A British gym has banned women aged over 24 from training there during peak hours, and people aren’t happy.
Mumsnet user @whenlifegivesyouoranges took to the site to ask fellow parents their thoughts on the situation.
Posted on the thread, AIBU [Am I Being Unreasonable?], the 36-year-old said she received a text from her gym saying that women over 24 could not train there from 4pm to 7pm.
The user, who explained she joined this gym due to it being women’s-only from 9am to 7pm on weekdays, expressed her annoyance at the new rule.
Writing on the social media forum, she said: “I’ve just had this email from them [the gym] and I’ll be cancelling as it no longer fits in with the times I can go, but this is ridiculous, right?”
The original poster further commented herself, saying that members are still being charged the same fees, despite losing 15 hours of access to the gym.
via Mumsnet
In the email, gym goers were told that Monday to Friday, 4pm to 7pm, the gym would be “reserved exclusively for females aged 12 to 24 years”.
The supposed reason for the change was “feedback and to better cater to our younger female members who require a dedicated, comfortable space during peak after-school and early evening hours”.
However, people aren’t impressed with the gym’s decision.
93 per cent of voters on the Mumsnet AIBU poll said the original poster was not being unreasonable.
One commenter even called the move “ridiculous”, saying: “That’s absolutely ridiculous! Why women of a certain age!? I’d feel furious.”
Another also spoke out in agreement with the original poster, adding: “So a woman over 24 can’t go to the gym straight after work any more? They’ll lose business, surely.”
One person also queried the 24 age limit, questioning why they chose it..
“That’s a strange age range too – 12-18 I would get, so it’s a space for high school kids, or even up to 21 including uni students. I wonder why they chose 24,” they said.
However, some were in support of the gym’s move, with a Mumsnet user writing: “Teenage girls collectively are a group highly at risk of stopping exercising.
“There’s a purpose in providing a space just for them, just as there is a purpose in women only gym sessions in the first place.
“If the gym managers think there’s a workable business case for making it work good luck to them. If it doesn’t then they’ll go bust.”
The gym involved has not been named, nor has it commented on the situation.
