Quote:
Originally Posted by midwife
So with my new gym I have noticed that women rarely lift weights. I am usually the only woman in the free weight section.  Free weights are awesome---I don't get it!!! |
Midwife: It must be lonely over there. Pretty common though. I think it has to do with percentages...think about the percentage of women who lift anyway. The smaller the gym the fewer women are going to head over there. My gym is pretty big and yet there are only a handful of women who I have seen on a regular basis lifting. It takes a lot of confidence as we all know to stride over there and claim your space whether your male of female. What I do see more frequently in big box gyms is that the functional training classes, small group training, and "sculpting" classes are packed. These are the classes where compound movements used in lifting are used but with more reps, sets etc. So the interest is there, I think that group classes are just traditionally more comfortable for people to learn when compared to walking over to a row of dumbbells and a bench crowded with people who seem to know how to do more beyond the bicep curl.
Anyway, sometimes I struggle with this still. I'm all over the map with it. I feel weird when I'm the only woman lifting then I feel territorial when another woman comes in and breaks the rules of common ettiquette when it's crowded...(men do it too by the way and I happen to know it ticks off the other guys just as much as it frustrates me when a woman does it... do we have less patience for our own respective gender..?
It's also something to note that this is outside of so many comfort zones for people on all kinds of levels. Realizing all of this, it makes me all the more grateful that I found lifting, was able to learn it and nurture my growth in a safe and supportive place. It's unique and I believe sets us apart (us meaning both men and women) apart from those who don't weave it into our lives.
Another thing about the "sandbox that I've noticed is that other women are also rather territorial as well. Its something that I've somewhat experienced since using my new gym. Oh the side long glances I've gotten.
It may be that I've got a good 15 to 20 years on a few of these women and I'm pulling way more weight in my sets. No big deal really. But never the less, it does further encourage me to think about how to create the optimal culture in a gym of my own.
So. About that note book. You wonder if they have it all in their heads. Not a chance. Listen, I've done both. Carried a notebook, charted all of my reps,sets, organized my workouts based upon goals and listed exercises specific for body part. I've got four notebooks, one for each of the first four years. Took notes also about pain, what it was like, how it inhibited certain ranges of motion and for how long. Not because I'm neurotic but because I've been my own trainer out of necessity. I'd come home after my workout and research whatever caused me concern or interest that day in the gym. Shoot, I'd even jot down "ideas" for things that happen right in the middle of my cardio session.
I'm missing one notebook. The one for this past year. Didn't create or carry one. I can tell you that with all that I've learned in the past four years I really shouldn't have to carry it but you know what, my workouts suffer for it. What it means is that there has been less planning and preparation for the workouts. I've been hammering away more or less at the same goals for a year with marginal progress. Mostly because of this crazy business of relocating my family which turned out to be this year long drama but never the less, it took a back seat. I can only imagine that's what's happening with other members at your gym.
Another benefit of that book, there is something psychological about being able to mark off the exercises as you complete them. You have the stats right there to know if you are having a bad day, and ordinary day, or a record bustin' day. I can not tell you the number of unsatisfying workouts I've had this year mostly because I felt like I just didn't "hit" it. Like in my own head I was slacking. Two weeks ago I took one of my old books in, wrote down as I went (without a plan ahead of time
) and was shocked at how different my workouts are from year four. Not less, my volume is a lot more. No WONDER I'm fatiguing at rep 6 and 7 and that third set feels like torture. I haven't been writing this stuff down and in my own head I'm less able to give myself credit where it is due. KWIM. So after bustin my @ss for an hour and half I'm walkin' out there feeling like I'm just not as good as I was a year prior.
Lesson: WRITE IT DOWN! Keeps you engaged and in touch. And yes, I'm getting a new book.
Some people may not realize that it is important to PLAN for success both in our lifting/exercise routines as it is in our eating routines. Many of them may think that they are doing fine day in day out. But the reality is they are just "working out" When you plan your workouts, write this stuff down, document the effects, you are TRAINING. That's different.
Midwife, you're not just working out. Most people workout. But you my friend, are TRAINING. It feels different, it looks different, and the results are dramatically different.
As a side note here, not that this isn't long enough, I had someone at my previous gym sidle up to me and ask quite honestly
what I was training for? Because it does look different from what others do. It has intention and that is visible. Just before I left that gym the same woman was really really kind and made some kind of remark that I really do look like an athlete. She said I could be an Olympic athlete the way that I train.
So. Not. True. "And the stretches you do are just so inspiring..." (That would be the yoga I did at the end of the workout) Anyway, my point is that we
will stand out but we have to remember that we stand out as inspiration to what is
possible for the Everyday Jane. Most importantly we have to remember that we do this above anything else as a way take care of ourselves. It's what we are made to do.
:
to all who have it today!
Our trainer was calling one of the timeslots 'The estrogen hour' because it was all women or maybe 1 guy. This past weekend, we went to Burke Lake park for a get together with some friends, it was nice 
to be able to do perfect sets of back squats at my old gym in between runs around the track. 
