Is the weight lifting? GymNation unveils The ‘Worry Bench’ for World Mental Health Day 2026

GymNation, the leading gym chain in the Middle East, is encouraging members to come and “lift” the weight off their minds with the region’s first “Worry Bench”, where weights are embossed with actual worries.

The campaign is designed specifically to support the mental health of exercisers ahead of World Mental Health Day 2026. 

The “Worry Bench”, a first for the region, is encouraging members to be more mindful of their worries and feel the weight lifting off their minds by pushing weight plates embossed with worry admissions generated from a new GymNation study across the UAE, KSA and Bahrain.

GymNation asked 2,000 members to reveal the “worries” on their minds each time they step onto the gym floor, with “concerns about the future” (21%) ranking highest. “Imposter Syndrome” (17%) “Unhealthy Comparisons” (11%), and “Doom Scrolling” (4%) also made the list.

Gymgoers will find four different weight ranges, jumping in 5kg increments, as worries are ranked by those weighing heaviest on gymgoers' minds (20kg) all the way down to the more routine day-to-day stresses (5kg).

20KG: Imposter syndrome, the future
15KG: My to-do list, comparing myself to others, never enough
10KG: Starting over, loneliness, losing my job
5KG: Rent, my inbox, doomscrolling.

These worries will be embossed on actual weight plates, giving members a visual cue for what affects their mental wellbeing most.

And while exercise is a proven antidote to stress, not all members are turning to the gym. In fact, more than one in four admitted to quitting exercise due to a “low mood”.

Rory McEntee, chief marketing officer at GymNation, hopes the “Worry Bench” concept will challenge this mindset. McEntee commented: “The insight behind the concept equipment is to put those everyday worries we all suffer from front of mind - and help exercisers visualise and be more mindful of those worries, while lifting weights. It’s proven that lifting weights reduces stress through lowering stress hormones and releasing feel-good brain chemicals - just over half of members (52%) admitted that their gym routine is focused on reducing stress, anxiety, and improving their mental health, so we wanted to remind the other almost 50% about the powerful benefits of lifting weights.”

The theme of “lifting weight” off our minds is in GymNation’s creative DNA. Ahead of World Mental Health Day 2025, the gym chain shocked members by unloading weights from the gym floor to encourage them to “unload” themselves—a campaign that went viral and caught the attention of mental health campaigners.

McEntee added: “This concept is a continuation of what we did in 2025. Gyms have an important role to play in the mental wellbeing of the community, and when a global event pushes the topic up the agenda, we’ll always step up to support our members and the wider region”

The Worry Bench will be available at GymNation's flagship clubs during Mental Health Awareness Day, reinforcing the gym's wider commitment to championing physical and mental fitness across the GCC.