A Cardiff based personal trainer and weightlifting business have highlighted the need for better sport gear that’s specifically made for women
For female athletes, the pursuit of sporting excellence often comes with unexpected obstacles like ill-fitting sportswear and uncomfortable equipment. ‘Men and women are not built the same, as such the equipment that they use should reflect this’, explained Lucy Wooldridge, the founder of Lolli Lifting.
Lolli Lifting is a sportswear company, looking to revolutionise the fitness gear market for women.
“I identified the needs of female gym goers through my own lived experience,” said Lolli Lifting founder, Wooldridge, “I continued to see the same old black lifting belts dominating the market, all designed with a male audience in mind.”
“The lack of options for women both in terms of style and quality, inspired me to create a brand that was solely focused around female fitness gear”, explained Wooldridge, “It made me feel like the gym was a space designed for men, and that women’s needs had not been met.”
The impact on female athletes
Wooldridge explained that weightlifting belts are designed to sit between the top of the hips and the bottom of the rib cage to provide stability during lifts. Men have longer torsos than women on average, therefore if a woman used a belt designed for a man, the belt would cause discomfort in the woman’s ribs.
“It would be like going to your boyfriend’s house and using his ex-girlfriend’s toothbrush. Sure, it will work, but it won’t make you feel welcome”, explained the Lolli Lifting founder.
Lolli Lifting offers gym equipment in a variety of sizes and pastel colours, aiming to make women feel confident when using them. Wooldridge explained that styling gym equipment is also different for men and women, “confidence is key for any gym girl. We believe that when you look good, you feel good.”
“I wanted to design lifting gear specifically for women to show that women are just as at home in the gym as men are and can of course lift heavy too!”, she said.
Lolli Lifting is making a difference for women in the sporting world. They are also looking to release new products such as barbell pads that protect women’s hip bones when performing hip thrusts.
A wider issue
Wooldridge’s experience is echoed by many female athletes. Sharmin Aktar, a personal trainer from Cardiff, highlights the issue: “A lot of brands don’t think about women with different body shapes or sizes, and that’s frustrating. Sports bras, for example, can be a nightmare to find—some don’t give enough support or feel comfortable.”
The lack of suitable sportswear for female athletes appears to be an issue across various sports. A recent BBC Research study looked into the challenges of finding kit and equipment for women.
The BBC Sport questionnaire found that more than two-thirds of 143 elite British sportswomen said the majority of equipment they’ve used is not specifically designed for women.
“It is symptomatic of gender inequality and sexism in the sports sector that the first football boot in the world designed around female feet came to the market less than four years ago” said Caroline Nokes, the Chair of Women and Equalities Committee from a report by the Committee of MPs.
How women’s feet differ to men’s:
- Higher arch
- Shallower big toe
- Wider forefoot
- Smaller instep circumference
- Narrower heel
The BBC Sport research also revealed many female athletes suffer with discomfort and sometimes injury due to the lack of equipment and sportswear designed solely for women.
Dame Laura Kenny discussed this on The Telegraph’s Women’s Sport Podcast about the pain which wearing men’s cycling shorts has caused her and how women’s shorts weren’t created until recently.
“I find it mad that it took until then, 2016 is not that long ago really”, said Kenny, “The amount of female cyclists that must have passed through the system, that have had to have operations because the kit was based around men rather than women.”
This lack of variety in sportswear for women can have a negative impact on female athlete’s performance and confidence. “If you’re uncomfortable, you’re not going to focus properly”, said personal-trainer, Aktar, “Imagine running or working out and having to adjust your clothes every few minutes-that’s so distracting!”
It’s like we’re always compromising on something
A call for change
To address the issue, it is evident that the sportswear industry needs to change. “I think brands need to do better by listening to us”, explained Aktar, “They should work with women!”
Lolli Lifting is leading the way in this movement, offering stylish and functional equipment with the aim to empower women and perform at their best.
“We want women to feel confident in the gym, so we design equipment especially for them”, said Wooldridge, “We do not want gym girls to have to settle with things designed for men.”
“The industry is currently doing a much better job of catering to female athletes than ten years ago”, explained the business owner, “However, on the equipment side of the market, there remains a lot to be desired.”
Wooldridge hopes to see more products designed specifically for women in the future, “rather than having to make do with equipment designed for men, which is both less comfortable and less stylish.”