I am the woman in the freeweights section of the gym

For a while I worked out exclusively in the "mens' part of the gym with my husband and his friend. Because of that, I never felt uncomfortable doing the same at my new gym. Prior to that, I had been at a women's gym so I was also fairly comfortable with free weights anyway.

Tonight I also had two bros who were setting up in what they described as 'the pro corner'. Next to the squat rack. They were effing and blinding every other word and in about half an hour I never saw either of them lift a weight, they were too busy texting and dissing people (mainly women they'd allegedly been with, from what I could hear). Felt like calling them out, but TBH, I was too much into what I was doing to give a ****. Lifting is evidently good for the soul!

Agreed!! That is absolute madness!

Well I went and I asked to be shown the free weights. What did I get shown? The treadmill? I asked a second time and got shown the bike. I asked a third time and got told women don't really lift weights so he couldn't show me them. What the actual hell?! I kicke up a fuss and I have an appointment with someone who might be able to help on Thursday, but I'm not that hopeful, particularly as this gym seems to mainly just have weights machines.

Argh! I definitely need to do this now, so that I have muscles big enough to punch people who say this type of thing.

Yikes, that is awful. I would definitely switch gyms, if that is an option.

You know who first told me that women needed to lift weights? An aerobic instructor! We were in the middle of a class and she said, "You know ladies, this will help you lose weight, but if you want to really firm up, y'all are going to have to start lifting." Due to her influence, the weight room at our YMCA is usually populated by both genders. It's awesome.

This is an awesome thread. In fact the last one was even better.

Forget about going to freeweight section, I used to be nervous about going to gym all together. I thought other girls will judge me because I can't run on a treadmills for long enough.

So I hired a trainer and what he does the first day?? He took me to a corner right next to the freeweight section and gave me a dumbbell to lift. At first it was extremely awkward because all the men can actually see what you are doing. Now that I have completed my 4th week, my trainer is having me trained in the freeweight sections with the guys.

I don't think men in my gym actually stare at me or judge me. Every now and then when I'm taking few seconds of breaks, I would lookup to see who's doing what. So next time I can ask my trainer. I still feel a little lost around when I'm waiting for my trainer but that's because I don't know my routine for the day. But I'm finally getting comfortable. I think they respect a girl working(/trying to) out at freeweights section. I'm probably the 2nd girl there. I see new faces here and there but they never stick around. Sad!

* Go with a friend who knows what they're doing. They'll show you some stuff you can do, and it's more fun that way. Or if you have no friends but have plenty of cash, hire a trainer at first. You can also ask the gym staff to show you particular racks/setups or even exercises. They're usually happy to help.

* Bring headphones. Ignore everyone else. No one cares what you're doing.

* When you're first learning an exercise, go light. Master your form and technique, then go heavier.

* Make sure you follow basic gym etiquette, like bringing a towel, wiping down equipment, and lifting safely.

Men in weight rooms often do jerky or oblivious behaviors like leaving heavy weights on the bars for you to struggle with, working out in the wrong place so you can't move around the room (there's invariably some guy doing shrugs like 3 inches from the dumbbell rack), or offering to "help" (ugh) when you're doing just fine. Ask them to move, or turn your ignore dial up, as needed.

Asking men for a spot is generally perceived as a come-on. I prefer to ask women to spot me until I get to know the regulars.

Dress however you like, but be aware that a t-shirt may work better than a tank top if you don't want to attract attention.

It's your room too. Go own it.

I get over there and start lifting fine, but then I start getting less confident as I notice the eyes of the men on me. To give myself confidence, I focus entirely on what I'M doing, bork everyone else. It's not too hard for me because I do 1-minute sets in a big circuit, so I'm looking at my timer pretty often. I like to blast my headphones really loud, with angry music, and keep my face locked in an "I-mean-business" expression. Also, contrary to the usual rules of public, I try to go over looking as much of a mess as possible- sweaty face and hair and my least favorite workout tops, so I don't feel so much staring on me. It's sad, but men take women more seriously when they aren't wearing pink or looking fabulous.

Tips to fake confidence: shoulders back, chin up, neck long, think violent thoughts.

I joined a gym a little over a month ago, just to lift weights. I'm usually the only woman lifting, but not always. I do occasionally get some funny looks from the guys when I walk in and start lifting like I own the place. But more often I overhear comments like "She deadlifts more than I do!":happy:

I can deadlift and squat more than my bodyweight now, and I'm working towards being able to bench my bodyweight by my birthday, which is in December. I have 45 pounds to go. And I front-squatted 100 pounds today!

I'm addicted to lifting.:happy:

I'd go stroll over and tell them they get points for deadlifting. Not to many bros bother with legs.

I have a funny story about that. I've been reading Oxygen magazine for years- pick up this magazine to learn how to use weights and cable machines!!

I got some neon colored exercise wear like I see in magazines and I hook up to a cable machine and "look all serious". I could barely do any of the exercises and almost fell over sideways several times. (Doing Single-leg deadlifts on the cable machine). I provided the comic relief in the gym, You could tell I was horribly out of shape, but I did not care.

Now I can do those exercises well and got great shape in those glute muscles.

Stick with it for two weeks and you'll see MAJOR improvements. You won't want to stop. Going on two years now.

I am a member of 24 hour fitness and when I lift weights I go very late like midnight-3 a.m. There's hardly anyone else there. I really like it because I'll admit, I'm intimidated by guys in the weight room. That's an option for some, if they want to do that at first before they get more confident with lifting...

I just joined a "black iron" weightlifting club that has a focus on education, inclusivity, and people lifting heavy **** (and putting it back down). If you haven't picked a gym yet, it might be useful to try 3 or 4-day passes until you find a place that is welcoming.