My gym which i literally drive too is pretty hardcore. it’s known for having the biggest collection of freaks in the burbs of toronto. What its also known for is the biggest collection of serious female lifters im aware of in toronto. It’s the only gym ive been where i had to wait because all 4 power racks were taken up by girls deadlifting or squating.
I think the reason why all the “fitness clubs” have cardio bunnies is because most serious lifters prefer to be around like minded people. They most likely go to a gym in the area that is full of girls who know what they are doing.
From what i see, girls need to lead by example. Girls at my gym i find lifted more then girls from past gyms simply because the most built girls all lifted weights. When 10 of the best bootys in the gym are on girls who squat religiously… guess what the other girls all started doing?
Interesting thread…I started training in my early 40s after doing the stupid post-partum cardio thing and getting no results. I found an awesome trainer that has progressed me over the years and got me to this decade (just turned 50) stronger and fitter than I have ever been in my whole, entire life.
I love lifting heavy and supplement and pay attention to my nutrition (i.e. try to get the protein in to build muscle). Training hard and heavy is good for my body, good for my libido and good for my soul…How many of my friends lift? Ummm, maybe 1?
So I just read here on this forum, in another thread, that Gwyneth Paltrow has the precursor to Osteoporosis, which is called Osteopenia. Apparently her dieting was so severe that she cut out far too much protein and calcium and has made her bones incredibly weak. She’s looking to restrengthen her body and hopefully scrap this stupid diet she was on.
Just imagine, for a second, a year from now, she went to some red carpet for some random movie premier, looking completely toned and healthy. The first interviewer comes up to her and asks:
[quote]ldt wrote:
Training hard and heavy is good for my body, good for my libido and good for my soul. [/quote]
Interesting you mention libido, Idt. I have found the same to be true. Stronger sex drive at almost 45 than ever in my life.
Love the vid clip of Gwyneth. Especially “less weight = less bulk.” I have the opposite problem. People think I’m kidding when I say I powerlift competitively because I am so small.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
Interesting you mention libido, Idt. I have found the same to be true. Stronger sex drive at almost 45 than ever in my life.[/quote]
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
Thanks Gremlin! All I can do is keep being me! And I’m like you, I wouldn’t train anyone differently from how I train myself…
Everyone has different goals of course, but you can program there training to suit them. Unlike Miss Popularity who’s signature move is Tricep kickbacks, and half repped bicep curls standing on toes…I feel sorry for the guys that she has doing that crap.[/quote]
Seriously, Betty, if I were near you and didn’t have IH, I would totally want you as my trainer. Heck, I DO want you as my trainer!
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
sorry, I don’t think that will be happening!
She said no woman should lift more then 3 lb weights…[/quote]
[/quote]
Why? I worked with a woman at my previous hotel who would always tell me my uterus would drop and I would not be able to have kids if I lifted heavy things. She always said to get a man to do it. Well, that’s all well and good, but the majority of the Front desk staff were WOMEN. If I needed something moved right now, I couldn’t wait for a bellMAN to become available. Besides, I was always put to work when visiting my parents. I joked about being their “pack mule” when I visited.
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
sorry, I don’t think that will be happening!
WOW. Just. WOW.
I had read about Tracy Anderson’s training of Gwyneth Paltrow, probably in the WSJ, and I couldn’t believe how many hours per week they said she trained (can’t remember now), but it is way too many hours for the results.
It’s also hilarious that Anderson says “Women should never lift more than 3 pounds; they’ll get bulky” while Paltrow points out she’s constantly lifting a 30-pound child.
There’s a woman “trainer” doing “boot camps” in my neighborhood having women hoist 2-pound dumbbells over their heads. I point out to every woman who will listen that if the weight they lift in a workout is LESS THAN their the handbag they carry around every day, or a typical grocery or shopping bag, what do they think it’s gonna do for them? That always makes them think, at least.
I gave up on training women a long time ago. Being a PT and selling fitness sucks. I’ve been training and working with a few teenagers (for free) because it’s fun and they want to make progress and get stronger. Working like this gives me the satisfaction I thought that being a PT would bring. I’m finding that I’d rather work for a living, and enjoy and share my passion for weights without the hassle of whoring myself out by making programs that cater to people who really have no intention of making real progress. I get asked by guys at the gym if they can train with me, or if I can make them programs, I don’t have time for it anymore. I’ve yet to have a woman approach me and ask for training, however I am usually the only girl in the gym so maybe that’s why.
The OP asked if this is changing, I’d say no in commercial gyms, but my daughter trains with a group of 6 girls and there are more of them at different weightlifting clubs. Oly lifting has become very popular in my area with teens and younger women. These girls are strong and look beautifully feminine. So there is hope.
I’m trying to get my wife to lift weights again but she keeps on telling me that she’s going to be bulky. She tells me that I don’t understand, she gains muscle so much faster than other people.
Back when we were dating she gave in and I made a workout for her. The rows were making her back look fabulous. Unfortunately, she doesn’t lift anymore and she keeps talking about losing weight, despite being a tiny (she’s Japanese, all women think they’re fat in Japan). Naturally she spends all of her time on the treadmill now, although I got her to deadlift not long ago and she liked it.
So, with the help of the women here, I’m hoping I can get her to start lifting again. Maybe when she sees how many women here lift but don’t become bulky, reality will kick in.
Oh, and the video of Gwyneth and her trainer … so much anger building. Trainers like that cause more harm to the industry than they do good.
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
sorry, I don’t think that will be happening!
What the hell was that? What the hell were those bands? No woman should lift over 3Lbs? I work with a bunch of female D1 college athletes who would argue with that! I wonder what that trainer would say if someone suggested that she and Gwyneth and Madonna should do heavy power cleans, snatches, and jerks in their workouts?
Seeing stars like Gwyneth Paltrow in videos like this one and in the magazines are what make my job as a trainer hard. Women see this and when I mention heavy squats, deads, and Oly lifts, they come back with this garbage, or some garbage they’ve read in a magazine saying that you can lose 20Lbs in a couple of weeks and it’s easy and requires no hard work. It’s enough to make one want to bash his head into a plate.
Some mentioned as trainer having to write programs they don’t believe in, to cater to these women who are afraid to lift heavy; I refuse to cater to people. I make it clear to my clients from the begining that I believe in moving heavy weight, lifting explosively, and moving fast; if that isn’t what they want to do then they may want to to find another trainer. I refuse to do anything differently.
I also believe that a lot of the blame for women being afraid they are going to get bulky if they lift weights, falls on guys. I work with a group of guys who are all former athletes and all continue to lift heavy and work hard in the weightroom, but one day we looking a picture of Ava Cowan flexing her ab’s on a magizine cover, and another of her doing dips with chains around her neck and they all said she was too much!!! She looks manly!!! WTF?!?!?! I couldn’t believe it. They all preferred the cardio bunny look; I was floored.
I think strong women, be it physical or mental strength, intimidates a lot of men, and they cover it by saying that they don’t like the way a strong woman looks because she looks manly.
Most woman want to attract a man to their lives, just as most men want to attract a woman to their lives, and when women hear men say that incredible women like Ava Cowan look manly, it scares them away from serious lifting, because they are afraid the opposite sex won’t find them appealing if they put on a bit of muscle mass or gain a bit of strength. It’s a sad state of affairs when some men are so intimidate by strong women, that they can’t appreciate a woman who works her butt off moving heavy weight in the weightroom.
