Saudi women's fitness boom defies norms, treading softly

Riyadh

WITH blacked-out windows and a tiny sign, NuYu fitness centre in Riyadh looks abandoned from the road. But inside it's bustling, with Saudi women stripping off black abayas to reveal colourful athletic gear and pedalling furiously in a burlesque-themed spinning studio.

Founded by a daughter of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, the gym exemplifies the tensions inherent in women's fitness in the Arab world's biggest economy and birthplace of Islam. The growing number of women-only gyms in the kingdom are reporting a booming business, part of a gradual opening of women's lives as they enter the workforce in greater numbers and are exposed to other cultures through social media and travel.