GETTY The gym will be open to women of all faiths

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Women will be able to ditch their headscarves and burkas for workouts at the first female-only Muslim gym. Haya Fitness will have the usual fitness equipment including treadmills, exercise bikes and weights - but will also feature an onsite prayer room.

The businessman behind the idea for the gym in Cardiff, South Wales, believes he can profit from a gap in the Islamic fitness market.

There will be running machines, step and cardio machines, cross trainers and fitness classes Outreach worker Mohammed Alamgir

Outreach worker Mohammed Alamgir said: "It's a commercial venture for a niche market. It is to encourage this sector of the community to get fit. "There will be running machines, step and cardio machines, cross trainers and fitness classes." "Once they are in this gym there are no men. In this gym they won't have to have scarves and can wear shorts and T-shirts.

GETTY Haya Fitness plans to open the gym later this summer

"This is the first gym dedicated to the needs of the Muslim community and has come about from the demands of the Muslim community. "There are restrictions on Muslim women's ability to get fit. We want to encourage them to be active." According to Sport England only 18 per cent of Muslim women take part in sport, compared to 30 per cent of the total female population.

GETTY The gym is due to open in Cardiff and will be the first of its kind in Wales

And five years before the figures were as low as 12 per cent - indicating a rise in Muslim women taking up sport and fitness. In contrast, the figures for Muslim men taking part in sport do not fall below the average for British men as a whole.

GETTY Outreach worker Mohammed Alamgir hopes the new gym will encourage Muslim women to get fit