I am the woman in the freeweights section of the gym

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Replies

  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    BUMP
  • ssaraj43
    ssaraj43 Posts: 575 Member
    Excellent post. Thanks for taking the time:flowerforyou:
  • mjudd1990
    mjudd1990 Posts: 219 Member
    OP hit the nail on the head. If you're an attractive woman, naturally guys will look at you but just focus on your workout. Never made much sense to me why people care so much about what complete strangers, most of whom you haven't nor will ever talk to or see elsewhere, think of them in the gym. As long as you aren't completely butchering an exercise/using way too much weight/going to injure yourself, nobody pays nearly as much attention to you as you'd think.
  • SkimFlatWhite68
    SkimFlatWhite68 Posts: 1,254 Member
    OP - I couldn't agree more. I am quite often the only woman in the weights room, it doesn't bother me at all and I wouldn't let a bunch of boys intimidate me or put me off achieving my goals. I go with my plan and I train hard. It certainly pays off!
  • JustJennie13
    JustJennie13 Posts: 218
    Great Post!!! From a fellow free weight lady! :wink:

    ***Edit to add*** I was a strict cardio girl on the treadmills and elliptical for years.... Lifting did more for my sexy than cardio ever did!
  • schonkreuz
    schonkreuz Posts: 493 Member
    LOVE THIS! I just started going to the by myself (went with a group before) and I was def nervous for a second but that all stopped when I stepped in the squat rack. Lifting <3
  • amybg1
    amybg1 Posts: 631 Member
    Thank you for saying it - many times I've had some questions asked about weight training in general because they assume women will use "barbie weights" or don't lift at all because they "heard that lifting makes you bulky". I had an acquaintance whom I see regularly and who sort of knows my workout schedule ask me today if I get bulky like the guys and I told him that the straight answer was no, and explained in detail why that was and how long it would take to look "big" like the guys if we could without 'roids or anything of the sort and just plain hard work.

    Unfortunately I see few women at the gym when I go, often times I'll be the only one and there can be five guys already in there when I arrive. When I first started in a public gym a few years ago (used to train in the weight room at the canoe club before going to a public gym ) For my first time there I wasn't intimidated by the weights but I was worried about what the guys would think of me. After that session I was fine with it.

    We're there to work, we'll watch one another while we're resting and the fellows have come to know me as well as they know Kevin Frost (deaf/blind speedskater) who works out there in the afternoons. I'm the only one there with a white cane so if I seem to be struggling to find plates or whatever one guy will come over and offer to help me either find one or load it, most of the time though they leave me alone - a few times I've had guys ask if I needed a spot and I offered the same to them.

    As was previously mentioned, it's a 2-way street. If you need help or aren't sure ask away at someone whose resting (again, not during a set) otherwise if you feel self-conscious...Imagine you're in your own gym and just go bout your business
  • ukulelist
    ukulelist Posts: 33 Member
    Thanks for posting this! Replying so my friends see it :) This was all right on---the free weights room is intimidating at first, but I, too, have always found the guys there to be supportive to the extent they're not focused on their own workout (but it's mostly the latter). And the occasional time you do get a compliment from a dude who wishes he could squat as much as you do is really a great feeling :)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Great post all true and very relevant.

    I am 41 and have been lifting for 17 weeks...I wont be turning back anytime soon.
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
    Love it!
  • ironchick84
    ironchick84 Posts: 27 Member
    Bumping for the AWESOME!!
  • dougt333
    dougt333 Posts: 697
    Incredible. I love that you lift.
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
    I'm usually the only one as well. Minus the gaggle of girls squatting 20 lbs on the smith machine.
  • cakebatter07
    cakebatter07 Posts: 814 Member
    Thank you for this! :heart:
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    This is great!!
  • Monozelle
    Monozelle Posts: 11 Member
    This addresses how I am feeling at the moment. My friend encouraged me to go over to the free weights section over a year ago to lift weights with her. And until today, I have avoided that section of the gym because I still feel intimidated by the guys working out there and also because I'm not in great shape yet. I'd like to draw up a proper plan for lifting weights at the gym, instead of going hard on the cardio machines all the time. Thank you for sharing your experience!
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    Great post. Even my daughters struggle with this, usually they are the only women there too.
    Thanks.
  • adorable_aly
    adorable_aly Posts: 398 Member
    My gym has a seperate section for women, with the equipment I need... But I'm looking to add some stuff in that and then I'll have to go into the proper weights section... But I kinda only want to go in when I know I have my form down on what I'm doing right now.

    I used to think having a women's section was a plus, up but now I realise it's a massive downside, because there is even less women in the proper weights section because of the women's section. :ohwell:

    I've only been lifting for 6 weeks, I'll get there eventually!
  • lwoodroff
    lwoodroff Posts: 1,431 Member
    Well written wisdom, OP!
    I moved from my globo gym to a black iron gym and most of the time I'm the only lady (I'm not a girl!) in there. The other woman I've seen is a competitive oly lifter with shoulders to squee over..
    If you are focused on your programme you will gain respect too as a lot of people in the 'rone zone as I call it have no idea and drift around doing a bit of this or that. Hard focused work is always a good thing.

    Finally I always offer to work in if I know someone is waiting and I will be a while. Most of the time my weights are too low for them to bother but it is nice gym etiquette and shows you aren't expecting different treatment.
  • elisabeisme
    elisabeisme Posts: 308 Member
    Main thing for everyone is to have a plan before you walk in, and remember everyone in there felt like you at one point in time.
    Also, it's okay to have that plan written down in a book, pad, or in your phone. Folks sometimes complain about people using their phone instead of working out, but that's only a complaint if you sit on the equipment blocking it. No shame in stepping to the side and reviewing your plan -- especially if the next piece of equipment you intended to use is taken and you want to see what to do next.

    For me, one of the hardest adjustments in moving to the free weights section was getting over that sense of needing to be constant frenzied motion. In the cardio section, I am bouncing around, moving as many limbs as possible, all the time. In free weights, the rhythm is different and one pauses between sets for recovery. That pausing moment was when I initially felt most awkward. Once I realized how the workout rhythm would feel different (focused/intense instead of speedy/energized), I was more comfortable.
  • Running_Spirit
    Running_Spirit Posts: 32
    Excellent post! ♥
  • harley_rose
    harley_rose Posts: 236
    Bump
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    I am a female lifter :) I started mid november and love it (and love cardio classes too). I squatted 175 lbs yesterday (I'm 5'8 131sh) so maybe I will be squatting comparable weights of the men soon :)
  • sailinjen
    sailinjen Posts: 103 Member
    LOVE LOVE this!!!! Hope all my friends read this!!!!! Thanks for the info....grabbing that book this week!!!!
  • Joreanasaurous
    Joreanasaurous Posts: 1,384 Member
    Love this! I am lucky enough where there are just as much women as men in the free weights. A fact I didn't even notice until I got over myself and started lifting.
  • Heather032190
    Heather032190 Posts: 138 Member
    Bump...love this and would like to keep it in mind.

    Thanks!
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Wow thanks everyone! My thread got stickied! How cool!

    I appreciate all the love for this! :heart: :heart: :heart:
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
    bumpers
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    AWESOME POST! :flowerforyou: :drinker:
  • thepinkleprechaun
    thepinkleprechaun Posts: 23
    Thank you for posting this! I will say that my "fear" of doing free weights is not so much because mostly men are over there (I was in the Marines for 5 years!) but that I am the biggest klutz in the world and I can injure myself doing just about anything lol. I used my "intro" personal training session to have the guy show me some free weight exercises today and it was awesome, I feel like I got a GREAT workout whereas before the machines were not doing crap for me.
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