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?

It really isn’t weight lifting. It’s a great class and I do go to them sometimes but it’s always on cardio day not strength day.

Hi OP, I know exactly what you mean - it seems so pointless doesn't it? We've all seen those people in all different classes....or wandering around the equipment...I figure that they don't actually love the feeling of real exercise. They're still too uncomfortable with being uncomfortable. Go you for getting stronger. And boo to them for taking up a place in class if they're not going to put the effort in. These types of classes are usually small and hard to get a place in!

I've been going to the gym for 20yrs now. Had lots of different of phases with different goals using all sorts of methods and types of workout. I'm currently recovering from an injury and subsequent operation. At first I wondered if people would judge me for going light and then I realised I didn't care and had to do what was right for me. Light, careful movements, pretty low reps too...but all designed to get me back to the healthiest version I can be. What we all do is no-one's business really and, of course, you've thought about physical limitations that might be getting in their way. Worth thinking about the mental limitations though because that is most people's biggest issue. And lots of women are scared of weights...maybe something to do with the male domination in the past and not being 'ladylike'! Lucky it's fashionable now for younger generations to just get on with it.

I lift heavy - particularly for my age & when I started (I started at 58 - if I'd started in my 20s I'd be lifting really heavy!) and when my gym ran Pump classes I'd do one a week or so. I also do HIIT classes, and metcon with my PT.

My HR does go up when I'm lifting heavy - by today's 4th working set (4 reps at 85 kilos) I was a bit out of breath. But I think it's anaerobic rather than aerobic.

The Pump instructor at my old gym used to say explicitly at the start of a class, that the weights in a pump class were not enough to build muscle. That they would work muscles, but not build them. Pump class is a version of aerobic exercise with added weights. The DOMS (if you get it - I didn't) is generally from muscles not being used to the repetition.

Whether other posters like it or not, there is a science to this. I'm not an exercise scientist, but my gym has a couple of trainers who have PhDs in the area! They advocate plyo work, metcon work, and heavy lifting. I'm not the only woman in my 60s at my gym lifting heavy, and almost all the women at my gym lift heavy, or are training for Hyrox, or bodybuilding.

My physiotherapist advises me that muscles like load, cartilage likes load - that's how they grow and stay working! Our bodies are amazingly adaptive - that's what "getting fit" is - a process of testing your body to its limit, resting, then your muscles adapt during that rest, so that the next time you push your limits, your body is more prepared. It's pretty magic.

But it took me 5 years of 2 - 3 times a week weight training to get to a 100 kilo deadlift, and a bodyweight (70 kilos) barbell back squat to proper depth. It's slow. And you don't test 1RM more than every 6 months or so. Today, for example, I did three sets of warm up deadlifts at 12 x 40 kg; 8 x 70 kg; then 5 working sets of 4 x 85 kg.

And @Ilostallthepens is right - a lot of women could lift more than they do. They don't have to if they don't want to, but I think it's a pity that women refuse to even contemplate lifting heavy. But I'm future proofing my body. Barring accidents, the way I train will keep me active & upright into my late 80s and 90s.

The OP hasn't been back to this thread since it was in single digits. They've achieved exactly what they wanted (and what happened on their other major thread) which is a big fight.

Yes but I’ve found the thread very instructive and interesting, so there is that

Pump can build muscle, when I firsst started I got reasonably jacked doing only that and never lifting heavy. But this requires careful timing and weight selection, so you would be properly exhausted at the end of the track. It's certainly not that efficient for building muscle if you choose too light weights and just breeze though, like most of the class participants tend to do. Also it has gotten a lot faster and more cardio than releases from 20+years ago.

a lot of women could lift more than they do. They don't have to if they don't want to, but I think it's a pity that women refuse to even contemplate lifting heavy.

Yes that's exactly why I get so annoyed with 'but I just want to tone!' statements. Yes, great, so pick up some challenging weights!

I don’t think it’s really accurate to say ‘Pump is cardio’ or ‘Pump isn’t cardio’. It was designed as a muscular endurance class. For ‘pure cardio’, I think of Bodyattack, running, Spin, Bodycombat…

But that’s not to say that Pump doesn’t have cardio effects. It can raise the heartrate and work the lungs- especially during the squat and back tracks. Like a PP said, it’s also possible to get a cardio effect from very heavy, slow lifting- provided the weights are heavy enough! And again mostly in the big muscle work- squats, deadlifts, clean and jerk/press.

Yes I was doing stone to platform last week and that certainly got the heart rate up!

‘Achieve’ I wouldn’t say winning park run was something to set myself as an achievement is all, in no way am I saying it’s not good to have goals but for all you know those woman may have achieved plenty in their lives but not be that fussed about winning a park run!

tbh my own daughter is a good example. At 14 she is very active but not inherently competitive when it comes to running, she does plod around park run a bit BUT she’s wins regularly her tennis fixtures and Judo comps , is top of her year academically and is a leading actress in her school performances. It’s possible for people to achieve in different ways and what’s more people may want to compete in some areas but not others. I think that’s healthy!

Sure, but it’s worth saying it’s not either A or B. Sprinting the heart rate increase is anaerobic, and it’s also definitely cardio. HIIT is similarly a mix. There are a few purists on this thread saying only lifting very heavy weights increases strength, and they are not correct.