Do you see like-minded/bodied women?

[Vincenza]

I go to a bodybuilding gym, and I rarely see any females lifting heavy. The only ones I've seen are personal trainers (2). I'm usually the only female downstairs with the free weights.



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I absolutely LOVED the Arnold Fitness Expo in Columbus, Ohio last march. I saw HUNDREDS of us!!!! It was like I landed on another planet. I will go to the event every year that I can. Amazing. Nothing else like it in N. America.
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[swindled]

Honestly, I used to be around women like myself all the time, but when you move out of national level sports they are fewer and fewer between. Even the university athletes Im around barely workout, and the only push themselves when their trainer is around. At my university gym the girls are either cardio bunnies, or they get all dressed up and wear makeup to go check out the guys in the weight room.

There are two girls at my uni gym besides myself who lift heavy..sort of. (my roommate used to until her doctor told her she wasnt a sprint kayaker and shouldnt be trying to lift heavy....) I find that the other two who lift heavy dont really push themselves and they do the same exercises with the same weights over and over again, so they arent gaining. I do see two women in the gym who are genuinely trying to get themselves into shape and start lifting heavy, so I hope they continue with it and dont get discouraged.

I think I get discouraged at my university, I have been trying to get a women's rugby team going for three years now...and no dice. I have 40 women who sign up..then like 5 show up to practices. Its hard to recruit for rugby, the stereotypes about women rugby players are ridiculous (we are either all lesbians, butches, or that we will start to bulk up and look like men). I now just train with the mens team, especially over winter. Its amazing how many of them want to be my partner when we are resistance training (one person holds the rope around the other persons waist while the other person runs away from them)...lol...apparently they really like that view (or so they keep telling me).

Around my home city and home gym, none of the girls move into the weight room. The stay on the cardio machines, or this little circuit type area thats sort of set up like curves. It gets lonely in the weight room...and all the guys give me these looks like "what are you doing in here, you dont know what you are doing"...until I start doing pullups, or single arm rowing more than they are. Thankfully most of the women on my rugby and football teams workout regularily, or are personal trainers, dieticians, or sports nuts. All of my coaches in rugby were at one time on team Canada, so for 30-50 year olds they are in amazing shape for women, and can still bust it out for a full rugby game, and kick ass while they are at it. It gives me a place where I dont stand out too badly as being the only one in shape (not all of my team is athletic or in shape, but they come to all the practices and games and that is a big thing to me).

I actually left most PCOS support sites because of the lack of motivation on many of the womens parts on these sites. Some women had made amazing strides, but others were content using PCOS to justify their lack of action and that really bothered me. They would complain about how no matter how much exercise and eating right they did they couldnt lose weight...but when you would ask about a sample day for food and exercise, many of them would get very defensive, which tells me they arent doing what they are saying. I just couldnt find common ground with a lot of other women with PCOS, and I found great support and similar goals on here, so this is where I have stayed

[Tiffany_P]

I see quite a few here in NYC. Unfortunately, the vast majority of women in the gym are either going for the skinny look or they have no idea what they're doing. To be fair though, most men at the gym are simply spinning their wheels as well.

[BuffedWildCat]

Originally Posted by soleuvanathlete

I RARELY see other women in my geographical area who appear to workout like I do, or have the same physique goals that I do (very occasionally at the gym, once or twice a month out in public). I guess it just makes me look pretty darn good in the long run, but I find it kind of odd. Not sure why. It is a disciplined lifestyle...

Just wondering if other ladies find this to be true, or if different parts of the country/world tend to have a larger population of women who compete or look like they could/want to compete (whether in figure/fitness/bodybuilding)?

Same here. And I've lived in Belleville, IL, Dover, DE, Asheville, NC, and now Crestview, FL and it's been the same story at every place I've been, rarely do I find/see another female who is in the shape that I'm in, as in clearly a bodybuilder type. In gyms I usually find either cardio bunnies or overweight women and never have I seen a female BB'r out in public unless I was at a bodybuilding show. It sure can be a lonely sport at times! Heh, which is one reason why I spend a lot of time HERE.

[IronCitGrl]

I ended up going to my gym in the afternoon instead of the morning yesterday like I normally do and there was one lady there with muscles who was lifting heavy. JUST ONE out of all the females who stay on the treadmills and ellipticals and occasionally swing around the 5 lbs weights. ( I would make it two females lifting heavy ) We are severely outnumbered.

[iKoniConSciencE]

Yeah, isn't it sad that even those of who us go to "bodybuilding gyms" rarely see women lifting heavy?

Outside of this one powerlifter lady (she's HUGE and BUFF and everything, geeeesh), I am pretty sure I am the most jacked woman at my "bodybuilder" gym. I feel conceited and even strange saying that (seriously, ME?!?! I'm just... me... you know?) but when I think about it, it's... true. *Surprised look* I found out that a couple other women are going to (supposedly) be entering the bodybuilding contest this summer, which makes me very happy, but I don't want to get too close to them. One of them asked me for advice a couple days ago, told me her entire regime (which had a lot of holes), and I just nodded my head and listened.

I give fitness advice to friends sometimes and they always rebuke with, "But you're coming from a BODYBUILDER perspective! I don't WANT to be as MUSCULAR as you are!"

I'm thinking, "Don't flatter yourself..." -- people have NO IDEA how much precision dedication it TAKES to be a woman with muscle. It's not going to appear overnight just because you decide to pick up a dumbbell that weighs more than ten pounds. Silly girls.

[smariejohnson]

I only see a lot of fit women now because I work in a war zone, however even here the unfit outweigh the fit. There are about 20 unfit people to every 1 fit person.

[soleuvanathlete]

Originally Posted by smariejohnson

I only see a lot of fit women now because I work in a war zone, however even here the unfit outweigh the fit. There are about 20 unfit people to every 1 fit person.

See? I find that to be absolutely shocking! You work in a "war zone"! I find it unconscionable that women are not required to maintain at least a minimum level of fitness? I see this a lot with civil servants too and am always astounded...

[funkyfit]

I have always wondered that. I live in Richmond VA and have worked out in a few different gyms. I rarely see ofther ladies that work out like I do or have physiques that I admire.

I have noticed that in Northern VA and the DC area, many more women train and compete in figure and bodybuilding. I think it is due to the fact that more competitions are held in those areas. You can go to just about any gym up there and there are ladies training hard and posing.

Originally Posted by soleuvanathlete

I RARELY see other women in my geographical area who appear to workout like I do, or have the same physique goals that I do (very occasionally at the gym, once or twice a month out in public). I guess it just makes me look pretty darn good in the long run, but I find it kind of odd. Not sure why. It is a disciplined lifestyle...

Just wondering if other ladies find this to be true, or if different parts of the country/world tend to have a larger population of women who compete or look like they could/want to compete (whether in figure/fitness/bodybuilding)?

[soleuvanathlete]

Originally Posted by funkyfit

I have always wondered that. I live in Richmond VA and have worked out in a few different gyms. I rarely see ofther ladies that work out like I do or have physiques that I admire.

I have noticed that in Northern VA and the DC area, many more women train and compete in figure and bodybuilding. I think it is due to the fact that more competitions are held in those areas. You can go to just about any gym up there and there are ladies training hard and posing.

I would just like to be a fly on the wall in one of those gyms in the areas you mention. I'd probably be intimidated to actually workout with those bada$$ chicks! lol Interesting.

[lherman]

Originally Posted by erinlee01

I am lucky enough to have found a trainer who competes in bb'ing. Other than her, I am an anomoly at the gym. It would be nice to have other women around who share the dedication to talk to.

This is why we have this forum, so we can talk to each other. I too am the only woman at my gym that lifts heavy. There are several males that are definately BB ers, but the only woman I see are on the aerobic machines or using light weights. That's why I started reading and posting here.

[KyleAaron]

Originally Posted by LeapFroggie

I mean, really, girls, don't you know that you have to go lift heavy things?

They don't know, no. And if they are told, they tend to reject the advice.

At most gyms you have some staff member write a programme for you based on your expressed goals and show you through the workout. However, it's very common for clients (male and female both) to say, "No, I know what I'm doing," and reject any help.

They design their own workouts, or rather just wander in and do whatever they feel like. For the men that means endless bicep curls and maybe some bench pressing, for the women that means the treadmill, and maybe some 30-50 rep (I'm not making this up) leg extensions.

If they let the staff design their programme, they tend to argue with them. For example, the staff member may say, "You said you get back pain because you have large breasts, so I suggest bench pressing to improve the muscles supporting your breasts, and some dumbell bent over rows to improve your upper back strength and posture, this will help prevent the pain."

Then the client will say, "but I don't want to bulk up."

Then the staff member will explain that it won't be so, maybe even show some pictures of women who've done weight training and how they didn't bulk up at all but looked great, and the client will nod and... ignore it all.

Getting women to do free weights is almost as hard as getting men to do squats and deadlifts. They usually have the information from the staff, but are all "la la la I can't hear you!"

For the most part, the guys at the gym are almost always respectful and I don't get any looks or comments apart from the occasional "do you need a spot?" question.

Of course, we want to encourage it. I'd much rather be lifting next to a woman than some sweaty ugly guy.

There was a woman at the gym yesterday doing endless reps on leg press, leg extension and leg curls, only using 20kg or something, she would have got more resistance on the bike. I thought she was going to break her neck turning her head staring at me in the cage, if she'd been doing decent weights she would have seriously strained herself. If only she'd come to say hello I could have shown her my ring and got her to do some squats.

Originally Posted by Tiffany_P

To be fair though, most men at the gym are simply spinning their wheels as well.

This cannot be emphasised enough. Working out without real goals, method or results is not gender-specific, just the particular way they waste time is

[NatureGrrrl]

The gym I used to go to had quite a few female bodybuilders. Of course the pink dumbell cardio bunnies always seemed to over rule us, but there were still quite a few strong women who were not afraid of real free weights.

I don't see that many muscular women on the streets where I live. It is usually very over weight, somewhat chubby, or skinny fat. It's too bad too because most women love to eat and they would be able to eat more if they put on some muscle. I don't understand why they don't get that.

[egoatdoor]

Originally Posted by KyleAaron

They don't know, no. And if they are told, they tend to reject the advice.

At most gyms you have some staff member write a programme for you based on your expressed goals and show you through the workout. However, it's very common for clients (male and female both) to say, "No, I know what I'm doing," and reject any help.

They design their own workouts, or rather just wander in and do whatever they feel like. For the men that means endless bicep curls and maybe some bench pressing, for the women that means the treadmill, and maybe some 30-50 rep (I'm not making this up) leg extensions.

If they let the staff design their programme, they tend to argue with them. For example, the staff member may say, "You said you get back pain because you have large breasts, so I suggest bench pressing to improve the muscles supporting your breasts, and some dumbell bent over rows to improve your upper back strength and posture, this will help prevent the pain."

Then the client will say, "but I don't want to bulk up."
Then the staff member will explain that it won't be so, maybe even show some pictures of women who've done weight training and how they didn't bulk up at all but looked great, and the client will nod and... ignore it all.

Getting women to do free weights is almost as hard as getting men to do squats and deadlifts. They usually have the information from the staff, but are all "la la la I can't hear you!"

So true!

[Bluelinersgirl]

Nope... I RARELY see another female in the free weights pick up more the 5lbs Even the trainers at my gym are fat! I never see them lift heavy or encourage anyone else too. I can't imagine paying someone who looks so out of shape to get me into shape!

I do occasionally see women in decent shape with some muscle definition out and about, but they defiantly don't go to my gym!

[egoatdoor]

Originally Posted by Bluelinersgirl

Nope... I RARELY see another female in the free weights pick up more the 5lbs Even the trainers at my gym are fat! I never see them lift heavy or encourage anyone else too. I can't imagine paying someone who looks so out of shape to get me into shape!

I do occasionally see women in decent shape with some muscle definition out and about, but they defiantly don't go to my gym!

The trainers, male and female, in my gym are all skinny! They don't eat and they have no muscle. And yes, they never push or encourage their clients to do more than go through the motions. These are definitely not people who can train anyone to build any muscle. But then again, I think most of their clients have low expectations, lack real motivation and don't really have specific goals. Its easy money for the trainers.

[saraksheets]

Originally Posted by egoatdoor

The trainers, male and female, in my gym are all skinny! They don't eat and they have no muscle. And yes, they never push or encourage their clients to do more than go through the motions. These are definitely not people who can train anyone to build any muscle. But then again, I think most of their clients have low expectations, lack real motivation and don't really have specific goals. Its easy money for the trainers.

That's sad. It wasn't until I actually HAD a personal trainer did I dare venture over to the free weights. I didn't know where to start, or what I was doing. He definitely encouraged me to lift heavy (over time) and stop focusing on cardio cardio cardio.

[triangle]

I think there's a handful of us at my gym, but I pretty much never see any of these other women because 3 or 4 people across all the hours the gym is open.. it's unlikely.

My gym is an odd one.. there are very few female members altogether so there aren't even many cardio bunnies. The upstairs is the very well equipped 'serious' gym, with the free weights and cables, plate loaded equipment and some rather old fixed resistance machines. Down stairs is what I call the 'Ladies gym' (not that I use it) where there's the cardio suite and a small number of very fancy fixed resistance machines. They have digital displays and everything If I do see a women lifting it's usually, somewhat ineffectually, on these.

I'm always for some reason surprised when I see men using these machines though.. If the men are too intimidated (and that's what it often is, I think) to train upstairs I should imagine a lot of the women are too. I guess it's a shame there aren't more like-minded women, but I'm not that bothered, I quite like being a bit of an anomaly

[Plainandtall]

I once saw a husky woman in the smith machine and I never saw her again. I am the only woman who ever goes in the weightroom... and if I had a twin spirit out there and I'm just missing her in the gym- I'm sure the staff would have joyfully told me by now.

A few months ago I was at a Walmart in town about an hour from my home. Out of the corner of my eye- as I was blipping past an aisle- I saw a woman who just looked like a bodybuilder to me- she was tall, blond and fit and tan... but beyond that- her shoulders had that beautiful round defined ball capping off her beautiful arms...the silouette of her shoulders was really the thing that registed in my head that she had more going on than just "slim"... well what was funny was just as I was registering her outline- I guess she caught mine and her head snapped... we never made eye contact or crossed again- but it was a really good feeling for me- having recently undergone a big weightloss transformation... I still am sometimes surprised by my own reflection- like it hasn't sunk in yet... I know why she caught my eye- but to think that my work reflected enough in my form to make a female bodybuilder take a second look - in a "I thought I knew all of us, where did you come from?" sort of way... was pretty cool.

[Zenree]

Originally Posted by Plainandtall

I once saw a husky woman in the smith machine and I never saw her again. I am the only woman who ever goes in the weightroom... and if I had a twin spirit out there and I'm just missing her in the gym- I'm sure the staff would have joyfully told me by now.

A few months ago I was at a Walmart in town about an hour from my home. Out of the corner of my eye- as I was blipping past an aisle- I saw a woman who just looked like a bodybuilder to me- she was tall, blond and fit and tan... but beyond that- her shoulders had that beautiful round defined ball capping off her beautiful arms...the silouette of her shoulders was really the thing that registed in my head that she had more going on than just "slim"... well what was funny was just as I was registering her outline- I guess she caught mine and her head snapped... we never made eye contact or crossed again- but it was a really good feeling for me- having recently undergone a big weightloss transformation... I still am sometimes surprised by my own reflection- like it hasn't sunk in yet... I know why she caught my eye- but to think that my work reflected enough in my form to make a female bodybuilder take a second look - in a "I thought I knew all of us, where did you come from?" sort of way... was pretty cool.

LOL - great story