"Your tank top is offensive," says gym.

Don’t you hate it when you go somewhere and someone tells you that you’re too good-looking to be there?

Happens to me all the time. I can’t go to supermarkets, restaurants, bars or even university without being told to turn around and take myself back home. It’s really very annoying and means I have had to become very familiar with online shopping.

Okay, as you’ve probably guessed by now, I’m joking. I have never been denied access to a place for being too good-looking. Please, I’m not Miranda Kerr.

But in all seriousness, a woman from the US has been making headlines this week, with the news that she was kicked out of her gym for being too toned.

Tiffany Austin, a woman from North California, was at a gym called Planet Fitness in California. She’d recently been in a car accident and, as part of her recovery, was attending the gym regularly to keep fit. That particular day, Tiffany decided to head to the gym wearing leggings and a cropped halter-neck, spaghetti-strap top, which left her midriff exposed.

Tiffany had been on the treadmill for about 15 minutes when a staff member approached her and said that Tiffany was intimidating people with her toned body and the gym had had a few complaints. The staff member then offered her a t-shirt that the gym would provide for her.

This from ktvu.com:

Austin was wearing a tank that showed her stomach and capri-pants and says she didn’t see anything wrong with the outfit.

She agreed to wear the shirt, but while the first staff member went to get it she says she was approached by another staff member who also took issue with her body. Austin says at that point she had enough; she asked for a manager – asked for her money back and left.

You know what? I admit to feeling intimidated at the gym sometimes. Actually, I feel intimidated ALL THE TIME.

I’m that person at the gym who isn’t super-toned and super-muscly. I’m usually wearing an outfit that isn’t all that matchy-matchy and my face is always a shade of red that would make a tomato proud. And I’m usually staring at the weights machines, trying to remember how they work, or battling hard with lifting a measly 5kg weight over my head.

And I’m always surrounded by women who look gorgeous in their workout gear, despite the fact that they’ve just run 10km on the treadmill. Or men that are doing 70 chin-ups at a time next to me. Or older ladies who are WAY fitter than I am, despite having 30 years on me.

But you know what? I suck it up. Because everyone has the right to be at the gym, having a good time, getting fit and wearing whatever they want in the process. I wouldn’t want my insecurities to get in the way of other people’s lives. And I would never support a policy that kicked people out of the gym on the basis of being too good or being too toned.

What do you think of the gym’s actions against Tiffany? Do you ever feel intimidated at the gym?

Speaking of gym gear, I’ve got some excellent news for any fitness fans out there. SKINS Australia has given me a set from their new Silver Fox range to give away to one lucky Mamamia reader.

The set includes one crop top (worth $59.99) and one pair of SKINS compression tights ($124.99) from the gorgeous range, which is inspired by the 2014 Pantone colour of the year, Radiant Orchid. It’s such high-quality gear and
you’ll feel the compression benefits almost immediately.

To win….

1) Hop on over to the Mamamia Health & Fitness Facebook page and hit the like button.

2) Fill out the form below and make sure you answer the question: Tell us why you love to work out and what you like wearing when you’re doing it?

This competition is now closed.