To think some women could lift heavier in the gym?

What a horrible attitude. Competition and 'pushing' shouldnt be highly rated

Women are pushing themselves all the bloody time actually, it never stops, so much demand and expectations and it still isnt enough apparently

The whole point of park run is that it isnt a competition and you do what is comfortable for you

This is exactly the attitude that stops people wanting to get out there and do something becuase of the judging and sneering

Well in addition to using teeny tiny weights, I am also a Parkrun slug, usually in the last 10 and regularly overtaken by people swiftly walking.

Maybe those women are running as fast as they are able, or maybe they are going at the pace of their friend to keep them company. Maybe it’s none of your business what speed someone else is going at and why should sport always be competitive anyway? Being competitive and having to go in teams is what put me off it when I was young, now I chase different goals like getting to my 250 Parkrun by the end of this year. I am slow but faster than those who don’t do it at all.

If you're doing Body Pump I wouldn't expect anyone to be using particularly high weights anyway, it's a high rep workout, so I reckon you're all good!

I think it's cultural. Women in this country aren't encouraged to be competitive or push themselves particularly. I noticed this on park run, that much younger women were running so slow.

My dad taught evening classes and had the same students for 15 years. They didn't need to go to the class, they didn't learn anything new after a year or so, but they enjoyed it, so they kept going.
Different people have different mindsets and reasonings.

Just think how much more the OP could lift if she wasn't carrying around the weight of her own sense of superiority.

Seeing as each time I went for 5rm or supersetting to failure, never mind 1rm, it was invariably followed by the sensation of a (hopefully) partial tendon tear because my muscles weren't affected by the connective tissue vulnerability, I'll stick to piddly little things, thank you very much.

Well, to be accurate, I'll stick to machines rather than introducing enough instability to cause permanent damage long before I get to heavier weights.

Hopefully, you will never experience what those feel like, but if you're going full out to failure every time, possibly fuelled on by the group dynamic and innate competitiveness, that really isn't guaranteed.

The grammar police are justifiably angry.

I don't think anybody has been particuarly angry on this thread? the grammar police maybe.
Personally I'm just a bit frustrated that the 'you need light weights to tone' myth won't die. We managed to get over 'women can't run marathons' or ' you can't take the train, your uterus will fly out', so how come this one is still so stubborn.

Okay then I will rephrase - why does it make you all so angry it people are doing it ‘wrong’ when it isn’t your time and money?

@Dozer A good Pump instructor really should be giving plenty of cues on safe and effective form! Part of the problem is that you don’t have to have other fitness quals to do Les Mills training so there are instructors who have qualified in the programme but haven’t studied anatomy/physiology etc which I think is shoddy and shows how £ motivated Les Mills are!

I got a Level 3 PT Diploma before training in Les Mills programmes because I wanted to feel confident I knew what I was teaching and why, and how to help participants move safely and get good results! Also participants often have questions about specific moves, muscles or injuries and I wouldn’t fee confident answering those without at least a Level 2 Fitness qualification.

But again, how does it affect you?

I bet most of us have opinions about many things that don't directly affect us.

IMO ‘tone’ isn’t a technical word in fitness terms but as a word it is used a lot in gyms and studios and names of classes. What people usually mean when they say tone is ‘visible muscle’, but subtle- not big muscles. Looking lean basically. The way to achieved a ‘toned’ look is to grow muscle while burning fat so that muscles are visible.

I think I could imagine myself being one of the light weight people.
I would make sure there was some resistance and I was feeling my muscles tire, but I don't see myself ever getting into weight lifting more than the most basic level to get some health benefits.

It's just not my thing, so a half arsed weights class might seem better than none at all. (I like running, but can understand some people just really hate running, trying to run, the idea of running... That's me with strength training!)

Please don’t let this put you off. My gym is just a chain gym and it’s genuinely friendly and inclusive and everuone I’ve met there has been friendly and welcoming.

wishing you all the very best for your treatment and recovery

My membership isn’t much more than that but I’m on a legacy membership. I think it’s around £90 a month otherwise. There are 8-10 reformer classes a day. Maybe 4-5 spin classes. 6 or 7 S&C classes, lift club, yoga, Pilates, body pump, etc. probably 40+ classes a day from 6am to 9pm. I’m lucky enough to live right next door (<1 minute walk) and I pretty much live in there.

I’m an instructor and I teach several strength classes. Most of my participants are women. I agree with you- I would say only about 10% of my ladies really push themselves in terms of what they can lift. Sometimes it’s a confidence thing, but I think some women think big weights = big muscles and they’re worried about looking ‘bulky’.

I encourage them to go heavier, and give plenty of +ive feedback when they do- this works with the ones who are lacking confidence. As for the ones who worry about looking like Arnie- I explain why this is unlikely to happen but many of them still choose to stick with the lighter weights so I leave them to it. It’s their workout and they get to choose how to do it! I’m just there to teach/monitor technique and to encourage progression if it’s what they want.

Thank you. Perfectly worded.

I wouldn’t want people to be put off for any reason.

but from this thread the main reason people will be put off is from people like the OP who think they are better because they can lift slightly more than someone else.

Would you rather people be put off from even trying because of the comments on here?

Oh and in 30 years of gym going I have never seen 0.5kg weights used in any class and pink lady weights died out in the 90s.

I travel frequently for work and always go to local gyms - tiny weights (true, maybe not 0.5 but 1 kilos) are very much still there and you can find various 'toning' classes all over too.

Of course, the best exercise is still the one you do and even Tracy Anderson style workout (where you just wave your arms around without any weight) is still better than sitting on the sofa.

This.

The only reason you should be doing it right whatever the weight is so you don’t injure yourself!

I don’t care what weight people lift, but I don’t want people being put off by the idea of being bulky

But again, how does it affect you? It’s their time and money, it makes no difference to you in the slightest. Please explain why it matters? If you are serious about helping women by informing them, there really are better ways of doing it