Building strong women: A women-only gym success story

This International Women’s Day we celebrate the work of Alex Knight, co-creator of Fitter Body Ladies, a group of clubs that empower women to reach their goals.

With the 2023 theme focusing on equity, the Fitter Body Ladies team and brand are a great example of how individuals within the sector are supporting women and helping create the sought-after level playing field. Below we cover four key ways in which they're supporting and championing the members - to great business success.

The concept of Fitter Body Ladies is the brainchild of Alex Knight, who had always struggled with her weight, especially after having her second child.

Frustrated by a lack of results in the gym, where she felt extremely self-conscious, Alex was determined to find a better way of meeting the needs of women who felt like she did, without paying for private personal training.

Together with her husband, Alex launched the first Fitter Body Ladies gym 10 years ago in Northampton. They offer exercise sessions and nutritional guidance to women over 30 to help them achieve their health and fitness goals.

“We want to give women a platform where they feel no judgment or intimidation when they work out, which can sometimes be the case in regular gyms where men are banging heavy weights around,” says Alex.

Building good exercise habits

Today, Fitter Body Ladies has expanded to 15 franchises across the UK. The sites provide a welcoming space where women can work out with like-minded females aiming for similar goals. Members also receive great support and tailored guidance from the coaches - if you or your team struggle with this, take a read of some top tips here. 

“We aim to help ladies over the age of 30 to become the best version of themselves by giving them a platform to build good exercise and nutrition habits. Using our core values of recognition, teamwork, and inspiration, we help our members achieve their goals.”

When it comes to aligning with these core values, they've found that Myzone ticks all the boxes for the perfect partnership.

“Combining Myzone with us here at Fitter Body Ladies has been awesome. It gives our members an amazing opportunity to be hugely invested in their workouts and learn more about their fitness and how to progress.

"The platform makes working out so fun and ultimately worth the time our members spend in the gym.”

A truly supportive community

Community is key at Fitter Body Ladies, where members thrive on the support and encouragement of their peers.

“We have an amazing community. There is constant activity on our private support groups on Facebook and WhatsApp, and we’ve done many events with our girls, from nights out and hiking trips to Tough Mudders and Wolf Runs.”

Myzone helps to reinforce this sense of community. Members share their workout stats with the support groups so that everyone can recognise and celebrate the progress of others.

And let’s not forget about all the fun and engagement that challenges offer.

“We’re always running Myzone challenges; they really bring the whole community together. The members get hugely invested in them and want to do their best.

"We’ve done all sorts of themed challenges including bingo, squid games, Halloween, and club vs club challenges.”

Take a read of how building community and challenges can support you in engaging new members.

Recognising effort and consistency

The ladies of Fitter Body Ladies have become more invested and engaged in their workouts. As, through Myzone, Alex and her team have another platform for recognising women for their effort and consistency outside of the gym space.

“Many of our members have become so interested in the zones and they’re always trying to get up to the next zone. When we run Zone Match workouts, they are heavily concentrated on matching the set zones, which is great to see.”

The heart rate tracker motivates women to commit to their exercise sessions so they can rise up the Myzone status board to achieve their Myzone certificate for hitting a new status. This consistency moves them along their fitness journey getting them closer to achieving their results.

Fitting exercise opportunities to varied lifestyles of the community

The team and members use Myzone both in and out of the gym, working around their commitments to exercise when and where suits them best. Women like Julie, who has just achieved her first 3000 MEP score in one month.

She is feeling super proud of herself, especially given that she has a predominantly desk job. This means she has really smashed her workouts with us and has also kept active outside of the gym.

“At Fitter Body Ladies, we are there to give all ladies over 30 an equal opportunity to work on their health and fitness goals," Julie explains. "No matter their fitness level, shape, size, or experience. We are there to help them progress and reach the goals they really want to achieve.”

Overall, Fitter Body Ladies is working hard to ensure women who wish to work out can do so comfortably. A truly physical example of female equity this International Women's Day.