To think some women could lift heavier in the gym?

[Ilostallthepens]

I go to a strength training class a few times a week. It’s almost always all women, class size is about 15. I’m not especially strong or experienced at lifting weights but I notice I’m always lifting the heaviest (sometimes by a long way) than every other person there. I’m also working to my maximum capacity for the 8-12 reps we’re doing. I’m huffing and puffing and sweating doing bicep curls with an 8kg dumbbell in each hand and I look over and the woman next to me is lifting a couple of 2kg dumbbells with no visible effort at all. I see this in a lot of the women there. They don’t seem to push themselves to their limit or even that close to it. I’m talking about women a similar age to myself that have been going to the gym for at least as long as me. I get some people may not want to push themselves to their max effort for whatever reason, eg. an injury, but I’m seeing lots of women seemingly not putting in half the amount of effort that they seem capable of and over a long period of time. So this makes me think the reason must be they don’t believe they are capable of lifting heavier, or they don’t want to lift to their max ability for some reason. Why do you think this is? Have you experienced this? Do you not work to max capacity in the gym? If not, why not?

Why do you care? Your sort is the reason lots of people stay away from the gym. Get on with your own life and stop judging others. Jesus.

5x a week was a lot!

Obviously you must do things at your own pace, but what I'm challenging is the idea that it's bad for women to lift heavy weights. Of course not all women will be able to do that at all points in their life, but if you are in a good condition for that, then you should try to lift heavy, especially if you are going to a strength training class!

No one is watching and judging you. The issue is women who are perfectly healthy who go to a strength class and lift only 2kg and refuse to push themselves and attempt to progress, when that is the whole point of strength training. Why are so many women so afraid to lift heavy?

There's a bit of confusion here: women who for various reasons cannot lift heavy vs women who go to a gym to lift weights yet lift the minimum possible and make no effort to progress.

No, no , no!!!
Don't listen to the OP.

Consistent weight bearing exercise has marvelous benefits for your body.
Not everyone has to train to fail every time.
That is BS.
Please keep going and enjoy yourself and the benefits your classes are bringing you.

I naturally have “strong” thighs. I remember years ago when I started the gym, the PT kept encouraging me to lift more. I went to the gym to tone and slim, not to bulk up and I was mortified that my thighs were expanding. I’ll never forget the response from the PT when I aired this concern, she stated that “men love women with big thighs” well that’s great, but I can’t fit in my size 10 jeans!

I lift pretty heavy, but that’s for fewer reps, concentrating hard in the gym

If I went to body pump I’d go a lot lighter as classes like that are different, with the reps and exercises expected

I’d concentrate on good form and time under tension

So my weights would look very different in a class

Why don't you just mind your own business?

Sometimes I lift heavy and sometimes I don’t, I think it’s weird that you are watching other people to this extent.

If I want to lift heavy I am not going to be doing that in a class, I will be doing it to my own plan targeting a balance that suits my body.

I don't think you're unreasonable to notice & puzzle about this, OP.
I don't hear you as being critical just curious.

Although the class is designed to challenge and increase, it might be many are there for maintenance. Maybe the huge challenge for them is simply to get there and do the reps. There wasn't a good alternative class for maintenance or they like this instructor best, etc. Maybe every week they fall into thinking "at some point I'll push my ability and try lifting harder but today I'm just doing a basic routine because today I'm stressed/knackered/no head space to think further".

I am not a lifter & never will be btw, nor a gym person.
Given how many people have gym memberships or exercise class subscriptions that they barely use, the ones who turn up at all are doing brilliantly.

you clearly haven’t read my posts.

im severely physically disabled.

thanks for that post though. It has made me feel just great.

Exactly

From what you say, there is a teacher there whose job it is to make sure people get the most out of the class.
Either the teacher is rubbish, lazy or just knows something about the others that you don’t.

If you care that much, teach your own class and advise them. Otherwise, what business is it of yours if strangers are doing exercise wrong ?

We don't want to grow muscles, we want to tone. You don't tone by lifting heavy weights you do it my lifting lower weights with a good number of reps.

Education is the key to understanding. Go learn before spouting off your opinion, mate.

I haven't read the full thread but I am someone who took up weights recently after decades as identifying as the opposite of an exercise person. I'm overweight and was a smoking and red wine and culture person. I found gyms alienating and uncomfortable and Not For Me. It has been a source of huge delight to me to lift increasingly heavy weights and I'd encourage anyone to give it a go. I feel reasonably at home in the gym now and I bang on about deadlifting 55kg to anyone who might listen. I don't care if fitter people are judging me! doesn't matter. Enjoying yourself and doing stuff that challenges you is super fun.

OP is being judgey. But also not progressing beyond 2 kg weights in 6 months would seen a bit odd…

Misinformed.

2kg is really a beginners weight though. And OP says it is a strength class, not a toning class.

So youre judging too.

Women should be lifting whatever weights they damn well please. If they want to progress that’s great. If they want to maintain that’s great too. Judgy twats should mind their own business.

They are using their muscles and toning them, but differently from you. Live and let live.

Why are you watching them? I go to the gym, list what I am happy with, lift what I’m comfortable with for my body and you watching and judging is what puts me off going.
You do you and leave others to do them

Lol. The deep irony. You can't "tone". You get toned by building muscle and reducing fat so you can see that muscle. Building muscle doesn't necessarily mean getting bulky. And you can do it with lower weights but you do need to be challenging the muscle to get change (if that's what you want).

Education is the key to understanding, go learn before spouting off.

I lift heavy ish (just done 40kg overhead log press). Others in my gym lift a hell if a lot heavier (as in compete in international strong men comps). Some come to the classes in the early days struggling to lift any sort of weight.

but in this gym it is how it should be and everyone supports everyone else. The strongmen will happily help the person on their first day. People share ideas and support each other. I have never come across anyone judging someone else for what they do.

let’s celebrate the fact people are up and exercising! As long as it’s not dangerous then don’t worry how someone else does it

She didn’t. She said she would actively tell me that you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. She knew exactly what she was doing. She’s judgy and goady and I don’t like it

Exactly. "Toning" is just a term invented by the fitness industry as a marketing strategy to sell fitness programs/classes targeted at women who wanted to look firm and lean but were afraid of getting "bulky" from lifting weights.

It's still muscle building though with the extra focus on reducing fat to reveal the muscles underneath.

Sorry - replied to wrong post.