Sacramento LGBTQ+ gym makes working out welcoming for all

THE GYM.

What feelings do those words evoke? Excitement? Stress? Intimidation? 

For someone who has a different gender expression than the norm, the experience of a traditional gym can be extra uncomfortable. 

That’s according to Hayden Glenn. He owns Queers and Allies Fitness in East Sacramento. 

“One of the things we've been hearing a lot is just, the gym outside of this has been way too intimidating to approach,” he says.

Glenn is a trans man, and says there were all sorts of ways commercial gyms didn’t work for him. He felt he was treated differently and was uneasy in locker rooms. 

Before he underwent top surgery, a procedure to remove breast tissue, he had to deal with wearing a binder. That’s a wrap to wear around your chest to flatten it. It makes people feel and present more masculine.  

“Binding is very restrictive,” he says. “So it is hard to get a full workout in while I'm wearing it, but I feel like I have to wear it, or else people are gonna know, you know?”

Glenn says things like the binder discomfort were clues for him that an explicitly queer fitness space was needed. Enough clues added up, and he began training clients at a home gym. When he had too many clients to fit them all in, he decided to open Queers and Allies Fitness. 

“Feel free to come without your binder. I'm still going to use your pronouns or whatever you prefer,” Glenn says. “I'm still gonna look at you as a guy or a nonbinary masc person or however you identify. I got you.”

After a year and a half of being open, the gym has about 70 members, most of whom get one-on-one personal training. 

Queers and Allies Fitness is located in East Sacramento at 1770 36th St. in Sacramento.Kate Wolffe/CapRadio

Mari Morgan says after years of avoiding the gym because of a history of eating disorders and familial pressure, she’s reached body neutrality at Queers and Allies, a big win for her. 

“I was very scared of the gym. I did not want to go to the gym,” she says. “So working out with Hayden at the beginning at his home gym made me feel a lot more comfortable. And then transitioning here — where I know that everyone is some kind of queer or if they're not, at least they are super chill — and it's like I feel much safer being here.” 

She’s discovered deadlifting. Her personal record is 195 pounds, and she’s aiming for 200 by the end of the year. 

“It's really nice to have a weight lifting space that's not just overrun with gym bros,” Morgan says. “Or the gym bros that are here are all lesbians, which is totally fine.”

Sacramento resident Nate Lloyd also works with Glenn. He’s a trans man too and says their work has been helpful.

“Just walking in the door, you know that it's a safe place to be,” Lloyd says.

In his time at the gym, Lloyd has recovered from top surgery, and built up muscle in his chest. 

“if you have been a person who hasn't felt at home in their body for a long time — and for me, it was over 20 years — there's a lot of emotion that comes with it too,” he says. “And so having somebody who understands that and kind of, you know, approaches things with that in mind is really nice.”  

Queers and Allies Fitness client Nate Lloyd works out on June 18, 2024Kate Wolffe/CapRadio

Still, the transition is a journey, Lloyd says.

“It's not an easy thing to kind of adapt to being more comfortable,” he explains. “I mean, that sounds kind of strange, but when you're becoming comfortable, there's some discomfort that comes along with that.”

That discomfort is what Glenn hopes to ease. 

“This is a space where it's come however you want, you know, just be who you are, come work out,” Glenn says. “We're all on the same journey, we’re all working towards health.”

Queers and Allies Fitness is located at 1770 36th St. in Sacramento.