A 36-year-old woman from the UK expressed her displeasure online after her gym allegedly introduced an age-restricted time slot that bars women aged over 24 from using the facility during certain hours.
On the ‘Am I Being Unreasonable?’ thread of UK-based discussion platform Mumsnet, the woman asked social media users whether her irritation over the sudden change in policy was justified, People reports.
The woman, in the post titled “To think this is unfair?”, said she received an email from the gym notifying her of the revised schedule.
According to the message, the fitness centre would now limit access between 4pm and 7pm, over the week, exclusively to women aged 12 to 24. The communication explained that this adjustment was introduced following feedback from members, and aimed to provide a supportive and safe workout environment for younger women during after-school and early-evening hours.
The woman, who had originally signed up for the gym because of its extended women-only hours – from 9am to 7pm on weekdays – was rather upset regarding the update. She also said that the new rules made the gym effectively unusable for her schedule and said she planned to cancel her membership.
“I’ll be cancelling (my membership) as it no longer fits in with the times I can go, but this is ridiculous, right,” she asked in her post, according to People.
As her post went viral, several users supported her, describing the gym’s new policy as “outrageous,” questioning why women above a certain age were being excluded. Another user said, “Maybe one hour here or there, okay. But three full hours every weekday? That’s excessive. I’d cancel, too.”
However, not all replies were critical of the gym’s decision. Some users said that it’s not unusual for businesses to refine policies based on demand and clientele.
“Teenage girls are statistically likely to quit fitness routines unless given supportive spaces,” one user said. “Creating a welcoming time slot specifically for them has a clear intention. It’s no different from offering women-only hours in general.”
What is your take on this?
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