I often get asked how or why I got into weightlifting. Most of the time I tell people that I started strength training when I was 16 and just never looked back. I really think there's more to it than sheer happenstance. It feels like a really complicated question that I can't really answer. Why do I compete in lifting? Because I can? Because I want to?
As a female weightlifter (and strength coach) there's never really an answer that satisfies the curious. For the general public if a man says that he competes in weightlifting there is the usual nod of affirmation and perhaps the question of how much you lift. When a woman is posed the same question it is usually accompanied by the incredulous eyebrow raise and then let the whys fly. Why do you compete? Why did you get into it? Why aren't you afraid you'll get enormous?
I started generalized strength training when I was 16. I was given the opportunity to participate in a summer long sports performance training program where I would lift twice a week and sprint on a treadmill twice a week. Blame it on the country upbringing or the lack of social networking but it never one single time crossed my mind that 1.) I would get huge, 2.) it could be considered weird for women to lift, or 3.) that there was any way to get strong other than lift weights. I can tell you that at 5' 10" and around 163lbs with the ability to move a couple hundred pounds in several different ways I get asked more often if I'm a yoga instructor or a dancer than I get asked if I'm a weightlifter or, heaven forbid, a bodybuilder.
After many years in the big wide world and the ever growing connectivity of humans, there is the weird stigma that weightlifting will make you huge and that by doing Zumba 3 times a week you'll get strong. I'm not knocking any of the mainstream methods of fitness ("At least people are getting up & moving..." blah blah blahhhh) but we're talking weightlifting and getting strong. If you asked me how to get strong I'm going to tell you to pick up a weight and preferably one that's scuffed, covered in a bit of chalk, and looks like it survived a nuclear blast. That pink dumbbell women claim is making them strong actually weighs less than that designer handbag they lug around so it's time to stop fooling themselves. Stop being whiny bitches.
Now that we've put on our big girl panties there are some inevitable truths about being a female weightlifter. Obviously no one is going to understand why you do what you do other than like-minded individuals, read - other weightlifters and strength enthusiasts. Dating becomes a whole new world of fun explaining that in your free time you try to throw a weight over your head that weighs more than your date. You'll inevitably have to pantomime what you do and probably flex your bicep as if that were an indication of your strength. Telling your date how much you can squat will also guarantee that they give your ass another look as they hold the door for you when you leave the restaurant.
Speaking of ass, your body will change and it WILL be for the better. It will become tighter, toned, and yes more curvy. Who gives a shit what the scale says if your waist is narrower and your ass is tighter! Yessssss I realize that the clothing as it's manufactured currently is designed for one main body type: twiggy, bony, no-ass-having, grumpy, smug, most certainly hungry, little bitches. Basically that means you'll find stuff designed to fit a woman that resembles a 2"x4". You will probably have to buy jeans one size too big in the waist and then tailor it in to avoid the plumbers crack because your waist-to-ass ratio is much different than the average Suzy Sloth. I would rather have a high, tight, strong ass and have to tailor my clothes than conform to the norm. I would also much rather be considered "bulky" than jiggly. I'm just saying.
As female weightlifters we also have one very distinct thing that can effect our training that men never have to experience. Yep, once a month we get to bloat, cramp, bleed, and hormonal rage. Do you think its an easy thing to walk into a gym when you feel like your body is hollowing you out like a Halloween pumpkin? I will tell you one absolutely crucial piece of information though. Even if you have cramps that feel like you're being stabbed from the inside out, your back feels like it's been hacked in half with a spoon, and you've bloated so much that you've jumped up two weight classes, get your ass in the gym and lift. Not only does lifting help alleviate all those symptoms but it'll get your mind focused on things other than the internal apocalypse that's going on down there.
When it comes to emotions, women by nature are all over the board some times. We simply can't help it. Lifting is a mood elevator but that doesn't mean we won't spontaneously burst into tears if we miss a lift. Yes around the time our period hits we'll get a bit more moody. No we don't enjoy any of it. Would you enjoy if I kicked you in the balls once a month? Didn't think so. And as a fair warning, just because we're a little moody does NOT mean we're on our period. We can have bad days too, a-holes.
I know personally I'm not exactly known for being the most fashionable. I'm probably one of those prime candidates for "What Not to Wear." However I still do possess the desire to be pretty once in awhile. Female lifters will probably match their gym clothes. They will also possibly wear make up to the gym for no real reason. Manicure, pedicure, pamper pamper pamper. Just because we want to out-lift a man doesn't mean we want to look all slovenly like one. My pre-gaming before my last meet included painting my nails, curling my hair, and putting on make-up. So sue me, I looked pretty and lifted pretty, I PR'd. Maybe you should take note.
Overall it's much more difficult to be a female weightlifter than a male. We have to justify why we want to pick up heavy shit, men get "Oh that's cool, bro!" We get to scare the hell out of our dates at the mere mention that we like lifting, men get fawned over. We have to try on every single piece of clothing before we buy it, men can grab 8 things off a rack and it fits right every time. We get punched in the uterus for a few days every month, men get punched in the junk ummm next to never anymore really. We have to pick up heavy shit and look good doing it, men can showing up looking like they haven't showered in a week.
It's tough being a female weightlifter. Why do I lift? I don't know. I guess at this point it really is.....BECAUSE WHY THE FUCK NOT! Deal with it.
As a female weightlifter (and strength coach) there's never really an answer that satisfies the curious. For the general public if a man says that he competes in weightlifting there is the usual nod of affirmation and perhaps the question of how much you lift. When a woman is posed the same question it is usually accompanied by the incredulous eyebrow raise and then let the whys fly. Why do you compete? Why did you get into it? Why aren't you afraid you'll get enormous?
I started generalized strength training when I was 16. I was given the opportunity to participate in a summer long sports performance training program where I would lift twice a week and sprint on a treadmill twice a week. Blame it on the country upbringing or the lack of social networking but it never one single time crossed my mind that 1.) I would get huge, 2.) it could be considered weird for women to lift, or 3.) that there was any way to get strong other than lift weights. I can tell you that at 5' 10" and around 163lbs with the ability to move a couple hundred pounds in several different ways I get asked more often if I'm a yoga instructor or a dancer than I get asked if I'm a weightlifter or, heaven forbid, a bodybuilder.
After many years in the big wide world and the ever growing connectivity of humans, there is the weird stigma that weightlifting will make you huge and that by doing Zumba 3 times a week you'll get strong. I'm not knocking any of the mainstream methods of fitness ("At least people are getting up & moving..." blah blah blahhhh) but we're talking weightlifting and getting strong. If you asked me how to get strong I'm going to tell you to pick up a weight and preferably one that's scuffed, covered in a bit of chalk, and looks like it survived a nuclear blast. That pink dumbbell women claim is making them strong actually weighs less than that designer handbag they lug around so it's time to stop fooling themselves. Stop being whiny bitches.
 |
| Doesn't she look sooooo strong! |
As female weightlifters we also have one very distinct thing that can effect our training that men never have to experience. Yep, once a month we get to bloat, cramp, bleed, and hormonal rage. Do you think its an easy thing to walk into a gym when you feel like your body is hollowing you out like a Halloween pumpkin? I will tell you one absolutely crucial piece of information though. Even if you have cramps that feel like you're being stabbed from the inside out, your back feels like it's been hacked in half with a spoon, and you've bloated so much that you've jumped up two weight classes, get your ass in the gym and lift. Not only does lifting help alleviate all those symptoms but it'll get your mind focused on things other than the internal apocalypse that's going on down there.
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| What every woman experiences once a month. |
Overall it's much more difficult to be a female weightlifter than a male. We have to justify why we want to pick up heavy shit, men get "Oh that's cool, bro!" We get to scare the hell out of our dates at the mere mention that we like lifting, men get fawned over. We have to try on every single piece of clothing before we buy it, men can grab 8 things off a rack and it fits right every time. We get punched in the uterus for a few days every month, men get punched in the junk ummm next to never anymore really. We have to pick up heavy shit and look good doing it, men can showing up looking like they haven't showered in a week.
It's tough being a female weightlifter. Why do I lift? I don't know. I guess at this point it really is.....BECAUSE WHY THE FUCK NOT! Deal with it.
I've always wanted to get into weight lifting but I've never been motivated enough to stick to it, this article makes me feel like I can and should do it. So, thank you.
ReplyDeleteAlways happy to help and hopefully inspire people whether in life or in weightlifting! Whatever you decide to do, keep after it!
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