This March I will have been a member of my local gym for almost 4 years. I have seen the place go from having an all male coaching staff to become a majority women coaching staff over the years as the other coaches left. While men or women, the coaching itself has been top class it’s been interesting to experience how male coaches train Vs female coaches. Of course this is just a sample size of 4, but still maybe telling. The male coaches are much more comfortable pushing you out of your comfort zone. You can always lift 5 more pounds, you can always get 1-3 more reps, you can always do more than you think. The female coaches prefer to work with how you are “feeling” more than pushing you. You get a great workout but you never feel like you were in the grind.
Over time I have begun to miss those male coaches. While I like the women coaches, I need that push and shove to get things done in gym else I will take the lazy path 9 out of 10 times. I realize this is a me problem and not them but gym is a place I want to be pushed hard within limits. And given it’s a boutique gym everyone knows everyone well, the coaches are fully aware of my lazy personality towards exercise. I think the gym needs to bring that healthy balance back and have a few more errr…. alpha trainers.