How privacy changes the coaching itself
In a room kept for women, coaching tends to get more direct. A coach can see your hip and knee positions clearly when you wear fitted layers you are at ease in. She can demonstrate in similar clothes, film a set for you to watch back and talk about the menstrual cycle or pelvic-floor symptoms without lowering her voice. Women who hold back on a mixed floor often try heavier loads and new movements sooner once nobody else is watching.
RPM's female personal trainer page lists the female coaches and how to ask for one. Checking the space itself, from the route in to the changing room and the phone rules, is covered in what private should mean when you train. This guide stays with the sessions.
Which gym in Abu Dhabi has female trainers in a private ladies area?
RPM is one option. Its Ladies section is a women-only space on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal, and the female coaches on its roster work there. Women-only gyms and studios elsewhere in the city are another. Wherever you look, ask exactly where sessions take place and walk the way in on a tour. RPM has not published how women reach its section, so see it for yourself.
What a session in the section can cover
- Strength: machines, dumbbells and free-weight lifts on the section's own strength equipment, taught and loaded by the coach. Coach Maria is the strength and conditioning coach there.
- Pilates: reformer work in the studio inside the section. The studio photos show reformers, some with towers, along with trapeze-table frames and a ladder barrel, so ask which apparatus your sessions would use. Giana Suleiman Daqnoush is listed for Pilates and aerobic sessions, and reformer Pilates at RPM explains the classes.
- Conditioning: circuits on the section's cardio and strength kit, or HYROX-style training with Asma Jamousi Zadeh. RPM is independent and is not an official HYROX partner or venue.
- Combat fitness and self-defence: Imen Hasnaoui holds the combat and self-defence role in the Ladies section. Heavy bags sit in the Mixed section's functional area, so ask where her sessions run and whether they include pad work. Sparring is never promised.
Many women combine two of these, such as two strength sessions and one reformer class a week. Tell the coach your mix at the start so the hardest sessions do not land on back-to-back days.
Kit that sits outside the section
A women-only section is usually smaller than the main floor, and RPM does not publish an equipment list for its Ladies section. Some kit you may want is known to be in the Mixed section's functional area: the turf lane with its sled, kettlebells, battle ropes and the heavy bags.
- Keep every session inside the section and let the coach choose substitutes, such as dumbbell carries in place of sled pushes.
- Book an occasional session on the Mixed floor at a quieter hour, if you are comfortable there and your tier covers that section.
- Ask on your tour whether the Ladies section has a squat rack, which barbells and bench it holds, and how heavy the dumbbells go.
Agreements to make with your coach in week one
Settling these early saves awkward moments later. A good coach will raise most of them before you do.
| Topic | Choices you can make | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Filming your lifts | Your phone only, hers, or no filming at all | Video speeds up learning, and you decide where it is kept |
| Corrections | Spoken cues, a demonstration, or a light touch with your permission each time | You stay in control of how you are coached |
| What you wear | Anything you are comfortable in, fitted enough for joint positions to show | Accurate cues depend on her seeing your joints clearly |
| Health matters | Pregnancy or plans for one, the cycle, pelvic-floor symptoms, medication | Each can change the plan, and some need a doctor's view first |
| Sharing a session | One-to-one, or with a sister or friend at a similar level | A shared session changes the plan and the package terms |
Health topics to raise, and who to see first
- Pregnant, or recently given birth: get clearance from your doctor or midwife before starting or returning, and share what they advised. The coach works within that advice, and the medical call stays with your doctor.
- Leaking or a feeling of heaviness when you lift or jump: see a physiotherapist who works in women's health. Many women find it easier to mention to a female coach first, and she can adjust exercises in the meantime.
- Energy that dips at points in your cycle: note it in your log so the coach can lighten a session when needed. Severe or disruptive symptoms are one for your doctor.
- Fasting in Ramadan: ask for shorter sessions, often after iftar, with loads held rather than raised.
RPM's Ladies section and its female coaches
RPM's single club has two sections: a Mixed section where men and women train, and the separate Ladies section for women only. The Ladies section holds its own strength and cardio equipment and the Pilates studio. The female coaches on the roster, all working in that section, are Coach Maria for strength and conditioning, Asma Jamousi Zadeh for HYROX-style training, Giana Suleiman Daqnoush for Pilates and aerobic sessions, and Imen Hasnaoui for combat and self-defence.
Which sections a membership covers depends on its tier, so confirm that the Ladies section is included. Atelier is the tier organised around one-to-one coaching, and prices are shared on enquiry rather than published. On a free guided tour, ask to walk from the lift to the section, see where your sessions would run and meet the coach whose role matches your goal. Matching a female coach to your goal helps you pick one.
Questions, answered.
Can I train in a headscarf and long sleeves?
Ask the team about any dress guidance for the section. For coaching, fitted, breathable layers are more useful than loose ones, because the coach needs to see how your hips and knees move under load.
Can my teenage daughter train with me?
RPM's youth fitness is coach-supervised and arranged and approved by a parent or guardian. Ask which ages each session accepts and whether a joint session is possible.
Can sessions move between the Ladies section and the Mixed floor?
It depends on your tier and on the coach. RPM's female coaches work in the Ladies section, so ask the team if part of your plan needs the Mixed floor.
Do I need a membership to book a female coach?
Ask the team how coaching is sold alongside the tiers. Atelier is built around one-to-one coaching, and package terms are confirmed on enquiry.