Despite the constant rain storms throughout mid-February, the Girl Gains Club at CSUN is shifting its gears and organizing tabling events to recruit new members into the weightlifting club.

Co-President Carolina Guzman shared the history of CSUN’s Girl Gains chapter, which she has participated in for three years. Guzman helped to start the chapter by promoting a place where girls can feel comfortable at the gym, or in this case, the Student Recreation Center (SRC).

“I know when I started here, I would go to the weightlifting area in the gym, and I felt very intimidated because all I saw were guys so I had to get my friend to go to the gym with me so I wouldn’t be alone,” Guzman said.

According to the co-president, the club’s next steps are to find a space for weekly meetings and check-ins and reach out to more potential members through tabling and social media.

Girl Gains has chapters at approximately 24 colleges, including a few smaller chapters that have emerged in high schools. Only two are in the LA area. Different groups come together a few times each semester to participate in workouts. Last year, the University of Southern California, the University of California, Los Angeles and CSUN collaborated to go hiking and have fun.

The chapter at CSUN began in much the same way as the organization, through TikTok. Elisabeth Bradley and Karina Glaze amassed a large following during the pandemic, coinciding with TikTok’s rising popularity. After starting at the University of California, San Diego, Bradley observed a lack of women at the school gym and decided to start Girl Gains in 2020. Guzman followed her example, channeling her experience on sports teams since high school.

“I have always been in a team,” she said. “Yes, we were all dying together, but it really bonded us. I felt like it was easier to do physical activity rather than alone because we were all pushing each other.”

The club schedules gym sessions during the week, led by one of the board members. It also holds weekly meetings for check-ins, meal planning and guest speakers.

Their biggest obstacle has been encouraging members to attend gym sessions throughout their busy school day.

“When I graduate, I do want this to continue because I feel like this is such an important club here,” Guzman said, sharing how when she first started in the club, she reached out to many on-campus athletes and spread the word, getting a lot of good feedback and participation. Her goal has always been to normalize women being in the gym and make it fun rather than stressful.

Treasurer Ebony Lubin, a biology major, joined the club simultaneously with Guzman. Although her knowledge of weightlifting was limited before she entered college, thanks to the club, she has learned how to incorporate full-body workouts into her daily routine to relieve stress and get a better night’s sleep.

Once Lubin began college, she had a heavier workload and went to the gym less, but found the motivation within the club to push each other through “one more rep.”

“It’s always about the outcome,” she said. “To be able to say that was a good workout and relax. Just the feeling of it, sometimes it’s hard to find where to start, but once you start, you learn to like it. You find your strengths and weaknesses.”

Secretary Annie Duncan is only in her first semester with the club but has already started her weightlifting journey in a community of girls who prefer to work out with friends. As a beginner, she wants to expand the idea of a judgment-free environment where people feel comfortable regardless of their level or form in the gym and no longer worry about the number of people present.

“We want to extend the narrative that lifting isn’t just for guys, like, girls can be just lifters too,” Duncan said.

According to Guzman, Girl Gains also elaborates on the importance of mental health through going to the gym. During the winter break, each board member created and posted a video of a typical day. Each one ended their day with a workout, showing the importance of having that break to center themselves.

“We just want to normalize seeing more girls in the gym and get past that gender role of the gym being meant only for guys,” Duncan said. “It can totally be a female-dominated space.”