With so many reason to go to the gym and so many excuses to skip today and head in tomorrow… it’s no wonder so many people pay for a service they never use be cause they are: to tired to busy, not feeling well etc.., etc..,. AND Many women and some men say they don’t go because they are intimidated and fear the ridicule of their healthier counterparts.
A solution?
That’s why Body Exchange, a Vancouver-based gym, has made a bold business move and banned skinny people from their establishments in the hopes of fostering a friendly work-out environment for a primarily plus-size clientele.
Founder and CEO,Louise Green told TheProvince.com she considers her gym is a “safe haven” for overweight clients .”The fitness center has a strict policy of only allowing plus-size women to join. “Many of our clients have not had successful fitness pasts so I can see the anxiety before we get started and I can see the relief and happiness after we finish.People are often too fearful to become active. There wasn’t a model that offered camaraderie.”
The Body Exchange wasn’t the first gym to launch a weight-based policy. According to the New York Daily News, similar rules exist at gyms like Buddha Body Yoga in New York City and Downsize Fitness, which has branches in Las Vegas, Chicago and Dallas. Marty Wolff, a former competitor on the reality show The Biggest Loser, owns and operates Square One in Omaha, Nebraska which caters to people who aim to lose 50 pounds or more. ”Clients want a place where they can get fit without feeling like they’re being stared at or criticized,” he told the Daily News. “My whole life, I have always wished there was a place for other big people. So I created one.”
But, is this the solution? It’s easy to see the attraction of a plus-sized only gym to an overweight person with self confidence issues, but, on the other hand…. perhaps in the long run it would be equally beneficial to be around people with a healthier physic that can inspire and teach.
Being someone who battled with weight, it’s easier to grab a 1200 calorie shake with a friend who does that same. When you’re out with a friend who grabs a no or low calorie beverage, it makes you think about your choices and put them in a little perspective.
