Wander Talks: Episode 3 – Girls Who Love To Lift
The trull skinny on girls pumping iron.
KTB presents: Episode 3 of Wander Talks with Rachel Jimenez. This week, Rachel sat down with 3 of her classmates from her Exercise Science program to talk about what it’s like to be a woman lifting in the gym. Last week, Rachel discussed the age of social media.
Girls Who Love To Lift
Earlier in the day, the ladies worked out as a group in between classes and started noting aspects of the session that were both beneficial and completely different than they were used to.Most people would normally pick one or the other: work out alone or work out in a group. Most that favor working out alone would agree that it takes less time and keeps you more focused, while those that favor working out in a group would agree that it keeps them motivated and more accountable for getting through an entire workout. We talked about the different pros and cons between the two and concluded that a balance of both workout styles is necessary to develop a level of autonomy and an ability to feed/learn off of your workout partner(s).
Additionally, we attempted to decide whether lifting with a guy or a girl is better. Both, we found, can provide helpful insight to one another but can also re-light the stigma that is created about women in the gym in general. Most know that men are stereotyped to be the free-weight kings and women are considered to be cardio-bunnies. Because of this, a common fear is shared amongst most women about coming into the gym. Even girls that work in with a guy can feel intimidated by their partner’s potential concern about the weight being lifted or being surrounded by a bunch of muscular people. Each of us shared a bit of our back story on how we overcame our fear of the gym as well as our past experiences about working out with guys.
Breaking the barrier between the “men” and “women” areas of other is so important not only because we need to incorporate both to reach our maximal health, but because these gym sections should never feel as if they belong to a specific group of people. Getting to see more and more girls step into the weight room is so exciting because it helps them gain a sense of empowerment as well as destroy the stereotype that they don’t belong in there. It can create a more accepting environment for both parties so that everyone can focus on the number one goal: to make some “gains.”
Wander Talks: Episode 4 – Jose Gonzalez
