. I used to suffer from a lot of gym anxiety and it deterred me from a lot of training, and I can imagine how my clients may have had the same experience.
“Through that lived experience of seeing and feeling so uncomfortable, feeling like I’m being watched and not feeling like I can train to my full capacity, I thought ‘let me be the change I want to see. Let me do something about this instead of just enduring it.
“It is possible to have a gym environment where you feel safe and comfortable. Fitness can be enjoyable and I need to show that to my community.”
And what’s more, 4THEGIRLS Gym will also offer hijabi women like Sophia, a place to work out without their hair or face coverings if they wish, though Sophia stresses that it is open to women of all faiths and ethnicities.
Sophia says: “I’ve had a lot of hijabi girls reach out, and a lot of girls who wear the niqab as well, who have said ‘I can’t wait’, or ‘I’m so excited to finally take my hijab off in the gym’.
“And that has honestly propelled me forward and made me want to deliver an even better environment for these people who deserve it so much and who have gone without for so long.”
4THEGIRLS Gym is opening with a launch event on January 17, and more information and memberships can be found through the gym’s Instagram page.