In a landscape commonly filled with toe-curling grunts, an abundance of creatine and a cartoonish displays of masculinity, Girls in Lifting and Fitness (GILFs), a 5C fitness club for women and gender nonconforming students, aims to bring a new image to the gym.
Hoping to create a safe and positive space for its members, GILFs is entirely student-run. Sessions are run by coaches, students with more experience with lifting, who help to instruct members in their routines. The lifting sessions are held from 5-6 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps’ Roberts Pavilion and Saturdays and Sundays at Pomona-Pitzer’s Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness.
According to the club’s president, May Lin PO ’24, around 15 people consistently attend each meeting, though over 300 students expressed interest for the club at the beginning of the fall semester during the annual club fair.
Lin founded GILFs in 2023 after years of playing sports and being involved in fitness. She said she created it because she wanted more people to experience the positive effects of routine exercise.
“I think going to the gym isn’t just going for 40 minutes and you’re done,” Lin said. “I think it teaches people a lot about consistency and seeing results but also loving yourself. I love seeing people being able to do certain types of workouts they never thought they could do, or seeing muscle growth, or improvement. It’s such a good confidence booster.”
The club uses their Instagram to spread awareness about their message, which largely focuses on mental health, sharing success stories and tips to their hundreds of followers.
“It’s not just about form, it’s not just about technique, but also asking how that feels for you in your body,” Lil Runyan PZ ’27 said. “I think trying to break some of the stigmas around lifting and fitness and what that means [is important]. Really thinking of health in a holistic way [is essential], especially for college students.”
Sam Machin PO ’24, who co-founded the club with Lin, said her goal with GILFs is to create a welcoming space for those who have felt intimidated or out of place in the gym due to their gender.
“Our main focus is kind of demystifying the gym as this space for men and masculine figures,” Machin said. “And so we really just want to work on making the gym less intimidating, having more information about what each machine does, proper form and what that looks like and how to work as a group.”
According to Machin, the different groups and coaches have their own traditions and practices, but every session features a set plan. The leaders shift the routine each day to focus on a different part of the body and will typically demonstrate the exercises for the group, helping throughout the session with form and answering questions.
In addition to providing planned workouts and lifting help, the leaders create a supportive environment that fosters teamwork and community.
“I wanted it to be a space where you just come in and you know you’re right, you have your people and you don’t have to worry about anything else,” Machin said. “I really appreciate all the people I’ve met, I love them. We have people who keep going to every session and it’s just so nice to catch up with each others’ weeks and stuff.”
Runyan echoed Machin, noting that as a member, the club has provided her with a supportive community both in and outside of the gym.
“On Fridays after our 5-6 p.m. lifting session we’ll do dinners all together,” Runyan said. “[In the club there’s a culture of] both training together and making that a welcoming space but also mirroring that with this level of connection and comfortability.”
With both founders graduating this spring, Lin is hopeful that some members of the club will rise to leadership positions. She said she hopes they will continue the club’s success into the future and expand both its membership and what types of activities it offers.
“Hopefully we can reach all of the five campuses, because membership mostly comes from Scripps, Pomona and Pitzer [Colleges],” Lin said. “[We want to start] teaching different things like yoga, cycling, running, beyond just lifting.”
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