Culture

The gym used to fucking terrify me as a gender non-conforming AFAB (assigned female at birth) and proudly masc lesbian. The weights room is every aspect of heteronormative, patriarchal society funnelled into one space: sweaty men, an open space where you can be perceived from every angle, and even more sweaty men. 

This probably explains why it took me four years at Otago to work up the courage to finally enter Unipol and get my swole on. And it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. Regular physical activity helps me fill out clothes in a way I prefer, feel more at home in my skin, and (adamantly-against-exercise 14-year-old me would hate hearing this) has improved my mental health significantly. 

But it wasn’t easy to get to this point. Unwilling to try a personal trainer for fear of them not understanding my queer perspective, I started out DROWNED in information from r/fitness and flailed around, figuring out what to do myself, for a good couple of months. I’m willing to bet there are some transmascs, enbys, and gender non-conformists like me out there that have at some point considered going to the gym to get that sweet rush of euphoria, but felt equally put off by how inaccessible the entire space feels. 

Consider me your big, queer gym guide! Below is a guide giving you the basic facts to build a routine that works for you, helping you to become the swollest, gayest version of yourself possible. Every exercise listed can be carried out in the “light weights” room within Unipol. I totally get that the actual weights room is intense and therefore daunting to any gym newbie, especially for those of us who are not cishet, so I’ve tried my best to help you out there. Unipol also offers a new “low sensory” space on their mezzanine floor which can be a great place to start and build up confidence with lighter weights.

Big Disclaimer: I am not a personal trainer. All advice is based on personal experience. My friends tell me that I never stop yapping about 1) the gym, and 2) being gay as hell, so I like to think I know what I’m talking about at least a little bit. It’s also been fact-checked by Unipol staff. Unipol offers sessions with trainers for $22, many who have worked with rainbow clients before.

The Basics

The “Split”

No, it's not a dance move. It’s not even a banana dessert. When gym bros say “split” what they mean is how your workout is structured, day to day. In other words, on what day you work which body part, and how those workouts themselves are formatted. One of the most popular – and the one I will be recommending here – is the PPL or “Push-Pull-Legs” split. 

The split is three days long and, you guessed it, works either your pushing, pulling, or leg muscles on a given day. This way you can get a comprehensive, full-body workout within three days, or six days if you train it twice a week for max swoleness. Newbies: I recommend you start at one PPL cycle a week, until you’ve built a habit. Make sure to take at least one rest day a week if you do opt for the double PPL cycle. She’s straightforward, backed by science, and my personal favourite.

Sets & Reps

Before we get into the layout of the PPL split, two terms are important here: sets and reps, the bread and butter of setting up a good workout. Sets refer to one round of a specific exercise. Reps refer to how many repetitions of the exercise you complete in a set. For example, if a split calls for “3 x 6-10 Chest Presses”, what it’s asking you to do is 3 sets of between 6 and 10 reps of chest presses. So in practice, you would do between 6 and 10 chest presses in a row (1 set of 6-10 reps) and then rest for a minute or so to regain your energy, before repeating another 6-10 presses, and then repeating this again. This way, you have completed 3 “sets” of 6-10 “reps” of chest presses before moving on to the next exercise.

Weight & Form

I’m specifically not mentioning how heavy your weights should be because it varies greatly from person to person. Instead, my advice is start from the bottom and work your way up. Grab a weight (literally start with the 1kg dumbbells or lightest weight on the machine) and test how many reps you can do for a certain exercise. If you can reach the recommended number of reps for that exercise, congrats: you’re at the right weight! If you can easily do more reps than recommended, try moving up a weight until you hit the sweet spot. 

How heavy you lift for each exercise will depend on the muscle you’re working – each with a different size and strength. You’ll have to work this out for each exercise – use your notes app to keep track of this. You’ll know you’re ready to move up a weight when you can easily hit the recommended number of reps for the exercise. Try chucking in an extra set at the current weight when this happens, and then try moving up a weight during your next workout back at the normal number of sets.

While I’d love to talk through the correct form of each exercise I list, that would take up a massive chunk of Critic and I’m trying to be concise. Instead, I’m simply going to name the exercises I recommend each day and trust you to hop onto YouTube to watch the correct form in action. Don’t be embarrassed, I spent the first two months of my gym journey sitting on the machines I was about to use with a YouTube Short tutorial playing on my phone. There is an abundance of information out there – simply type “[exercise name] form” and you’ll quickly learn the correct technique. Please invest time in this. Lifting a lighter weight with good form throughout will save you a bunch of injuries down the line.

But First, Warm-Up!

For the love of God, warm up before you lift! Don’t go in there and raw dog it. My sole gym regret is refusing to properly warm up and instead rushing to lift the heaviest weight I could at the time, like I was Ōtepoti’s own Ms Trunchball. My right shoulder has consistently given me trouble for the past two years because of this, and rehabbing it is a slow, draining process. Start with some light cardio for five minutes or general stretches before you lift – focusing on the parts of your body you’ll be working. 

You should also always do one “warm-up” set before each exercise, on top of the sets listed. Use a light weight for this one (around 50-70% of the weight you’d normally lift for the rest of your sets) to get your muscles ready and primed for the heavier weight. For example, if you normally lateral raise 4kgs on your sets, start with one warm up set at 2kgs and do about 12-20 reps. Then move onto your 3 “working” sets with 4kgs as listed.

Genderqueer Safety Warning: If you wear a binder, do not lift in it! It can seriously mess up your ribs. I know it sucks to hear and is in no way ideal, but your health is the priority here. Instead, try the classic combo of a well-fitting sports bra and oversized hoodie. Your breathing will thank you in the long term.

Workout Routine

Day 1: Push

Push day trains the muscles in your upper body responsible for pushing – namely your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Building bigger shoulders can help take emphasis away from your hips and waist, which creates a more masculine physique and can help alleviate dysphoria in these areas. Building a bigger chest may sound like a nightmare to us genderqueers, but putting on chest muscle can actually help reduce the appearance of other – ahem – *features* in this area. Finally, triceps make up about two-thirds of your arm, so building these is crucial to achieving your dream guns. It’s an all-around win. Let’s get into it.

• 3 x 6-10 Chest Press (works chest) = Use either dumbbells and a bench (if one is free), or the chest press machine. Don’t go stupidly heavy on these lifts – you can seriously hurt your shoulders.
• 3 x 8-12 Chest Fly (works chest) = The light weights room has a nice fly machine (called a pec deck). This is the exercise that mimics giving a hug and trains your chest muscles in a second way that complements the chest press.
• 3 x 8-12 Shoulder Press (works shoulders) = Again, I recommend the shoulder press machine in UniPol as it really makes your shoulder muscles work. Push through and press up – feel those deltoids burn!
• 3 x 12-20 Lateral Raise (works shoulders) = Use dumbbells for this one. Prepare to be humbled, these never get easier.
• 3 x 10-14 Tricep Pushdown (works triceps) = My favourite thing about Unipol is their tricep pushdown machine. Grab it while you can. Ensure you keep the backs of your arms planted on the armrest throughout the lift.
• 3 x 10-14 Tricep Overhead Extension (works triceps) = The only time during push day you’ll need the cable machine. Grab the rope attachment, set the cable to about pelvis height, stand facing away from the machine and push the rope up above your head. These are also humbling.

Day 2: Pull

You guessed it – just as push day trains your pushing muscles, pull day trains the pulling muscles of your upper body. This broadly refers to your back and biceps. A bigger, stronger back also aids in creating a more masculine silhouette and can help fix your posture (let’s be real: to be genderqueer is to slouch). When it comes to arms, bicep gains are just fun to flex. Pull day is my personal favourite of the lot and helps me feel particularly in tune with my body. I hope you like it, too.

• 3 x 8-14 Lat Pulldown (works mid-lower back) = The light weights room has a few lat pulldown machines. I prefer the cable one right at the entrance. Remember to lean slightly back and drive down with your elbows.
• 3 x 8-14 Seated Row (works mid-lower back) = The peanut butter to the lat pulldown’s jelly, these two exercises together really work your back well. Use one of the machines available and focus on getting a deep stretch each rep.
• 3 x 12-20 Rear Delt Fly (works rear of shoulders) = Unipol only has one rear delt fly machine in the light weights room, so grab it while you can. At the start, this feels a lot like you’re a bird attempting to flap its wings but stick with it. Focus on getting the full range of motion and bringing your arms back as far as you comfortably can.
• 3 x 12-20 Shrugs (works upper back) = Shrugs help build your traps – a key muscle for a more masculine physique. Use either dumbbells in each hand, or grab one of the bars in both. You can go quite heavy on these as the range of motion in the exercise is short. Shrug your shoulders like the angsty, indifferent queer you are.
• 3 x 10-12 Bicep Curl (works biceps) = I prefer to use a bar, but some use dumbbells if their wrists hurt. We all know what a bicep curl looks like. Pay tribute to Olivia Newton John with your best rendition of the ‘Physical’ music video. Try not to swing while you curl; keep it controlled.
• 3 x 10-15 Hammer Curl (works biceps) = Like a bicep curl, but you hold the dumbbell sideways like you’re holding a hammer. Changing your grip in this way helps work the second head of the bicep muscle and ensures a well-rounded arm. You can do either curl variation standing or seated, but with the amount of benches in the light weights room you’ll probably end up standing, so brace that core.

Day 3: Legs

After spending two days training your upper body, everything waist down is trained on leg day. This generally is going to be the day you can move the most weight as your legs have lots of muscles in them, including your quads, hamstrings, and calves. We’ll be prioritising quads here – helping give you that thicc boi look. Be warned though: the leg soreness (called DOMS in the fitness world) the next day can be a killer. Prepare to be bedridden on your rest day.

• 3 x 8-12 Leg Press (works all around legs) = Use either of the leg press machines in Unipol. I prefer the one where the seat is stationary and you push the platform away from you, but this is all personal preference.
• 3 x 12-15 Leg Extension (works quads) = My favourite leg day exercise and a really nice machine. Concentrate on getting complete reps in here and bringing your legs up slowly and fully. 
• 3 x 12-15 Leg Curls (works hamstrings) = My least favourite leg day exercise and a not so nice machine. The Unipol machine requires you to lie down prone which feels pretty vulnerable the first time you try it, but this quickly subsides. Curl your legs all the way back until the leg rest hits your butt. It’s the gym equivalent of backshots.
• 3 x 8-12 Hip Adductor (works inside of quads) = This one feels like you’re training to crush watermelons with your thighs. Jump on the adductor machine and make sure you’re pushing inwards, otherwise you’ve made the mistake of hopping on the hip ABductor machine instead (trust me, we’ve all done it).
• 3 x 15-20 Calf Raises (works calves) = Use either the machine or hold dumbbells in your hands with your heels hanging off the edge of a platform. Focus on getting the full rep up and down. 

Abs & Cardio

You may have noticed that within the PPL split there are no exercises that specifically target the abdominal area. This is intentional. The function of your abs is to keep your core stable and steady as you move, so they are indirectly worked throughout a bunch of lifts. For me, abs are the cherry on top of the cake that is working out; adding them can’t hurt, but it's also not super necessary.

• 2-3 x 15 Cable Crunches = Unipol has a kicking ab machine. It's the one where you crunch yourself up like a bug. If you feel motivated, chuck a couple of sets of these in at the end of one of your PPL days (I generally do these at the end of leg day, but it’s up to you).

That brings me to cardio. Ahhh cardio, I love to hate you. Why must you be so important to overall health? Seriously though, try not to skip cardio. Even ten minutes of walking on one of the Unipol treadmills at the end of a gym sesh can help tremendously towards your fitness goals. Elevate that heart rate a little, I believe in you!

The “Do-Everything-In-One-Session” Day

I get it. Going to the gym three days a week in a row can be pretty unrealistic, especially when you factor in studying, working, or just not being in the headspace to go. Life can be like that, I’m not judging. That’s why I’ve also included a one day split that pretty much trains the whole body in one session. Think of it as the TL;DR of the PPL split, taking all the best bits of each day and compiling it into one. Remember to finish with some cardio!

I’ve used this one before when I haven’t had the time for a full PPL cycle. The reality is that, if you are capable, any movement is better than none at all. If you use this workout once, that’s a win in my book, and it should be one in yours.

• 3 x 6-10 Chest Press (works chest)
• 3 x 12-20 Lateral Raise (works shoulders)
• 3 x 8-14 Lat Pulldown (works back)
• 3 x 10-14 Tricep Pushdown (works triceps)
• 3 x 10-12 Bicep Curl (works biceps)
• 3 x 8-12 Leg Press (works all around leg)
• 3 x 12-15 Leg Extension (works quads)