Are Gyms Missing the Mark When It Comes to Women’s Health?
Updated: Sep 15
Written by Joanne Angel Barry Colon, Wholistic Personal Trainer, Intuitive Healer & Cosmic Energy Reader
Joanne Angel Barry Colon has 30+ years in the health, fitness, and wellness industry. She is the Wholistic Fitness owner located in Queens, New York, a certified holistic personal trainer, intuitive healer, cosmic energy reader, student of Astrology, Master of Numerology, and Creator of Chakra Balance Numerology Cosmic Energy Forecast Deck.
Over the past month, I’ve met with representatives from three major gym corporations, and something has been surprisingly consistent. There seems to be a tremendous amount of emphasis on filling group fitness classes, but far less emphasis on offering educational workshops that teach female members about the importance of strength training, progressive overload, muscle preservation, and how their training needs may change through different stages of life.
As a Certified Wholistic Personal Trainer and Women’s Health and Wellness Advocate with more than four decades of experience in health, fitness, nutrition, and women’s wellness, I believe we are missing a major opportunity.
Many gyms still have significantly more male personal trainers than female personal trainers. Gender alone does not determine whether someone is a knowledgeable or effective trainer. However, what concerns me is how difficult it can be for women, particularly women in midlife, to find trainers with specific education, experience, or specialty certifications related to the changing needs of the female body.
I wanted to experience it for myself
Over the last couple of months, I decided to experience this firsthand.
I visited several corporate gyms and scheduled personal training sessions with male trainers. I wasn’t looking for someone to simply put me through a workout. I specifically wanted to see whether I could find a trainer who understood how to program strength training for a woman in midlife.
Each experience was surprisingly similar.
I was given approximately eight to ten basic exercises, generally performed for three sets of 12 to 15 repetitions. I was also encouraged to incorporate approximately 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise several days per week.
There is nothing inherently wrong with those exercises, repetitions, or cardiovascular training. My concern was what appeared to be missing from the conversation.
Where was the discussion about progressive overload? Where was the education about building and preserving muscle? Where was the conversation around strength, recovery, bone health, changing body composition, and healthy aging?
Where was the discussion about how a woman’s training may need to evolve as she moves through her 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond?
Women don’t simply need another workout. We need education. We need strategy. We need strength.
Why progressive overload matters for women over 40
Progressive overload is the process of gradually challenging the body so that it continues to adapt rather than repeatedly doing the same workout at the same level.
Here are five reasons this can be especially valuable for women as they age.
1. Helps preserve and build muscle
Maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important as we get older. Progressive resistance training gives the muscles a reason to adapt and become stronger rather than simply going through the motions of completing an exercise.
2. Supports stronger bones
Resistance training places appropriate stress on the skeletal system. Strength training can help support bone health, which becomes increasingly important as women move through perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause, and the aging process.
3. Supports metabolism and body composition
The conversation around women’s fitness has focused on weight loss and burning calories for far too long. Maintaining muscle is important for metabolic health, physical function, and body composition.
Instead of asking only, “How much weight can I lose?” perhaps we should also be asking, “How much strength can I gain?”
4. Makes everyday life easier
Strength isn’t only about what happens inside the gym. Carrying groceries, climbing stairs, getting off the floor, lifting luggage, gardening, playing with grandchildren, and maintaining independence all require strength. What we build today can support how we want to live tomorrow.
5. Prepares the body for healthy aging
After 40, the goal shouldn’t simply be about becoming smaller. It should also be about becoming stronger. Progressive strength training can support the strength and physical function women want to carry into their 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond.
Progressive overload does not mean constantly adding heavier weight. Progress can also come from improving technique, increasing repetitions or sets, increasing range of motion, or gradually making an exercise more challenging.
The goal is simple: Give your body a reason to become stronger.
What if gyms added women’s health education?
This brings me back to my experiences with corporate gyms. What if, in addition to trying to fill another group fitness class, gyms became places where women could actually learn about their bodies?
What if gyms regularly offered workshops specifically designed around women’s health, strength, nutrition, and healthy aging? And what if they intentionally hired and developed both male and female trainers who had additional education or specialty certifications in areas relevant to women’s health?
This could benefit female members while also creating an additional pathway into personal training.
Five reasons women’s health workshops could benefit gyms
1. Education can lead to personal training revenue
Many women enter gyms without understanding why strength training is important or how to begin safely and effectively. A workshop can introduce members to progressive overload, muscle preservation, recovery, healthy aging, and other concepts. Once a woman understands why she needs strength training, she may be more likely to seek professional guidance to learn how to do it. Education doesn’t have to compete with personal training. Education can lead to personal training.
2. Women have different needs throughout their lives
Women’s bodies move through different stages, including menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. Having male and female trainers with education in these areas could give female members access to professionals who understand that fitness programming doesn’t always need to follow a one-size-fits-all approach.
3. Specialized trainers can help a gym stand out
Imagine walking into a gym and knowing there are trainers on staff with additional knowledge or specialty certifications in areas such as:
Women’s hormonal health and exercise
Strength training versus focusing solely on weight loss
Training considerations throughout the menstrual cycle
Fasting considerations for women in midlife
Nutrition and adequate nutrient intake versus focusing only on calorie restriction
Pregnancy and postpartum fitness
Perimenopause and menopause
Bone health and muscle preservation
Post-rehabilitation exercise
Healthy aging and longevity
There are many more areas that could be explored. This type of education could differentiate one gym from another, particularly for women looking for more than access to equipment and classes.
4. Workshops can create a natural bridge to personal training
Imagine a gym offering a monthly workshop called “Strength Training After 40: Why Lifting Weights Matters More Than Ever.” Women attend, learn, meet the trainers, ask questions, and experience the trainers’ expertise before being asked to purchase anything.
At the conclusion of the workshop, attendees could be invited to schedule an individual assessment or personal training consultation. The workshop becomes an educational experience for the member and a potential lead-generation opportunity for the personal training department.
5. Women can feel seen, heard, and supported
Women don’t necessarily need another class added to the schedule. Sometimes we need someone to explain what is happening within our bodies and teach us what we can do to support ourselves through different stages of life.
A gym that provides education alongside exercise can become more than a place where women come to work out. It can become a resource for strength, health, education, confidence, and healthy aging.
Perhaps it’s time to rethink the gym model
After more than 40 years of working in health, fitness, nutrition, and women’s wellness, I believe gyms have an incredible opportunity.
Continue offering group fitness classes. Continue offering personal training. But add another layer: Education.
Educate women about strength. Educate women about muscle. Educate women about their changing bodies. Educate women about what healthy aging can look like.
And hire or further educate both male and female trainers who have the knowledge and specialized skills to work with women throughout the different stages of their lives.
From a business perspective, the formula could be quite simple, "Educate the member. Build trust. Demonstrate expertise."
Then give her access to the qualified personal trainer who can help her put that education into practice.
Women’s health education shouldn’t have to compete with personal training revenue. It could be one of the very things that increases it.
Perhaps the question corporate gyms should begin asking isn’t simply, “How do we get more women into our classes?”
Maybe the bigger question is, “How do we better serve, educate, and strengthen the women who are already walking through our doors?”
Workshops, speaking, and partnerships
Rev. Dr. Joanne Angel Barry Colon is available for workshops and speaking engagements and is open to discussing partnerships with gyms, fitness facilities, wellness organizations, and other organizations interested in bringing greater education and awareness around women’s health, strength training, midlife wellness, and healthy aging to the communities they serve.
With more than 40 years of experience in health, fitness, nutrition, and women’s wellness, Joanne brings together education, practical experience, and a wholistic approach to helping women become stronger, more informed, and better equipped to navigate the changing needs of their bodies throughout every stage of life.
For workshop, speaking, or partnership inquiries, email here or contact 646-236-9155.
Read more from Joanne Angel Barry Colon
Joanne Angel Barry Colon, Wholistic Personal Trainer, Intuitive Healer & Cosmic Energy Reader Joanne Angel Barry Colon has 30+ years in the health, fitness, and wellness industry. She is the owner of Wholistic Fitness, located in Queens, New York, a certified holistic personal trainer, intuitive healer, cosmic energy reader, student of Astrology, Master of Numerology, and Creator of Chakra Balance Numerology Cosmic Energy Forecast Deck. She is the Host of Joanne's Healing Within TV Show, Joanne's Cosmic Energy Radio Show, and Author/Self-Publisher. Joanne's mission is to help women (men by referral) release issues from their tissues as they release emotional weight and fall in love with themselves while witnessing their transformation into the best version of themselves.
