Why I Banned Cameras From My Gym 📸❌
- Fit with Frank
- Mar 4
- 2 min read
This week on The Voice of Fitness Reason Podcast I admitted something:
Tripods in gyms trigger me.
Not because I hate social media.
Not because I think people shouldn’t document their progress.
But because it highlights something bigger about where fitness is heading.
And it forced me to ask a hard question:
Who is this workout actually for?
My Barn Gym Was Built for Presence
When I chose to build our barn out in a field, away from mirrors, shop fronts and noise, it wasn’t just for aesthetic reasons (although that is admittedly a HUGE perk!) - it was intentional. I wanted a space where you could train without feeling watched. Without wondering if you’re in the background of someone’s reel or adjusting your posture because a lens is pointed your way.
In our barn, there are NO phones out during sessions. NO Cameras. NO “just one quick story.” mid-lunge.
Not to be strict.
But to protect something.
Your Experience > Someone Else’s Content
Think about modern fitness culture for a moment.
How much of it is designed around the member’s experience… and how much is designed around how it looks online?
Big lighting. Carefully framed angles. Workouts built to look sexy on Instagram.
Meanwhile, the person actually doing the session might feel:
Self-conscious
Distracted
Worried about being filmed
Like they’re part of someone else’s production
This matters, to me anyway.
A Question Worth Asking
Let’s bring it back to you.
Do you feel more focused, or more distracted, when your phone is nearby?
There’s no right answer. Just awareness.
Phones change our behaviour. Even subtly, with the odd Whatsapp message here, or scroll of Facebook there - it can feel impossible to put our phones away and focus on anything else for more than just a few minutes.
What Do You Want From Your Workouts?
Not what looks impressive.
Not what gets engagement.
What do you actually want?
To feel strong?
To build confidence?
To improve your health long-term?
To escape noise for an hour?
Commercial gyms will likely only get more filmed, more documented, more online. That’s the direction of travel.
So I made a conscious choice to offer the opposite.
A place where your body isn’t content. It isn’t branding. It's yours.
And maybe the real question isn’t whether gyms should allow cameras.
Maybe it’s this:
Are you training for your future self, or for the internet? 🤔💭
Listen to more on this weeks VOFR Podcast:
Hope it helps!
FRANK
your Personal Trainer / Self-Confessed-Selfie-King
