An Empowering Journey: Building Health and Strength in the Perfect Home Gym for Women
March has historically been a month to celebrate women and to draw rightful attention to our accomplishments and resiliency in an oftentimes unaccommodating world.
For all of its merits, the fitness industry has promoted as many gender-related biases and stereotypes as it has worked to promote women’s interests. Although more attention is now being given to support women in fitness, there is still substantial work to be done to create a truly equitable and inclusive environment.
In honor of Women’s History Month, we want to focus on ways in which the home gym can strengthen women, in both a health and fitness-related sense as well as its impacts on general empowerment. We understand that these observations are far from conclusive, but they can serve as starting points for a larger, more substantive conversation on the uplifting effects home gyms for women truly provide.
The Home Gym for Women as a Center for Health and Self Improvement
A dedicated space in one’s basement, garage, or spare bedroom is most definitely a luxury. We aren’t discounting this fact nor would we ever imply that those without access to such a space are bereft of the benefits that one provides.
However, a home gym for women is a space with the potential to enhance confidence and personal esteem, physical health, and general mental well-being. The fact that these spaces are located within or adjacent to one’s living space makes them deeply personal.
By default, these areas are safe spaces where women can focus exclusively on themselves and the specific benefits they are working to maximize without the common distractions and interruptions that are ever present in commercial gym facilities.
As much as a dedicated home gym for women allows for more focus on the self, it also fosters an atmosphere of collaborative progress and mutual support. As more and more women experience the life-altering benefits the home gym provides, more abundant opportunities to share personal triumphs and stories of growth with other enthusiasts. However, obstacles preventing shared growth can and do arise.
A large and, at times, seemingly insurmountable boundary to connecting with other women on similar journeys as our own is the feeling of isolation that is largely present in the home gym environment. As much as we can escape judging gazes and oftentimes crowded, chaotic spaces by retreating to our own private training areas, each act of intentionally creating our own spaces has the potential to isolate us from others.
Thankfully, there are a number of ways to combat these effects and to grow with others on their own health and fitness journeys. Let’s take a look at some of the methods you can try:
In-person Fitness Events
Just because you have (or are in the process of developing) your perfect home gym, doesn’t mean that you never train with others. In contrast, one of the best ways to remain motivated in your own health and fitness pursuits is to learn from and grow with others on the same or similar paths.
In-person events focused on promoting healthy outcomes are some of the best places to not only make new like-minded friends, but also to reconnect with existing acquaintances. In our opinion, events that focus on friendly competition and foster an environment for pushing oneself past their preconceived limits.
…and what better event could there be to accomplish these objectives than a powerlifting meet?
On March 8 (International Women’s Day), 2025, we are inviting every home gym lifting lady out there to our women’s only powerlifting competition. We are partnering with Ignite Performance and Fitness to facilitate this event and are excited to bring so many like-minded women together to celebrate each other while also providing the ideal venue for sharing personal experiences and growth stories.
Online Communities
Of course, travelling to in-person events can be logistically difficult, expensive, and, in many cases, impossible to work into our existing busy schedules. In the absence of being able to personally interact with others, dedicated online communities are excellent alternative options and can be especially beneficial when they foster open and honest communication.
We think there are few categories of online community that best complement home gym lifters:
- Dedicated Facebook Groups
Although searching for “home gym for women” online communities may be a little tricky, it isn’t too difficult to find Facebook groups that serve pretty niche fitness interests. The “Get Fit with RitFit” Facebook Group boasts over 1,000 members and vibrant discussions about all things “home gym”.
Groups like these are excellent for getting answers about gym equipment, gushing about new PRs, and even getting tips and pointers about proper technique and training splits. With active and empathetic moderators, discussions remain respectful and focused on collective growth and improvement.
- Online Challenge Communities
Just because you can’t make it to our powerlifting meet doesn’t mean you can’t participate in friendly competition against fellow home gym trainees. Online challenge communities regularly host a variety of different kinds of fitness events that are designed to promote consistency in training and resiliency in pushing to set new personal records.
Although many online fitness challenges involve a goal to “lift the most weight” or to “run the fastest”, many others challenge lifters to devote a set number of days to fitness endeavors over the course of one month. The RitFit 21-day challenges shatter gender biases in the fitness industry by focusing on consistent effort rather than on sheer weight lifted.
Ultimately, online challenge communities are excellent spaces that allow so many women from all over the world to encourage one another and succeed together.
Empowering Ourselves…and Each Other
As we continue to celebrate our successes and those that have come before us, we are reminded that these festivities should not be relegated to a specific day or month, but should be ongoing and ever present in our daily lives.
In reality, every time you set foot in your ideal training space, take part in an in-person fitness event or participate in an online fitness challenge, is another opportunity to amplify your authentic experience as a woman and inspiring others as they navigate their own fitness journeys.
We may not always physically be together, but we are always together on our journeys.
