WTF? Why am I the only girl in my gym lifting weights?

[CastratedBean]

lol lol!!!!!

I had a personal victory today I did 90lbs on the lat machine 5 times!! And I did them good! That was my last set too! I'm so happy!

[demonslayer]

I feel the exact same way. Y u no live in Colorado so we could lift together? I've been having fun with dumbbells but I'd really like to graduate to actual barbell squats, but every time I venture to the area of the weight room where the squat racks are, I see all these huge muscular guys and I think "Oh ghawd, I don't belong here, I'm gonna make an ass of myself, run awaaaay!" I can do barbell deadlifts though because deads are nice and non-scary. They don't require a raaaaack *cowers*

My gym does have the occasional girl-lifter but I've hardly ever seen one lifting more than 15lbs at the high end. My gym also has a girls-only weight room that has dumbbells up to 40 lbs, though most girls only use the 10-15-lb ones, and no barbells at all, which I think exacerbates the problem (the regular weight room has dumbbells up to 150 lbs and lots of barbells).

[HorrorGeek]

thanks for the encouragement y'all!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2438[/ATTACH]

/QUOTE]

Best....tattoo....ever

[CastratedBean]

don't ever let anyone make you feel like you don't belong somewhere. sometimes all you need is 30 seconds of bravery to do something wonderful

I started out with dumbbells and now have moved on to the bar. I was so excited to get to put weights on the bar.

I have found that with guys in the gym (and I've belonged to a few different ones due to moving) they are more of the "atta girl" than judging. I've made really great guy friends and you will too. Get in there, elbows deep. Lift it like you stole it. Look in the mirror like you own it. Just keep telling yourself that you can prove them all wrong and go in there like a boss.

I was so happy to 'graduate' to the "guy" part of the gym. Made me feel like I was for real and despite having those guys that are a complete @$$ it's been a great experience. Do it. You owe it to yourself to prove you can. I believe in you!

ps.I live on Wilmington Island close to Savannah ga. If we could I would so go workout with you and show you have to be brave and strong and strong and brave.

thanks for the compliments on my tat. Means a lot!

[wildross]

Just don't knit any pads for the squat bar...that would be bad. :-)

[CastratedBean]

lol!!! I won't....lol!

[demonslayer]

Just don't knit any pads for the squat bar...that would be bad. :-)

But what if they're REALLY CUTE?

[thepharmteam]

It's because of articles like this (found while browsing Pinterest):

http://loseweight-safe.com/fitness/why-women-should-train-different-than-men/

Now I'm no expert, but the whole article seems like horsesh!!t that women all too often believe. I'm a woman too and I like lifting things! Even though I'm just beginning

[Corbab]

It's because of articles like this (found while browsing Pinterest):

http://loseweight-safe.com/fitness/why-women-should-train-different-than-men/

Now I'm no expert, but the whole article seems like horsesh!!t that women all too often believe. I'm a woman too and I like lifting things! Even though I'm just beginning

Ick. That article just plain doesn't make sense. The author apparently can't differentiate between bodybuilding and strength training...

And as far as girls in the gym goes, it may merit a second glance, but only because it's such a rare sight. I'm almost always alone when I train (small school gym) but I know I'd take notice if a woman was lifting heavy. This may not be universal, but I'm guessing some of the guys in your gym (the smart ones, anyway) might just be impressed.

[weirdquark]

The link appears to be having issues at the moment, but Nia Shanks wrote a blog post about her answer to "why do you want to lift like a man?" She keeps seeing men at the gym who do bench press and bicep curls, and the only leg 'exercises' they do involves walking to the water fountain. She does squats and deadlifts. Therefore, she does not lift like a man.

[Barbarossa]

It's because of articles like this (found while browsing Pinterest):

http://loseweight-safe.com/fitness/why-women-should-train-different-than-men/

Now I'm no expert, but the whole article seems like horsesh!!t that women all too often believe. I'm a woman too and I like lifting things! Even though I'm just beginning

<rant>

My opinion on people who write articles like that:

That is irresponsible. If you're setting yourself up as any kind of a fitness authority, you have an obligation to put out facts (and, I would argue, cite the source studies) so that people are correctly informed. To just spout off things that your target audience wants to hear, isn't doing anyone any good. To say things like that are demonstrably incorrect such as the author in that article did is improper and, depending on the outcome, could be seen as borderline negligence/malpractice (as I see it).

</rant>

[gymell]

That article is ridiculous. First of all, 8-10 reps is not low rep training. Second, a bigger muscle does not mean it is stronger. As someone else already pointed out, the author doesn't understand the difference between bodybuilding and strength training. In fact what the author is recommending (15-20) reps is actually what bodybuilders do for hypertrophy (increasing muscle size.) And anyone who uses the phrase "firm and toned" should be immediately dismissed as a hack!

But going back to the original topic, I see the same thing at my local Globo gym too. There's one lady who must be a figure competitor or body builder of some sort, because she's pretty muscular, very tan, wears interesting and somewhat revealing outfits ... but the only thing I've seen her do is variations on the bicep curl. I've never see her squat or deadlift, or do a pullup, etc. Occasionally I've seen a woman in the power rack, which always piques my interest, but they always quarter squat tiny weights - not that tiny weights are bad, I'd be thrilled to see someone deep squat with the empty bar!

[Summer827]

*waving* Maybe you're the only one in your gym, but you're not alone! Another (knitting!!) female heavy lifter here!! I am glad to have a partner but go it alone frequently too.

Have to come back to this thread when I'm home as I can't see this tattoo properly on my phone with my sucky vision.

[Grosby]

Hello (long time no post!) I was going to a gym in a most snooty area and I was the mostly only female in the weights room there with exception to the PT-clients, who were mainly using the machines or doing barbie weights dumbbell presses sitting on an exercise ball. But I've moved house and go to a gym at a less snooty area and at 5am there's me and 3 other ladies in the weights room Normally come 5.30 there's a few guys in there too.. but it's something I've really noticed, and there IS a real sisterhood thing, the guys don't really talk much, but us ladies at least give a nod and a "good morning" or we talk about how lazy the men are because they don't rerack their weights

[ducatisteve]

It's because of articles like this (found while browsing Pinterest):

http://loseweight-safe.com/fitness/why-women-should-train-different-than-men/

Now I'm no expert, but the whole article seems like horsesh!!t that women all too often believe. I'm a woman too and I like lifting things! Even though I'm just beginning

Oh my god, they make it sound like if a woman lifts heavy then she'll accidentally wake up one day with a bulky body that she didn't strive for. Bulky side effects? In my experience, bulk is never a "side effect", but something that HAS to be specifically sought after and worked for to achieve.

[notanartmajor]

Oh my god, they make it sound like if a woman lifts heavy then she'll accidentally wake up one day with a bulky body that she didn't strive for. Bulky side effects? In my experience, bulk is never a "side effect", but something that HAS to be specifically sought after and worked for to achieve.

And it requires a lot more testosterone than women generally have.

[weirdquark]

And it requires a lot more testosterone than women generally have.

Depends on what you think "bulky" looks like. Me, I like how muscles look on women and want to have bigger ones than I've got. Other women think that being able to see any muscle at all is "too bulky." It is not possible for me to get "too bulky" without a lot more effort than I'm willing to put in and possibly I'd also need to be on steroids. But I bet there are women out there who would think I'm already too bulky.

[gymell]

If you lift too heavy, this might happen to you!

Woman finally “bulks up†from weight training!

[Zorch]

In my gym, I think I've seen 3 women ever do any barbell lifts. It so happens that those 3 women are probably in the best shape of all the female gym members that I've seen at the gym. Coincidence? Nope. Are they attractive? Yep. In my book(and most other mens'), Fit beats thin any day of the week.

[notanartmajor]

Aside from female bodybuilders (who are probably men from a chemical standpoint) the only bulky woman I can think of is Serena Williams, but I see what you're saying.

[Eurydice]

Depends on what you think "bulky" looks like. Me, I like how muscles look on women and want to have bigger ones than I've got. Other women think that being able to see any muscle at all is "too bulky." It is not possible for me to get "too bulky" without a lot more effort than I'm willing to put in and possibly I'd also need to be on steroids. But I bet there are women out there who would think I'm already too bulky.

This. I think when you lift and you're around people who lift, it's easy to lose sight of how very small you can objectively be and still tip the bulky scales in the average woman's perception. I think when most women say "I don't want to bulk up," they're not talking about looking like a bodybuilder, they're talking about having visible muscle definition and having their tops get tight through the shoulders like NROL4W says they will.

[katscratch]

I kinda cannot wait to be the only girl in my gym lifting heavy. I've gotten used to the weird looks from people that have no clue what a squat looks like and the weird looks from people that do know but are probably wondering what my deal is at 30#

[andygates]

I'm pretty sure that from a chemical standpoint, Shulkie's gamma blood transfusion is so WADA-noncompliant they don't even bother to test for it. "Huge? Green? You're outta here!"

[Atalan]

Aside from female bodybuilders (who are probably men from a chemical standpoint) the only bulky woman I can think of is Serena Williams, but I see what you're saying.

The Baylor women's basketball team this year had a fairly 'bulky' 6'8" center.

[csltrainer]

Same here! I was at planet fitness for a while and was always the only female in the weight area. It was always swarmed with guys though who would stand around flexing their biceps to see if they got bigger after their last set of curls, or who would just sit there on a bench and contemplate life. It was always frustrating because I'm like 'do your set and move the eff on...I've got some actual lifting to do here'. I've recently joined the ymca which is a lot closer to my apt and I'm apparently a very rare breed. Each time I've gone in all the guys stare at me and someone makes a comment about how they're impressed that I deadlift/squat/etc. One guy was actually really cool and gave me some pointers on my deadlift since I'd never had any coaching on it before. I think mostly they're just impressed that you're in there lifting heavy...at least that's what my experience has been so far. Just keep on doing what you're doing!