I am the woman in the freeweights section of the gym

I life free weights too. I see them looking but they are very respectful. The few that talk try to teach and I politely telll them I need to focus on my work outs.

Thanks for the inspiring & informative info! DH & I both have gym membership, and he is very supportive, also strong & good with weights. (At 73 he can lift a lot more than most younger men). I downloaded the Strength book to my iPad & will start working on my plan. If I can get the book away from DH.

This was an awesome post. My gym has two weight rooms, both are the same; however one seems to be frequented by muscle heads, the other by what I categorize as "real people". I, too, felt anxiety going into the weight room, and I was freakin scared that people would notice I was doing it wrong, not say anything aloud, but in their head say "hmm, look at that dumb girl"...but now, I've read some book, watched some other people and just get in my zone. Comparison is the robber of all success.

Great Post!

I lift like a dude lol, I make noises and faces IDGAF tho!! I have guys asking me if I'm using the 50lbs dumbbell LOL But the reward of me lifting heavy and making faces and noises is AMAZING. I LOVE MYSELF, for it!!

I pay monthly for my gym membership so I can be all up and over that bia if I want too

I have encountered some of the same things, overall, everyone has been very cool. I'm still mildly intimidated because I don't "look like" I should be doing weights and I am older.

RESPECT

Late to the party, but what a great post..so spot on!

This will be me one day.

Hi, I have worked out in the free-weight section before. At the gym I went to most women did not want to go down to the free weights room because there were mostly guys, it was a small area, it was downstairs away from everybody else and all of the machines, and many times the guys would leave very heavy weights on the free weight machines ( the hack squat machine, pull down, calf raise). Most women could not move weights that heavy. It is just kind of awkward in general even doing bench presses and dumbbell work there at least. Now, I have been to a large YMCA where it was much easier and more comfortable to use the free weights. Sometimes I think women use more machines so they won't get hurt. It is much easier to get hurt doing a squat wrong than a leg extension on a machine. I hurt myself a long time ago that exact way and still have issues with that muscle. I did find a book that has encouraged me though. The programs go really slow even an extreme beginner can do the exercises and they can be done at home. The book is Bible Sculpting Bible for Women.

I'm pretty close to the only one in the free weights section as well. I just blast my music through my headphones and ignore everything else. I'm there for me and that's what matters, not what anyone else thinks.