Women gyms find least space in Chennai’s fitness firmament

On Wednesday morning, when DTNext visited one of the two gyms functioning in the city, in Gopalapuram, there was a lone woman working out on the treadmill. 

Sandhya, who visits the gym on and off, said, “The gym is opened only occasionally, as there are not many women coming here to work out. I am an occasional visitor, too.” 

The lack of interest about the facilities on offer at the gym is visible, with dust accumulating on the equipment like twister, manual equipment for bench press, elliptical cross trainer and shoulder press. 

A pile of clothes can be seen on one of them. This at a gym that is one of the bigger public facilities in the city, with toilet and water facilities. The second Corporation-run gym in city is on Bhaktavachalam Street in Mambalam. 

At Perambur, too, a women’s gym was functioning on Sadayappadass Street till some months ago.  According to local residents, the gym was closed after it failed to find patronage among the women. 

A resident on the condition of anonymity said, “My daughter used worked out here regularly. After a problem with the bore well inside, people stopped visiting the place. The then councillor tried his best to get the issue sorted, but nothing worked. This is now an abandoned area.” 

According to sources at Greater Chennai Corporation, there are 96 gymnasiums run by the civic body in the city. They claim that among them, 22 are equipped with modern equipment like multi-gym, treadmill and that about 50 to 100 people are using each of the gyms every day. However, very few seem to be even aware of gyms exclusively for women, and expressed surprise over it. 

“I have assumed that the gyms are for men. If women have to use similar facilities, they have to be promoted by the civic body,” said Kamini Mohan, a resident of Habibullah Road. She added that in places like Dr Natesan Park and Jeeva Park in T Nagar, there are many women who use the giant wheels, tummy twisters and the elliptical trainers in the open gyms, amid the play area for children. 

“I used to work out there as well after I drop off my daughter at a class close by. Gyms like the ones being run for men will benefit us immensely, provided they are fully equipped and properly maintained,” she said. 

Sushaptha Rajagopal, who has been looking for fitness options in her area, endorsed the views. “For many like me who cannot stick to our resolution of working out, such free gyms will be a boon. Private gyms cost a bomb — with some charging as high as Rs 20,000 per year – and if we miss even one class, the money goes down the drain,” she pointed out. A senior official from the Greater Chennai Corporation said that the damaged equipment will be replaced soon. 

“We will do the changes and renovations,” said the source, adding that complaint regarding the gym in Perambur is being looked into. Agreeing to the need for a new view towards women and fitness, the official added that the notion that fitness is a man’s forte is changing. 

“If there is a need for more gyms, we will look into the prospective,” added the source.