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Aug 25, 2023

Are private exercise pods the key to ending gym

Forget sweaty gym floors, there’s a new way to exercise away from prying eyes Gymtimidation is very real. From the changing rooms to the gym floor, cardio areas to the classes, no matter who you are

Forget sweaty gym floors, there’s a new way to exercise away from prying eyes

Gymtimidation is very real. From the changing rooms to the gym floor, cardio areas to the classes, no matter who you are or how fit you are, it’s easy to feel out of place in workout spaces.

In fact, according to a survey by PureGym, 56% of people feel intimidated in the gym, whether they're regulars or not. And the feelings impact women more than men, with 67% of women reporting feeling uncomfortable in fitness spaces.

‘I’ve been going to regular gyms for the last couple of years but I’m the first to say it’s not my favourite place,’ Verity Cox, a 37-year-old Perth-born sales and marketing executive who now lives in London told Women's Health. ‘Standard gym floors can be so intimidating - I’m not an expert and not always sure my technique is correct and I’m not confident in not caring what other people think. The idea of someone correcting me or saying something is mortifying.’

According to counselling psychologist Dr Gregory Warwick, 'gym-timidation comes from anxiety or self-esteem-based problems. We can feel worried in the gym for fear of making a mistake or embarrassing ourselves, or worried that we will be judged, won’t look good or perform as well as the others there.

‘This can make people ruminate and play through scenarios around going to the gym in preparation for managing it. It can also make us avoid going altogether. When we finally get there, gym-timidation can make us feel nervous and shaky before we've even gotten on the treadmill.’

New gym spaces are taking this all into account. Private workout spaces are popping up all over London, offering people personal, uninterrupted training to stop fear gym.

PTPods, Solo 60 and GymPods are all examples of small, private gym rooms you can hire out for sessions of up to an hours. They come equipped with everything you could need for whatever workout you want to do - some just bigger than a car parking space - all in private.

‘We came up with the idea just before the pandemic,’ explains co-founder of GymPods and former PT Simon Hayes, who developed the idea with another former PT Liam Horne and ex-MD of Soho Gyms Mike Crockett.

Right now, the brand has 15 pods in London. 'We have strength pods, which comes with dual cables, kettlebells, core bags, medicine balls and dumbbells. Then we have power pods, which have a smith machine and high impact kit like a SkiErg, HIIT bike and punch bag. Holistic pods are focused around Pilates and yoga, with a reformer machine and other low impact kit. And finally, we have cardio pods with treadmills, bikes and rowing machines," says Hayes.

‘People using the pods are trying exercises they’ve never tried because they were too scared to do it in front of others. We've heard our clients feel more secure as they can work out for an hour on your own, with a friend or bring your own PT or book one of ours. It’s all very flexible. Even with the cardio equipment, no one can see you,’ he adds.

For PT Max Cotterell East of Max Fitness London (@maxfitnessldn) this is game changing. ‘It’s a complete revelation,’ she told us. ‘Clients get the privacy they want, they don’t feel embarrassed or have the fear that someone is watching, so they are now more likely to go to the gym.

‘They feel so much more confident and that makes my job so much more satisfying. I’m not waiting for areas other PTs are using in a busy gym anymore, I have the room to show my clients how to do the exercises and give them the space to practice and learn for as long as they like.’

Cox - who trains with Cotterell - is the first to tell her friends and family how good these Pods are for improving both her mental well-being and skills when it comes to exercising.

‘I feel so much more confident and I’m definitely much more aware of my form now I can work out in private or with Max,’ she says. ‘I’m taking my time and I’m not rushed so I can work out correctly.

‘I’ve already been recommending them to my friends and family. I get my fiancé to come along because you can easily fit two or three people in a pod. He’s a fit guy but he prefers the pods because of the lack of intimidation. It’s not just women who feel that in a gym.’

Even though pods could be a great solution for anyone who really hates the gym, Dr Gregory Warwick says they’re not solving the deep-seated problem of a fear of judgement. ‘I think making all of your workouts totally private can be a double-edged sword,’ he says. ‘On one hand, it may be a great step to getting people into the gym and exercising. But on the other hand, we don't want to get into a trap of not exposing yourself to those areas.

‘Like any anxiety-based problem, we need to react to what it actually is and not what we are assuming, or what could be. It's best to go to the gym, building up in small steps, until our heads and bodies realise that the threat isn't there.’

Think of it like exposure therapy, where you do the thing that scares you to prove to yourself that it's never as bad as you think it might be. And, if your gymtimidation isn't really in your head, that speaks to a bigger problem about the role of the fitness industry is dismantling aggressive behaviour and making everyone safe.

For the individual, there’s also the social aspect to think about: many report going to the gym to make or meet friends. ‘The gym can provide a great social element. In the long term if we didn't progress past the pods it could reinforce our anxieties and self-esteem worries and it could turn into that feeling that we "should" be isolated from the main gym,' says Dr Gregory.

That was also a concern for Cox before starting private workouts. ‘I thought maybe I would miss the social side of it, but GymPods has still got a family feel as there’s a cafe outside the studios you can hang out in and chat to other people,’ she says.

GymPods aren't cheap: a Pod costs around £15 for an hour, but that's still reasonable when compared to other London gyms in which you'd have to share your kit. There are plans to roll these GymPods out nationwide, but perhaps the key is to use them on the days you want to focus or as a stepping stone to build confidence, rather than as a cure all for gymtimidation.

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