The Rise Of The Gym Fraud

They’re head-to-toe in SPORTSWEAR and have told everyone about the killer WORKOUT they’re about to do, but they have no intention of EXERCISING... Are you one of them?

- Louisa Pritchard

Walking up to the school gates with her daughters, Mbali, 41, stopped to chat to the other moms. “Off for a run?” asked one, nodding approvingly at her Nike Power Legendary Training Tights, Puma All Eyes On Me Tank Top and Asics Gel Nimbus 19 trainers. “Yes, another 5k this morning,” she replied. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth; instead of pounding the pavements, Mbali was planning nothing more energetic than going home to sort through some overdue paperwork. She’s one of a secret tribe of ‘gym frauds’: women who pretend they work out to make themselves feel better about the money they’re blowing on a costly – and unused – gym membership. Or, increasingly, to be seen to be keeping up with their clean-living-obsessed friends.

These days, it can feel like we’re all expected to be doing something energetic. Is it because of celebrities who post daily workout selfies, as comedienne Tumi Morake does, and, lately, picture posts by the former queen of talk, Noeleen Maholwana- Sangqu, of herself heading to the gym? Or, is it because of friends time when exercise was seen as a boring pursuit but no longer. Over the past few years, it has become trendy to name-drop the latest gym move you’ve mastered or swop tips on the best yoga studio. Keeping fit isn’t just something to do – it’s something to shout about.