was too self conscious to go in to free weights section!!

lisajtubs
lisajtubs Posts: 62
in Fitness and Exercise
I never feel that being a girl makes me less able to do anything and have always done male dominated sports (boxing etc). so at the moment I am fed up with insanity and les mills combat, and my knee hurts from too much running so I decided to treat myself to some gym membership and attempt some heavy lifting. Kick start the fat loss hopefully!! I had all good intentions of doing heavy squats, deadlifts etc and was looking forward to it. When I was having my induction the guy initially walked right past the free weights section saying ' i guess you wont be interested in this area'. I corrected him and got him to show me a few things but when I was left to my own devices I didnt go back and do anything in there as there was a muscly guy in there who kept staring at me oddly (or at least it seemed it in my self conscious state!)

Im a bit worried. it seems you have to load up the bar with weights and then lift it onto the bar support for squats. what if i cant lift it that high?! It seems that I have met my mental challenge!! might try again tomorrow when its quieter.

Replies

  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    First: take a breath, relax. Everyone starts somewhere. But you have to actually start to get anywhere.

    Second: You put the bar up and then load the plates. Unless you're deadlifting, or something.

    Perhaps reading a good book like Starting Strength and doing a bit of google-fu might be in order to get you started?
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    As a guy who has lifted on and off for 30 years you might just want to use the oly bar and concentrate on form for a couple weeks. I being 6'3", 220 lbs should be self conscious about it if anybody as I warm up with only bar every day I step where those muscly guys are. There is no shame in doing something right with light weight opposed to loading up weights and doing it wrong and possibly hurting yourself.

    Btw, most of us could care less what weight you are doing or if you are a woman/man. If you have questions or want a form check ask somebody there with experience. Enjoy making noise racking up the weights...
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
    Ask a employee walk you through setting up and using the squat rack.

    No one cares that you're in the free weight section. You're just new, so they will give you more of a once over. Most people are there to handle their own business and get out quickly.
  • lisajtubs
    lisajtubs Posts: 62
    hey, thanks for your reply! It makes more sense to load the bar when it is in situ, but the bar only rests on 2 supports. if i put a weight on one end, wont it tip up and fly off?!!

    I tell myself that nobody really cares what I am doing (just as I pay no attention to anybody else) and you are right - I have to actually make a start! I am hoping that 3x per week for a month, along with sprint intervals etc will make a difference for me. I am actually quite fit and strong already - its just that my physique is lovingly encased in a protective squishy layer.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    hey, thanks for your reply! It makes more sense to load the bar when it is in situ, but the bar only rests on 2 supports. if i put a weight on one end, wont it tip up and fly off?!!

    I tell myself that nobody really cares what I am doing (just as I pay no attention to anybody else) and you are right - I have to actually make a start! I am hoping that 3x per week for a month, along with sprint intervals etc will make a difference for me. I am actually quite fit and strong already - its just that my physique is lovingly encased in a protective squishy layer.

    You put a plate on one end. Then you go to the other and slide the corresponding plate on the other side. The standard oly bar weighs about 20kg, so placing a single 20kg plate on each end, one at a time, won't tip it up. Stack a few 20kg plates on one side only, then you might have a problem....
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,519 Member
    I started with dumbbells, b/c a bar was just unmanageable for me at first (I'm 5'3 and the bars are like 7 feet long...ok, AND the bars weigh 45lbs...I wasn't able to lift 45lbs either).

    I can deadlift 165lbs now (which is 1.33 my bodyweight). Seriously, I started using 10lb dumbbells for everything. Get New Rules of Lifting for Women, watch some youtube videos to get a look at correct form, get an iPod, and ignore the men in the weight room. You'll just have to accept that they are going to look at first. They'll get bored eventually.

Categories