To think some women could lift heavier in the gym?

Most women are not actually in a gym. Or ‘lifting weights’. They’re living a life. Reading, working, walking the dog, watching tv, travelling, shopping, gaming, eating, scrolling, seeing friends.

what an odd comment. Why is watching tv more 'living' than exercising? It is also allowed to both walk the dog and go to gym, they are not either/or activities. Gaming or shopping, fun as they might be, won't be enough to keep you strong and fit though.

I don't read the OP or my follow up about slow park runner as being sneery or judgemental. It's observational. It's taking a sweeping look and making an assessment of the average. So I said women are running park run slow on average and you can see it in the finishing figures. Young women who are easily capable of running 25 minute park run are doing 30 or 35 because the cultural norm is low achievement, low competition. I know park run isn't a competition but it reflects the same approach to sport of low effort if you're hardly even trying while you're there. But ofc better to be there than not.

Wow this is quite judgmental! I don’t know how old you are (you don’t say) but I go to the gym, I’m 44. I lift approximately 4-5kg per arm usually when doing arm stuff. That’s plenty for me for now. I had to have major surgery last year on my abdomen and nobody would know this because I’m ’back to normal’ but putting undue strain on my pelvic floor isn’t great for me so I don’t…I’m happy as I am thanks. If you’re seeing massive gains and benefits from lifting to your max then that’s great but personally I feel better working in a moderate range! That goes for cardio too now. I used to run multiple times a week flat out. Now I tend to do hill walks and cycling. I don’t want to push to the max anymore. Conscious decision here and happy with it!

And indeed Zumba and line dancing are still better than nothing at all ( my own exercise snobbery may have sneaked in there).

Well this is it isn’t it. The implication that if you aren’t lifting heavy you might as well be doing line dancing or zumba classes for all the good it’s doing you. Anything weight bearing is so much better than nothing at all.

Equally I could judge you for not pushing yourself because I lift more than you do, and another woman could judge me because she lifts more than I do...and it would all be pointless nonsense.

They might not get excellent results but certainly better results than people who don't do classes with light weights 3 or 4 times a week.

There are a lot of more conservative ways of strengthening your knees that will also preserve the joint, cartilage, ligaments and tendons, etc from harm.

Good luck.

they probably think they can lift light, but as long as they do it 3-4 times a week it will yield excellent result.

obviously we know that’s not the case! But whatever.

Yep. I am almost 2 years in, ironically from a gym injury, and can still only walk for half an hour at a time. Outside - I’m never setting foot in a gym again 😭🤣 Some injuries take years, or never get back to normal at all.

I walk every day and feel great. Everyone is different, made differently inside and outside.

I understand this though.

This post is like the book ‘they all saw a cat’

I look at a woman lifting any weights and think ‘wow’ good woman, and I don’t look at the number written on the end of it.

It’s amazing how we can all see the same thing and yet see something completely different.

Those who say they will never go to a gym because they worry about being judged (and then try to blame this directly on strangers on the internet) are missing out. If you allow strangers’ opinions to alter your behaviour in this way then sadly you’re the only one who loses- it’s your health and fitness, no one else’s.

ALL of us started out as beginners. All of us probably got judged. But the great thing is that you can still go to the gym and improve your health and fitness anyway, whether you’re being judged or not. 🤷🏼‍♀️ So the choice is yours as to whether you want the benefits or not.

Some might have long term injuries or be recovering from surgery. You don’t know.

I’ve got a long term injury which impacts my ability to lift heavy weights or do certain exercises. I’m about to have surgery and full recovery can be up to 12 months. You wouldn’t know any of this to look at me and would probably assume I’m not pushing myself.

Yes, quite.

I know so many women my age (mid 40s) who are going all in at the gym.

Me and my nerve damage and incredibly painful steroid injections into my spine just sit back and wince.

I am worse off than before I set foot in one. My back surgeon and physio both told me that a lot of their patients are women who started going to the gym and doing weights for their strength in their 40s and ended up wrecking their bodies in the process.

My physio said just walk for a couple of hours a day.

ETA I did be have a PT with me. I think I said upthread (I’m off my face on painkillers and not sleeping so can’t keep up with myself), it was just one, slight wrong move that fucked me up.

Agreed. I’m not living any weights at all 😂

Box jumping is pretty good for knees if technique is good. Also stepping (rather than jumping) down from the box after the jump.

Where problems arise is with poor technique/unsuitable footwear/overdoing it/trying to jump too high without enough training/not warming up properly/not stretching properly afterwards (same could be said for all types of exercise really).

If people don’t want to jump, don’t jump. But no need to criticise someone for doing it if they have been trained to do it properly and are being well-supervised.

This is exactly why I will never set foot in a gym! Everybody always says “nobody cares what you’re doing, they’re just focused on their own workout” but we know that’s not true.

People like OP are reason some people hate the gym. Quit judging everyone else and concentrate on your own workout.

I like doing sport (endurance) and I find Stacy Sims views on what women should be doing a doomer honestly. It's very restrictive. And yes I do lift weights. But there's so much more for a joyful active life.

I’m doing it properly, under the close supervision of a highly qualified PT as part of a programme specifically designed to future proof my knees. I think I’ll take her word on this. My arthritis consultant also tells me it’s vital to keep moving.

Jumping is proven to improve bone density and improve muscle strength as well as balance and agility. All vital as we get older.

And as a pp said, done properly with correct technique it’s a lot less risky.

As I said, speaking as someone who experienced a lot of pain from arthritis (and I’m 58 now) and now can run and box Jump, I’m sticking with what I know is working for me.

I only started lifting weights in my 60s . I had always been active but no weights. I had no injuries or osteoporosis but I was desperately nervous of getting injured. I was very slow to increase the weights but the coach was extremely encouraging and bit by bit l went up with constant supervision. I was amazed what l could do and l feel the benefit generally in life tasks. I never pay any attention to what other women are doing but l know for me l just believed l couldn't do it and l would have really missed out if the coach hadn't kept a close eye on me. So l get OP what you are saying: if proper coaching was available we would benefit more by lifting more in a safe way.

Im doing it to strengthen my knees - did you read my post?

There is nothing like unnecessarily injuring your joints to cause them to wear out prematurely and leave you in hideous chronic pain, and often ultimately requiring TKRs that may or may not leave you better off.

Exactly. A whole load of excuses why they can’t instead of looking to see what they can do.

Box jumps aren’t for everyone, but plyonetric exercises are very beneficial, especially for women as they age. If anyone is interested in learning more about the types of exercises women should be doing as they age, Dr Stacy Sims has some very interesting interviews on YouTube.

The bottom line is it’s up to the individual how they exercise, if at all. We can mitigate risk as we age, but our bodies wear out over time. Women especially experience a sharp drop in physical performance due to menopause. It’s up to the individual what they choose to do about it.

I meant she has good knees now.