Guys, how do you feel?

Mallory0418

...when you're at the gym and you see a woman lifting heavy? I've gotten VERY mixed reactions from this. Curious to know what you guys think.

Also, I found this interesting. The other day I ran into a guy I see at the gym a lot so he knows how I workout. I was wearing a dress and he couldn't believe it was me! He said "You look so....feminine!" What?! Does working out give me the ultimate tom-boy reputation? Nothing wrong with that, I'm really proud of how strong I am, but his mind was completely blown when he saw me "looking like a girl". Thoughts?

bluefox9er

i couldn't give a sun dried dingleberry about what anyone else is doing when i am working out, man woman or otherwise.

Lukazetta

Girls + Weights= Sexy

Girls + Heavy Weights= Sexier

(Girls X Roids) + Heavy Weights= Confusing

Ripken818836701

Nothing sexier than a women that lifts and lifts heavy!!

SofaKingRad

I can care less. Good for her.

GasMasterFlash

It's like not seeing the forest for the trees. I'm usually so preoccupied looking at parts of a lady that I don't notice what she's doing.

Maurice1966

personally I admire women who lift heavy or light. In my opinion it doesn't make them more or less femenine. You're not butch because you lift. I admire the tone of women's muscles that they have worked hard for and I find it extremely feminin. I guess it also depends on what peopl'e perceptions of feminine are.

ericgAU

...when you're at the gym and you see a woman lifting heavy? I've gotten VERY mixed reactions from this. Curious to know what you guys think.

Also, I found this interesting. The other day I ran into a guy I see at the gym a lot so he knows how I workout. I was wearing a dress and he couldn't believe it was me! He said "You look so....feminine!" What?! Does working out give me the ultimate tom-boy reputation? Nothing wrong with that, I'm really proud of how strong I am, but his mind was completely blown when he saw me "looking like a girl". Thoughts?

To begin with I'm only starting out at `that' end of the gym so some of those dudes can be quite intimidating, even to a guy like me. Its good to see women lifting weights. Balances things up.

Mallory0418

Well that's good to know. Like I said, I've been kind of surprised but the different points of view I've gotten from men I know. I don't see women who lift as "un-feminine", I just see them as hardcore! For me, I'm at the gym to get it done and not worry about anything else.

tameko2

Well that's good to know. Like I said, I've been kind of surprised but the different points of view I've gotten from men I know. I don't see women who lift as "un-feminine", I just see them as hardcore! For me, I'm at the gym to get it done and not worry about anything else.

I'm curious now, what kinds of comments do you get?

Mallory0418

I'm curious now, what kinds of comments do you get?

Well the one that I mentioned in my OP was what really got me thinking. And there have been discussions in and out of the gym with different guys saying things like "I don't like girls who lift heavy and have big muscles", you know, the whole women-will-bulk-up-if-they-strength-train thing. Others have said that women with muscles are hot. It's an on-going debate.

good2bthaking

admirable and sexy, she takes care of herself

tameko2

I'm curious now, what kinds of comments do you get?

Well the one that I mentioned in my OP was what really got me thinking. And there have been discussions in and out of the gym with different guys saying things like "I don't like girls who lift heavy and have big muscles", you know, the whole women-will-bulk-up-if-they-strength-train thing. Others have said that women with muscles are hot. It's an on-going debate.

My husband said "you're not going to get super muscled are you? I really don't like that look" and I was like "oh, its cute that you think I would care what you like or don't like but thanks for mentioning it!"

but then he actually went to the gym with me and he was so impressed with the lifting (and also he was vaguely aware that it takes a lot of work and potentially drugs to get big like he's thinking of) that he hasn't mentioned it since. He was terribly impressed that I get the veins in my shoulders to pop when I dead lift (I was like "oh my god NO!?!?! WHERE??")

bluefox9er

is this thread for REAL???

Mallory0418

is this thread for REAL???

Um....yes. What is so unbelieveable about it? It's a question...

Toddrific

I hate women lifting. I don't know why they feel they have to show me up every time!
=P

Jeff92se

If they are lifting correctly, it's admirable. Shows they know what they are doing and are serious.

Ripken818836701

If they are lifting correctly, it's admirable. Shows they know what they are doing and are serious.

I would have to say that the avg. female lifter uses better form than the avg. male lifter. When I was starting out last year I would watch women to learn how to properly do a particular exercise that I wasnt familiar with. They have better hand eye cordination than men and they dont walk into the gym for the first time with that Macho frame of mind (that alot of men have) that they already know everything there is to know about lifting and try to lift more weight than they can handle and still use proper form.

tameko2

If they are lifting correctly, it's admirable. Shows they know what they are doing and are serious.

I would have to say that the avg. female lifter uses better form than the avg. male lifter. When I was starting out last year I would watch women to learn how to properly do a particular exercise that I wasnt familiar with. They have better hand eye cordination than men and they dont walk into the gym for the first time with that Macho frame of mind (that alot of men have) that they already know everything there is to know about lifting and try to lift more weight than they can handle and still use proper form.

My friend told me once that guys assume weight lifting is something they "should" know how to do or be naturally good at so they tend to just go in there and do WHATEVER they think will be good and put as much weight on there as they can. Women don't have the idea that they SHOULD know how, AND women I find tend to underestimate how much they can lift so they'll naturally start lighter.

MrLeeParker

You look great, so I wouldn't worry. Some men are just insecure about the fact that women are assimilating well in what was once a mostly male environment. You do your thing, it's paying off

Mallory0418

If they are lifting correctly, it's admirable. Shows they know what they are doing and are serious.

I would have to say that the avg. female lifter uses better form than the avg. male lifter. When I was starting out last year I would watch women to learn how to properly do a particular exercise that I wasnt familiar with. They have better hand eye cordination than men and they dont walk into the gym for the first time with that Macho frame of mind (that alot of men have) that they already know everything there is to know about lifting and try to lift more weight than they can handle and still use proper form.

My friend told me once that guys assume weight lifting is something they "should" know how to do or be naturally good at so they tend to just go in there and do WHATEVER they think will be good and put as much weight on there as they can. Women don't have the idea that they SHOULD know how, AND women I find tend to underestimate how much they can lift so they'll naturally start lighter.

I have heard this too. I actually read what pike said in the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women. But I agree, women do tend to underestimate themselves on how heavy they can go and how fast they can strengthen their bodies. That or they are afraid lifting too heavy will make them bulky. Oy...

dinosnopro

I always wonder why she is out of the kitchen

engineman312

this one girl i know on here sent me a message telling me about a new PR on her dead lifts. she dead lifts more then i do (only by 10lbs). i felt really crappy, but then she reminded me i can do an *kitten* ton of pull ups in a row. i felt only slightly better.


what was the original question?

Ripken818836701

If they are lifting correctly, it's admirable. Shows they know what they are doing and are serious.

I would have to say that the avg. female lifter uses better form than the avg. male lifter. When I was starting out last year I would watch women to learn how to properly do a particular exercise that I wasnt familiar with. They have better hand eye cordination than men and they dont walk into the gym for the first time with that Macho frame of mind (that alot of men have) that they already know everything there is to know about lifting and try to lift more weight than they can handle and still use proper form.

My friend told me once that guys assume weight lifting is something they "should" know how to do or be naturally good at so they tend to just go in there and do WHATEVER they think will be good and put as much weight on there as they can. Women don't have the idea that they SHOULD know how, AND women I find tend to underestimate how much they can lift so they'll naturally start lighter.

I have heard this too. I actually read what pike said in the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women. But I agree, women do tend to underestimate themselves on how heavy they can go and how fast they can strengthen their bodies. That or they are afraid lifting too heavy will make them bulky. Oy...

I dont have to turn in my man card now do I???

catattack13

if anyone has ever had anything negative to say about me lifting, they haven't dared to say it to my face

Mallory0418

I have heard this too. I actually read what pike said in the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women. But I agree, women do tend to underestimate themselves on how heavy they can go and how fast they can strengthen their bodies. That or they are afraid lifting too heavy will make them bulky. Oy...

I dont have to turn in my man card now do I???

Haha no no. I read the NRoL for men too, so no worries.

BrettPGH

I think they're strong and I think that's sexy.

And they're great motivation when they lift more than me! :embarassed:

The other day someone told me I should be using a weight belt. I said with the weights I'm lifting I should be wearing a pretty dress. But seriously we kid because we love.

tameko2

I think they're strong and I think that's sexy.

And they're great motivation when they lift more than me! :embarassed:

The other day someone told me I should be using a weight belt. I said with the weights I'm lifting I should be wearing a pretty dress. But seriously we kid because we love.

If you're lifting anything heavier than a 10 lb dumbell you have to move from the pretty dresses to the Juicy Coture track suits.

Also -- I am now vaguely obsessed with the idea of lifting in a dress. I wouldn't wear makeup though, I wouldn't want people to think I wasn't working out hard enough.

SimplyShanRunning

I have faced some problems at the gym with the guys there ( I am the only girl there that lifts). When they saw me deadlift 160 they seemed to have found a new respect and actually help me now and give me tips ..... Tho there are some that still look at me all skeptical like when I put on my belt

Ripken818836701

I have heard this too. I actually read what pike said in the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women. But I agree, women do tend to underestimate themselves on how heavy they can go and how fast they can strengthen their bodies. That or they are afraid lifting too heavy will make them bulky. Oy...

I dont have to turn in my man card now do I???

Haha no no. I read the NRoL for men too, so no worries.

whats the NRoL for men?

sergetns73

dont find it sexy at all seeing a women lifting heavy weight