A gym owner said women need to 'cover up.' This personal trainer's response is scorched earth.
"Men are still saying it's our fault they don't know where to look. Sorry, that's a you problem."

Can the gym please just be a safe space?
Back in April, Irish gym owner Paul Byrne came under fire for accusing women (technically, he said “young girls,” making it all the more creepy) of being too scantily clad for the gym, saying they should stop wearing what he called “workout bikinis” because they're distracting and intimidating for men. He was even so bold as to say their behavior was “narcissistic.”
Unsurprisingly, this didn’t sit well with many women. Pretty soon, it was on trend for women to film themselves working out in their so-called “workout bikinis.”
It became glaringly apparent that these scandalous outfits, while form-fitting and flattering (how dare they!), were certainly not what Byrne hyperbolically described.
@madisonraehildreth he’ll be clutching his pearls when he sees what our actual bikinis look like
♬ original sound - Newstalk
What constitutes proper gym attire for women isn’t exactly a new debate. Still, personal trainer Nathalie Lennon brings a whole new layer of nuance to the conversation, particularly how it relates to female autonomy and their own personal relationship to their bodies.
“For years, women were told to be skinny, and now we’re embracing strength and muscle, and we’re being shamed again,” she said, also calling out how “outdated” and “problematic” it is to blame a woman for someone else’s distraction.”
“It’s an issue on them if they can't manage their distractions. It’s not our responsibility to fix it with regards to what we wear.”
Lennon also highlighted the obvious double standard that exists, as men are often able to wear whatever they want to the gym without being scrutinized for it.
“[Men] taking off their tops in the middle of a workout to check out their muscle definition. Why aren’t they getting scrutinized the same way? I'm sure that can be intimidating for some people who are new to the gym, too.”
She even called out Byrne for apparently posting (since-deleted) pictures of himself from bodybuilding competitions in “incredible shape” but sporting "tighty-whities.”
@nathalielennon Just sharing my opinion. I’m shocked still… 😑 #womenempowerment @Newstalk ♬ original sound - Nathalie Lennon
“That’s fine! All the power to you! But for you to be one of the men…to make this comment about young women who are trying to defy what we have been told for years about being skinny, who are going into the gym to finally embrace strength, and muscle mass, and train in a way that’s gonna support them for the rest of their lives…I don’t have the words…”
Women, of course, are not only accused of dressing “for attention” in the workout room, but, as Lennon noted, it feels especially frustrating, and downright disheartening, for it to occur in a place that should be for introspection and “self improvement.” Women haven’t even had this type of public space available to them for long, unless you count the nonsensical “reducing salons” of the 1940’s…and even those weren’t co-ed!
Being a place of self-improvement, Lennon argued that women should be allowed to wear whatever clothes make them feel confident and train properly. And given that so many huge brands have done “endless research” on how to make that happen for women, maybe it shouldn’t be up to male opinion.
@izzywarnerrr LOL @DFYNE ♬ original sound - Newstalk
Bringing it all home, Lennon didn't mince words as she said, “The gym is a shared space means mutual respect. Not control.”
And that pretty much sums it all up, doesn't it? Women should be able to choose whether they want to work out in form-fitting sports attire or loose, baggy sweatpants. The key word there being choose.
Now, let's move on to the actually controversial gym etiquette debate: cellphones.