{"id":233417,"date":"2026-03-24T01:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T01:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/233417\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T01:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T01:26:15","slug":"pink-lab-gym-packs-a-punch-for-bay-area-women-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/233417\/","title":{"rendered":"Pink Lab gym packs a punch for Bay Area women \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This article was written for Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school and college students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.<\/p>\n

At Pink Lab, a women-only gym in downtown San Jose and Newark, fitness holds a different type of weight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have to compete here,\u201d said Malayah Sao, a senior at Newark Memorial High School.<\/p>\n

As a wrestler, softball player and the daughter of a personal trainer, Sao had made working out part of her daily routine. Pink Lab, she said, has provided a new sense of comfort during her workouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, you\u2019re not worried about someone staring at you, or having to look over your shoulder,\u201d Sao said.<\/p>\n

\"AA sign points the way to Pink Lab gym in downtown San Jose on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Iris Sanchez\/Mosaic)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Women at Pink Lab have access to one-on-one personal training, fitness classes and nutrition plans. The pink-themed facility offers fitness resources for women of all age groups. Pink Lab\u2019s website, thepinklab.co<\/a>, has more information on memberships and classes.<\/p>\n

The Newark location opened in the summer of 2024. With two high schools just down the road, 20-year-old employee Diana Salahldin said there has been an increase in teen gym-goers. She thinks that the vibrant atmosphere plays a role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, c\u2019mon, it\u2019s all pink inside,\u201d Salahldin said.<\/p>\n

Salahldin started working out at Pink Lab as a teenager. She said she was drawn to the inviting space, filled with pink gym equipment, decor and a coffee bar.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople work out at Pink Lab women-only gym in downtown San Jose on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Iris Sanchez\/Mosaic)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before that she was always hesitant to join a standard gym, she said, deterred by horror stories about stalkers and starers. She viewed the opening of Pink Lab as an opportunity to start her fitness journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so nervous to go to a commercial gym,\u201d Salahldin said. \u201cIt\u2019s so comfortable here, and it\u2019s much more community-based than a regular gym.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reina Barreras works at the front desk at Pink Lab in San Jose. This second location opened Jan. 1, and Barreras said she has seen firsthand how the all-girls gym helps clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the girls here have had a lot of bad experiences, coming from coed gyms,\u201d said Barreras, as she smiled and waved at clients leaving the gym.<\/p>\n

\"PinkPink equipment is ready for use in the boxing room at Pink Lab gym in downtown San Jose on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Iris Sanchez\/Mosaic)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eliza Vasquez, 25, has been working out regularly for five years. She said that it took several trips to different gyms to finally find one where she feels relaxed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can wear whatever I want and not feel like I\u2019m being watched,\u201d Vasquez said as she leaned against the weight bar. \u201cHere, women feel comfortable in their bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barreras said that her favorite part about working at the front desk of an all-girls gym is being able to uplift other women.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many times girls have come up to us,\u201d said Barreras, gesturing to coworkers Ysella Gonzalez and Elena Suarez. \u201cThey\u2019ve told us that this is the first time they\u2019ve been comfortable to ask questions and not feel judged.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suarez, the personal defense and fitness trainer at the San Jose location, said lifting weights can be labeled \u201ca very masculine thing; it keeps a lot of women from working out.\u201d But women, she added, \u201cbelong in these spaces too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suarez said female fitness instructors offers an important perspective, because at some gyms, \u201cThey don\u2019t understand what it\u2019s like to be postpartum or having a period while you work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Founder Eliza Chau created Pink Lab when she was 20 years old. She says what initially began as a women\u2019s fitness program at a local gym blossomed into a community. By hosting events such as bouquet-making and painting, she hopes to continue providing a sense of community for women.<\/p>\n

\"WomenWomen attend a painting event at Pink Lab gym in downtown San Jose on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Iris Sanchez\/Mosaic)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen deserve a space where they can feel comfortable,\u201d said Chau, who was decked out in a pink workout set. \u201cWhether you\u2019re a college student and just want to feel safe or you\u2019re an older woman going through menopause, Pink Lab is for all women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iris Sanchez is a member of the class of 2027 at San Jose State University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s Note: This article was written for Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school and college…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[389,184,7,332,394,2782,971,23,15581,41706,88,90,89,198,200,420],"class_list":["post-233417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-alameda-county","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-east-bay","tag-fremont","tag-healthy-living","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-mosaic","tag-newark","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-south-bay","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}