Lady Lifters... Help me feel better

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kshadows
kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So this has been bugging me for days. Last week I went into a sporting goods store with my son. He was checking everything out, and I was looking around for weight lifting shoes, just for the heck of it to burn time. The store owner came up and asked what I was looking for, said "Oh yes! Let me get my shoe buyer and see if we've got any or can get any"

Shoe buyer comes out, shows me a few pairs of cross trainers, then says he can check out back for actual lifting shoes. As he's walking away he turns and looks at me and says "I mean...what kind of weights are you lifting anyways? You don't look like a weight lifter.... like actual big, like heavy weights?"

Uh, YEAH dude, actual big, heavy weights on an Olympic bar. Thanks??

Replies

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    I wouldn't be offended, women lifting heavy isn't as common as you think, also people have misconceptions about how women who lift actually look. People think I look this way because of yoga and Orange Theory (I don't even know what that is). I find it funny. Mind you I don't really look like I lift so I don't get offended at all.
  • jnomadica
    jnomadica Posts: 280 Member
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    I’d be annoyed. It feels a bit condescending. I’d like to think that someone working in a sporting goods store would be a bit more knowledgeable. Hopefully it was a learning experience for the guy.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
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    jnomadica wrote: »
    I’d be annoyed. It feels a bit condescending. I’d like to think that someone working in a sporting goods store would be a bit more knowledgeable. Hopefully it was a learning experience for the guy.

    YES, this. It felt condescending the way he said it. And I just said "yes, I do heavy squats/deadlifts, etc" and he shrugged and said "Ah, ok" *eyeroll*
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
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    No. I wouldn't give the guy the benefit of the doubt.
    It's the kind of thing you would never say because it might be taken with offense.
    Just like you would be careful before you said to the stranger with the big belly "When are you due?" unless you were quite certain.
    Dumb.
    If you buy the shoes, buy them somewhere else.
  • PWRLFTR1
    PWRLFTR1 Posts: 324 Member
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    A lot of people think lifting weights equals body building. Whenever I tell people I lift, they will (very obvious) look me up and down expecting me to look like a female Arnold Schwarzenegger, then I have to explain that I'm a powerlifter and then explain what the difference is.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Right, @PWRLFTR1?!? No one freaking knows powerlifting and assumes bodybuilder. I get the same thing.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    edited April 2019
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    He probably doesn't lift weights himself and doesn't know. A lot of people assume lifting weights = bodybuilder/huge muscles etc.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    Next time bring Arnold!!!
  • amiller92873
    amiller92873 Posts: 7 Member
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    What a douche, take your business elsewhere. No comment at all should have been made by him.
  • ChrisCatMama
    ChrisCatMama Posts: 1,038 Member
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    It would bother me but I might be tempted to challenge him to an arm wrestle. I hope you are able to move on from that. You can’t change people from stereotyping others. This guy isn’t worth getting upset over.
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
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    Most don’t know what weightlifters look like unless it falls under the obvious stereotypes. I get warned often not to lift things cause I am a short female, yet my deadlift max is currently 305. Just know what you can do and ignore the disbelievers.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,354 Member
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    I mentioned to someone a few months ago that I had started learning Olympic weightlifting. His response? “What does your husband think?”

    Sooo many responses came to mind that I was almost speechless trying to decide exactly what to say.
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
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    Does he even lift? I wouldn't be offended unless he was 6'4 and 220 minimum...
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    edited April 2019
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    PWRLFTR1 wrote: »
    A lot of people think lifting weights equals body building. Whenever I tell people I lift, they will (very obvious) look me up and down expecting me to look like a female Arnold Schwarzenegger, then I have to explain that I'm a powerlifter and then explain what the difference is.

    Agreed.

    I also get the people thinking because I'm a competitive powerlifter, the majority of my training is 1RMs when in fact I train a variety of rep schemes/intensities and never actually attempt a 1RM unless I'm on the platform. I mean I lift so-called "heavy"(what ever that means) for reps because I've trained for a very long time.

    Trust me OP, it has a lot more to do with a lack of knowledge and popularity than anything.

    I never buy my equipment from a sporting goods store because...nobody carries size 14 shoes or a brand name belt. The variety and/or quality isnt there for something so unpopular.

    You probably get better luck with online shopping. I could give you sites but unfortunately the mods here might not approve.



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