Being a woman, especially one interested in fitness and health, it’s easy to fall into the social media rabbit hole of toxic gym influencers. Especially when I was new to the gym and fitness, I was constantly wondering whether or not these influencers were genuine or if they were only trying to sell a program, promote scam products like “debloat” drinks, or just give terrible advice that can trigger disordered eating. It can be hard to find uplifting people who give good advice on fitness or lifting. I’ve been interested in science-backed fitness for years and have seen my fair share of both wholesome and toxic fitness trends and influences. So, here are my top 6 favorite female gym influencers (in no particular order) and why I like them.
- sands x fitness
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For all of the premed/pre-dentistry girls, Sandhya or Sandsxfitness is worth looking into. She’s a current dental student, and she shows that you can be both a woman in STEM and balance a healthy life and the gym. She’s shown her fitness and weight loss transformation, but always does it in a way that isn’t triggering. Most of her videos are for entertainment rather than education, and she shows a lot of kindness and humor in the gym community. Showing the positive sides of so-called “gym rats” is so important, especially showing how the gym can bring so much happiness to our lives rather than creating negative mindsets.
- marissa mcnamara
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If you’re looking for fitness inspiration regarding workouts and meal prep, Marissa is definitely worth a follow. My favorite videos by her are her workouts and the exercises she does for each day in her routine. She goes more in-depth on her YouTube, but if you’re new to the gym and don’t know what to do, her videos definitely help. I see a lot of videos on YouTube and Instagram that are random exercises that don’t do anything, but Marissa’s videos aren’t like that.
Her workouts are weight-lifting oriented; almost all of them are ones that I still do in the gym and are backed by science for effectiveness. For the most part, her meal prep videos are nice, but primarily for aesthetics and aren’t realistic for most people, especially college students.
- esther burden
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If you’re a girl intimidated by the gym’s free weight section or just prefer dumbbell-only/at-home workouts, Esther is a great influencer to watch! She always posts amazing workouts and preaches about positive mindsets for the gym and how not everything you see online is real. She also has been very open about body image, comparing yourself to others, and how she has been compared to others online for being the “curvy gym influencer.” Her Instagram posts and YouTube videos definitely heal a bit of my mindset when I watch her, so I highly recommend her content to those who have struggled with their relationship with the gym and food.
- whitney simmons
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Whiney is definitely one of the most popular gym influencers on this list. She posts a lot of workouts and inspiration for how to build your workout split and is very similar to Marissa. Whitney promotes her workout app, Alive; however, her Instagram and YouTube videos are still 100% worth watching. She doesn’t promote any brands with false advertising or any toxic diet/gym culture and also does cute videos like Sunday resets and other extra content. Her videos aren’t just informative on how to do specific exercises but also extremely entertaining. Combining humor and gym advice is one of the best gems on social media, especially if the advice is high quality. I love seeing her content on my feed and happily recommend her.
- lilylifts
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Lilly is such a wholesome gym girl to see on my feed. Her videos aren’t as focused on educational content and are mostly for entertainment. She shows the positive sides of the gym community and posts a lot about how we’re often scared to show that we don’t know something or need to ask for help in the gym. She has helped me overcome a lot of gym anxiety and not be afraid to try something new or talk to other people. She says, “Even people that have been going to the gym for years get things wrong.” That’s so important for intermediate and advanced athletes and gym-goers to remember. Just because we’ve been in the gym for a long time doesn’t mean we have to be perfect.
- chayse byrd
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Chayse is definitely one of my favorite influencers out there. She’s always so real and transparent about mental health and her relationship with the gym. Chayse is also one of the funniest gym influencers that I follow. My favorite videos by her for a long time were her iconic “piss pant reviews” where she would test to see if different shorts and leggings were sweatproof. She also posts funny things like running on the treadmill in stilettos, or trying fitness trends/products and reviewing them. Her content is very much like seeing a real person on social media, and not an overhyped influencer who doesn’t seem that relatable no matter how much we try.
This list could be so much longer than it is, and there are so many other female fitness content creators that I love, but I think these six are the ones I would recommend the most!