Frequently Asked Questions

Olympic weightlifting is the sport with a barbell you see at the Olympics. It involves two lifts: the snatch and the clean & jerk, and in both, the barbell is lifted overhead at speed.

Bodybuilding involves lifting to maximise the size of your muscles, and posing at competitions to show off your work.

Powerlifting is three specific lifts: squat, bench and deadlift.

Strength training is pretty much everything else you can do with a barbell - though we do also include the three powerlifting movements.

Short answer – no. You have to train and eat deliberately to gain muscle – ask some of our weightlifters what hard work it is. Besides, we do most of our training in the strength-building range rather than the bodybuilding range.

You don’t! Don’t feel you need to reach a certain level of fitness, or lose weight in order to be ready to start. Come as you are and we'll meet you where you are.

Yes — Intro to Barbells on Saturday mornings at 10:30 is a women-only session (and our most popular).

Pilates is good for you, but it’s not strength training - and you need strength training for your muscles and bones.

Probably not. Doing some presses or squats with a pair of 3kg dumbbells isn’t going to do that much for you; you need heavy weights that challenge you, even at low reps.

Absolutely not - we promise! We’re all about strength.

If you’ve had an injury and been cleared by your doctor or physio, yes. If you have no injury but just have niggly pain, starting to lift will usually improve your symptoms considerably. If there’s anything you can’t do we can always find adaptations or alternatives.

If you’re an elite athlete training to the limits of your body’s abilities, maybe! For everyone else, it’s generally pretty good for your back, knees and joints.

Our minimum age requirement is 18. We have no upper limit, and lifting is so beneficial for older people that it’s worth the effort to start. We have people of all ages in our gym.