why are girls competitive at the gym?

135

Replies

  • mccorml
    mccorml Posts: 622 Member
    “The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is I'm not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be out-worked, period. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me, you might be sexier than me, you might be all of those things you got it on me in nine categories. But if we get on the treadmill together, there's two things: You're getting off first, or I'm going to die. It's really that simple, right?-- will smith

    love that quote thats the only reason why im competitive at the gym!
  • sparkle814
    sparkle814 Posts: 78 Member
    I don't notice competitiveness at my gym. People pretty much keep to themselves, including their eyeballs. *shrug*
    When I'm lifting I'm focused on finishing my reps and when I'm doing cardio I generally have my nose buried in a book! :D
  • Beastette
    Beastette Posts: 1,497 Member
    I'll admit it, I do check out what everyone else is doing. But, what the heck else are you going to do in between sets?

    However, my thought process is not "I lift heavier than that, neener neener", it's more like "good for them for lifting!" or just getting ideas for new spiffy lifting moves.

    I suspect that's what most people are doing, I don't think that they are all being competitive. Chill.

    OH, I check people out...but not to compete.
    Yeah, buddy!
  • run_way
    run_way Posts: 220
    That's women, isn't it? It's not the gym, it's just women.

    Sounds like you are a connoisseur of the womenz too.

    I like to play them off of each other like prospective buyers of a house in a seller's market.
    "Jenny runs a 4/40"
    "You know, Tammy can lift a full beer keg over her head and drain it in a single draught."

    :laugh:
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    I have no girls to compete with at my gym, it's all men.

    If one does randomly appear, I will admit to looking at what they're lifting / how much. It's not a negative thing, I don't think "eww, I'll show her" I'm happy for her. I'm just so used to seeing where I stand against other men, it's a nice change to see up against other women. It keeps me going when someone's stronger than me, and if they're female and stronger than me I'm going to push even harder yet!
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    i notice girls look at other girls at the gym with a "hmm... interesting" look
    or
    "eww... ill show her!"

    how competitive are you girls with other girls at the gym? why do you do it?
    I've had a guy tap me on the shoulder and tell me a girl was giving me the nastiest look of death after I successfully upped my weight on a particular exercise at which point I got excited and danced around my barbell after I completed it...I caught the glance and yep she continued to give me nasty screwed up lip eyeroll looks. So I added some more dance moves every time I completed a set. Sometimes people joined in. Unimpressed girl was unimpressed.
    cpf4b.gif
    I have no idea what peoples problems are. I was not yelling and screaming. I just had a little pep in my step and my step happened to twirl around the barbell lol. And as it became a joke I started saying I do it for the exercise.

    Be jealous of me, that just affirms my awesomeness.
    deadliftdance_o_gifsoup-com.gif
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
    because females are like cats...
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I'm actually pretty much never competitive.
  • elprincipito
    elprincipito Posts: 1,200 Member
    i been told i get stared at a lot? that's a compliment i hope...
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    i notice girls look at other girls at the gym with a "hmm... interesting" look
    or
    "eww... ill show her!"

    how competitive are you girls with other girls at the gym? why do you do it?
    I've had a guy tap me on the shoulder and tell me a girl was giving me the nastiest look of death after I successfully upped my weight on a particular exercise at which point I got excited and danced around my barbell after I completed it...I caught the glance and yep she continued to give me nasty screwed up lip eyeroll looks. So I added some more dance moves every time I completed a set. Sometimes people joined in. Unimpressed girl was unimpressed.

    I have no idea what peoples problems are. I was not yelling and screaming. I just had a little pep in my step and my step happened to twirl around the barbell lol. And as it became a joke I started saying I do it for the exercise.

    Be jealous of me, that just affirms my awesomeness.
    deadliftdance_o_gifsoup-com.gif

    Haha that's awesome, good for you! :drinker:

    I don't get why some people need to be so pissy / jealous about another person doing well. It's ok to be competitive and to want to get to that level yourself, but just go out there and work towards it, and be happy for the person rather than giving them a death stare. Some people.. :noway:
  • DanaHerro
    DanaHerro Posts: 186 Member
    I have never witnessed this.

    me neither. at any gym...and i've belonged to 4 different ones...??
  • Arazante
    Arazante Posts: 12
    This isn't just women, guys do the same crap- people feel insecure and want to feel better about themselves so they compare. Sometimes they do it to feel like they look better, although other times, they do it because they wonder how that person got that particular body and if it's something they want, they probably observe their workout habits to see if they should adopt the same routine.
  • WeightHacker
    WeightHacker Posts: 260 Member
    Actually i AM competitive.

    with myself.

    that's what makes me better...I don't give a crap what anyone else is doing.

    tumblr_m6wkqu269Z1qihztbo1_500.gif

    :heart: :love: David Tennant :love::heart:

    Us HUMANS are just competitive.
    we like to show off or show that we can do better than them.
    or to ourselves~ knowing we can achieve it~
    men and women~
  • It's not so much that I'm competitive with other girls, it's that I see what EVERYONE is doing. Part of it is curiosity if they're doing things I haven't before, and part of it is a way to keep myself motivated. If I see someone in better shape than me, which is almost everyone there, I tend to push myself to exceed what they're doing, if not in speed or whatever, at least in time. It's not about them - it's NEVER about them - it's just about way to keep myself going, and to push harder.
  • Sharkington
    Sharkington Posts: 485
    Usually when I look at other women at the gym, I'm usually thinking something positive like "wow, she looks good" and feel motivated to do great in my workout, too.. I never really think anything negatively and most women don't seem to be too competitive at my gym - if they are, I don't notice unless they are actually looking at my machine stats. Every once in awhile someone will come it with an attitude, but that might just be because they're doing their own thing and don't want anyone to get in their way. Haha
  • sara_m83
    sara_m83 Posts: 545 Member
    I think PEOPLE are competiive at the gym. The gym I go to, the men are so much more worried about what the other men in the gym are doing that you can actually see the wave of exercises pass through. One guy finally decides to use a barbell for something other than a bench press, and suddenly there's a line of people waiting to also test out their deadlifts (or squats, or whatever it might be).
  • mmm_drop
    mmm_drop Posts: 1,126 Member
    Actually i AM competitive.



    with myself.


    that's what makes me better...I don't give a crap what anyone else is doing.

    ^^THIS!
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    I've never noticed women being competitive at the gym. Men, yes.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    i notice girls look at other girls at the gym with a "hmm... interesting" look
    or
    "eww... ill show her!"

    how competitive are you girls with other girls at the gym? why do you do it?
    I've had a guy tap me on the shoulder and tell me a girl was giving me the nastiest look of death after I successfully upped my weight on a particular exercise at which point I got excited and danced around my barbell after I completed it...I caught the glance and yep she continued to give me nasty screwed up lip eyeroll looks. So I added some more dance moves every time I completed a set. Sometimes people joined in. Unimpressed girl was unimpressed.

    I have no idea what peoples problems are. I was not yelling and screaming. I just had a little pep in my step and my step happened to twirl around the barbell lol. And as it became a joke I started saying I do it for the exercise.

    Be jealous of me, that just affirms my awesomeness.
    deadliftdance_o_gifsoup-com.gif

    Haha that's awesome, good for you! :drinker:

    I don't get why some people need to be so pissy / jealous about another person doing well. It's ok to be competitive and to want to get to that level yourself, but just go out there and work towards it, and be happy for the person rather than giving them a death stare. Some people.. :noway:
    I don't think it was jealous. Despite the fact she wasn't touching weights, she looked quite a bit stronger then me. My first assumption is she took me for one of those 'trying to hard to get attention' chicks, which wasn't my goal, but I got some from her so it counts right lol. I think she failed to note 'if a girl walks into the weight room to actually touch weights they get noticed so they certainly don't need to make a fool out of themselves to get more'. I did find it pretty interesting that none of the guys seemed bothered by it, my friends were amused, and the only person that got uppity about it was a girl. Also the only people to ever say "No, I am still using this machine" when I asked if I could jump on for a second since they were not using it has been all women.
  • Trechechus
    Trechechus Posts: 2,819 Member
    Pssssh.... I only care what the other women are doing at the gym if their taking up space on the equipment to waste time (ie sit there and text, gossip, watch their boyfriends...) if they are working out then power to em! I'm not there to compete or look cute. I'm there to be a badass.
  • Einahhh
    Einahhh Posts: 139
    At my gym, the guys in the free weights section seem way more competitive than any girls. Mostly, though, everyone just chucks in their headphones and gets into the zone. It's better when you're there to focus on yourself.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    Guys competitive? Sheesh.
  • JusticeGirl25
    JusticeGirl25 Posts: 703 Member
    Just wanna show off, that's all. Probably a guy close by.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    i notice girls look at other girls at the gym with a "hmm... interesting" look
    or
    "eww... ill show her!"

    how competitive are you girls with other girls at the gym? why do you do it?
    Not just the gym but in life in general. It seems that almost every female I know (family included) are all trying to one up each other. Some do it with clothing, some with fitness, some with hubbies, etc.
    Not that men don't do it either, but I think we're a little more subtle about it. Just my opinion.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • wendybird5
    wendybird5 Posts: 577 Member
    I have never witnessed this.

    me neither. at any gym...and i've belonged to 4 different ones...??

    I've never seen this at any gym. Of course I've also noticed that when I has fatter and more insecure, I was certain people were giving me dirty looks, but now that I'm more fit and confident, I don't even notice if people are looking at me or not (unless it's that one guy at the gym whom I like).
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    As long as they stay in the cardio section where they belong, I could care less.

    *ducks*
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
    I only notice other women when they are lifting heavier weights than me. And the emotion I experience is usually 'F yeah'.
    As long as they stay in the cardio section where they belong, I could care less.

    *ducks*

    The hell? Really?
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
    I think PEOPLE are competiive at the gym. The gym I go to, the men are so much more worried about what the other men in the gym are doing that you can actually see the wave of exercises pass through. One guy finally decides to use a barbell for something other than a bench press, and suddenly there's a line of people waiting to also test out their deadlifts (or squats, or whatever it might be).

    That is following the alpha male, he does an exercise then a wave does it. If it was competition they would be doing heavier weights. Most guys don't compete or give each other a hard time in the gym because we understand it's one of the few last places that are woman/kid free zone. Also once a guy hits around 27 they tend to give up peacocking around other men cause you will get called out for doing it by your friends or random strangers.
  • artickb22
    artickb22 Posts: 411 Member
    Im pretty self absorbed so I've never noticed...lol. I generally don't pay much attention to people unless they are some how spetacular in some way that grabs my attention.

    edit: then again, if it makes you want to go harder and longer then hey it's beneficial so who cares! lol
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    OMG! I'm not the only one who notices! Lol, I'm overweight myself, and I see these skinny, prissy chicks who try to compete with me all the time! "Like, hello?! You have a smokin' bod & I'm the big one over here! Lay off!" -thoughts-

    And I out-do them on the elliptical, hahaha. I end up on it before them and I stay on after they leave :P

    I try to zone people out more. I used to be super self-conscious at the gym but now, I don't give a f***. When I'm the one drenched in sweat & looking gross from a killer workout while losing weight & other women are just a waste of space, texting & lightly walking, I'm the one laughing.

    Who is the one judging and being competitive?

    In my gym the men are competitive, not the women. I compete against the numbers on my sheet because comparing myself to someone else does no justice to me.

    :drinker: