Should women strength train? Yup

[Charli]

Is it because hurting people makes you feel good?

Yes.

It is a conspiracy actually.

I don't tell fat and unhealthy people to work out because I want them to be unfat and healthy, but because I want to hurt them.

Well, then if you want people to be healthy and not fat, perhaps in the future you might phrase your advice in a way that might not work against your intention.

How you take things said to you can be a factor I feel more people should take into account as well since there is literally a way to take anything the wrong way and feel offended. I don't think, reading this thread in it's entirety that anyone was being overly judgmental or hostile to people who aren't so eager about fitness or training.

I'm extremely unfit right now, compared to how I was at my peak, and I acknowledge the thread is talking mostly about myths and excuses that we as humans concoct to busy our minds and distract from things we really should take more into account.

I was never a gym goer. Ever. (I went like a couple of times to a yoga class and then decided it wasn't my cup of tea)I had a set of light weights and at one point I even had to make do with a large glass encased candle because stuff got tough and I just kind of did stretches and exercises with it while I was raiding in World of Warcraft. One handed, with arms when the group was moving, when we'd wipe, I'd take a minute to stand up and just do a few routines like that, and then I had a second hand DDR mat to mix it up alot (even normal while holding a thing can be tricky but fun)
I didn't keep in perfect shape, but I was much healthier than I would have been otherwise, and my life was and (is currently) quite hectic.

But I want to get back to that, just lifting...a thing, anything, grab something weighty and just do a few up and down slow movements with it, and voila that's day one. Then tomorrow grab it again and try to do it longer, even sitting while watching youtube if you really want. Then just progress slowly day by day, you'll be dancing around the room on a mat looking insane while you clutch a weighty jarred candle. (No but really I got the weights back at that point, but I did do this for a little while)

You can find ways to be healthier even in the smallest constraints of time, and I feel like anyone should take that advice with a smile. It's the truth, might not be nice to hear, but it is. We're more tired because we don't push our bodies like we've used to as a collective species... and that's been a large source of my recent lethargy. I never used to be this run down, but... life's many dramas overtook my mental space for awhile, but now it's simmered down somewhat... would be nice to hit the ground running so to speak again.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

I definitely like the looks of fit muscular women
So go for it!

The "beauty ideal" of being super skinny is something that's mostly found in women's heads imo. At least that's the impression I get when talking with my male peers...

 

[Charli]

How you take things said to you can be a factor I feel more people should take into account as well since there is literally a way to take anything the wrong way and feel offended.

While agree, I have yet to meet anyone who would not find being called a "lazy shit" [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.843100-Should-women-strength-train-Yup#20749162] or a "spoiled brat" [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.843100-Should-women-strength-train-Yup#20749162] offensive. Seems pretty likely to me that this degree of insult is offensive no matter who it's being said to.

I don't think, reading this thread in it's entirety that anyone was being overly judgmental or hostile to people who aren't so eager about fitness or training.

How exactly is calling someone a "lazy shit" or "spoiled brat" not judgmental?

You can find ways to be healthier even in the smallest constraints of time, and I feel like anyone should take that advice with a smile.

Well, yeah. If SimpleThunda' had come on here actually giving usable advice to people instead of calling them "lazy shits" I don't doubt anyone would take it with anything but a smile.

Words used were a bit excessive, but when used in his post... he wasn't really calling YOU those things was he? He was calling those making excuses and whining about it as those who exercise as some kind of privileged fops that they can't achieve in their wildest dreams.Which ...yeah I'd agree, that is being a lazy shit. But I can attest to currently being one of those said lazy shits. So what of it. I can choose to just...ignore it. I know, crazy on the internet.

Spoiled? Yep, that was used incorrectly. One post out of all the GOOD advice in here though? Not feeling that so much. It expands nicely on the gist of his overtly strong words on the matter. So why take what he said on board at all? You can choose to just not take his 'advice' (I'd struggle calling it that) and therefore not take offense nor legitimize his view on the matter by dignifying it with an answer.

Yeah he took the gist of the thread, packaged into a condensed cartridge and wielded it as a hand-grenade. But so the fuck what. Just don't respond. The thread has some good points, which shouldn't be painted over because you only want to read the cliff notes from the class clown.

 

[Bertylicious]

I dunno, most people I've met who were into personal fitness were insufferable narcisists banging on about how great they are.

This is the thing about fitness; it is impossible to be healthy without investing a proportion of your self worth in your appearence otherwise why would you bother? Your health? In that case you'd be best off doing something you enjoyed in and of itself that just happened to make you fit, like hiking or trampolining or getting into fights with the police.

It all just seems so vulgar and small, you know? If we're talking about self actualising then surely we should be focusing on the ability to set and achieve goals, the ability to produce stimulating and witty conversation, the ability to conceive of and articulate meaningful ideas. The ability to lift things and spend more time not dying looks pretty waff in comparison.

 

[Illesdan]

I've got no problem with muscular women, but that said, many women are afraid of strength training because it can and will make a woman look less feminine if done to excess. This is true, Secondly you don't do strength training to lose weight

I'm a large/tall (5' 10") female and I started lifting weights when I was 18. The reason I started? Desperation. I'm actually a very physically active person, but for some reason, I don't lose weight for nothing. It took over three years of weight-training, but eventually I lost 50lbs. Seriously, it's the only workout I've done in my life that has taken off weight instead of packing it on or just staying exactly the same.

It took you 3 years because you are adding weight not removing it, muscle training like that builds muscle mass... muscle is 3.78 times heavier than fat per volume. That said, congrats! But don't knock the ability to maintain a stable weight, any yone who's tried will tell you. Losing weight is easy....it's keeping it off long term thats the killer.

So my view is, strength train away ladies! If nothing else it'll give the fellow in your life a reason to keep up his own fitness.

I think I need to explain why I had to lose the weight.

When I was 18, for some reason I can't really pinpoint, I was nearly 300 lbs. My knees were starting to hurt, and walking just short distances was making me short of breath and feeling like I needed to sit down. Put bluntly, it was a frickin' wake-up call: I needed to do something, but since everything I had been doing most of my life wasn't working, I knew I needed to take a dramatic approach to my exercise routine. I didn't care that I wasn't losing weight right away, because within just two weeks of weights, I had already increased my stamina and my knees no longer hurt.

My reasons were strickly health based; I am not vain about my looks, and I'm totally cool about being around 250 lbs as long as I don't lose mobility or flexibility. By the way, for a woman to 'bulk up', you need half the testosterone level of a natural-born man to get that look, and if you go that far, you are probably not having your period anymore. In other words, this is just a myth and a cop-out excuse to stay away from weights.

 

[sky14kemea]

snip

snip

Could you two please back away from each other? I know I'm a few hours late, but I'd rather not lock a thread just because two people couldn't keep their cool and ended up derailing it with their argument.

 

[michael87cn]

It's also incredibly stressful on your heart. You can end up needing heart surgery by the age of 50ish from body building.

 

[grey_space]

Everyone should strength train.
Women should strength train
Men should strength train.
Young people should strength train.
Old people should strength train.

Of course this is coming from a man who spent the entirety of last weekend learning how to coach people in how to safely strength train, so I'd be willing to admit to a little bias on this subject.

 

[grey_space]

It's also incredibly stressful on your heart. You can end up needing heart surgery by the age of 50ish from body building.

You can do exactly the same damage to your heart by eating doughnuts and doing fuck all. You can also do exactly the same damage to your heart by running ultramarathons.

Everything done to an extreme degree on your body is bad for you.

But a systematic sensible course of productive strength training, focusing on the core movements necessary for you to live your life can only have a positive befit to you.

 

[Jarsh82]

I dunno, most people I've met who were into personal fitness were insufferable narcisists banging on about how great they are.

This is the thing about fitness; it is impossible to be healthy without investing a proportion of your self worth in your appearence otherwise why would you bother? Your health? In that case you'd be best off doing something you enjoyed in and of itself that just happened to make you fit, like hiking or trampolining or getting into fights with the police.

It all just seems so vulgar and small, you know? If we're talking about self actualising then surely we should be focusing on the ability to set and achieve goals, the ability to produce stimulating and witty conversation, the ability to conceive of and articulate meaningful ideas. The ability to lift things and spend more time not dying looks pretty waff in comparison.

Strength training can certainly be a means to self actualising. The ability to achieve and set goals is exactly what strength training incorporates. For a lot of people strength training can almost be a spiritual experience, pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could do. Strength training isn't about how you look. Its not body building. I can understand the confusion but it really is spoken out of ignorance. There is room for personal growth in anything you do it just matters how much of yourself you put into it. And it certainly is small compared to some things but so is most everything else. So is being on this site. SO is watching TV. You can make a lot of progressive putting in less than 3 hours a week. Most people certainly waste more time than that. There are people in the fitness community who are narcissistic but there are a lot of doctors like that as well, especially surgeons. That doesn't mean that the medical field is a terrible thing, it just tends to draw a certain personality type. There have been all kinds of people who have been helped by a good strength training coach. I saw a video of a woman who was born with one arm and had not been athletic for most of her life. As a grown woman she wanted to get into better shape for her health. In the video she is doing one armed pull ups. That may be small to you but I promise you it wasn't to her or her coach or the people she befriended at her gym that many people may assume were narcissistic because they were in shape. There are numerous stories of veterans maimed by war finding support in a tight knit community of gym goers and ended up accomplishing more with a handicap then they ever thought they were able to do when they were full bodied. I've worked with women who have been self conscious about their weight their whole lives and then came alive with a barbell in their hands. Their self confidence grew so much and it stopped being about how their body looked and became about what their body could do. Once this shift in thinking took place the weight began to come off. It was the byproduct of goal oriented and purposeful training. They didn't just get stronger physically but mentally as well. It changed how they viewed themselves and made them realize how much they were capable of. The action of picking something up and putting it down is small but greatness is what we put into small things to become great.

 

[Jarsh82]

It's also incredibly stressful on your heart. You can end up needing heart surgery by the age of 50ish from body building.

nope but you will very likely have heart problems if you're obese. I don't know where you heard this but it is very silly.

 

[Riot3000]

I dunno, most people I've met who were into personal fitness were insufferable narcisists banging on about how great they are.

This is the thing about fitness; it is impossible to be healthy without investing a proportion of your self worth in your appearence otherwise why would you bother? Your health? In that case you'd be best off doing something you enjoyed in and of itself that just happened to make you fit, like hiking or trampolining or getting into fights with the police.

It all just seems so vulgar and small, you know? If we're talking about self actualising then surely we should be focusing on the ability to set and achieve goals, the ability to produce stimulating and witty conversation, the ability to conceive of and articulate meaningful ideas. The ability to lift things and spend more time not dying looks pretty waff in comparison.

Getting fights with the police is a fantastic weight burner also running from is great on the cardio especially when you cut through allies and the fence climbing will give you great strength training benefits. I mean its all the things people are suggest in this discussion all rolled into one.

 

[Bertylicious]

I dunno, most people I've met who were into personal fitness were insufferable narcisists banging on about how great they are.

This is the thing about fitness; it is impossible to be healthy without investing a proportion of your self worth in your appearence otherwise why would you bother? Your health? In that case you'd be best off doing something you enjoyed in and of itself that just happened to make you fit, like hiking or trampolining or getting into fights with the police.

It all just seems so vulgar and small, you know? If we're talking about self actualising then surely we should be focusing on the ability to set and achieve goals, the ability to produce stimulating and witty conversation, the ability to conceive of and articulate meaningful ideas. The ability to lift things and spend more time not dying looks pretty waff in comparison.

Getting fights with the police is a fantastic weight burner also running from is great on the cardio especially when you cut through allies and the fence climbing will give you great strength training benefits. I mean its all the things people are suggest in this discussion all rolled into one.

Exactly! If the people of Glasgow would stop killing themselves by adding Mars bars and deep frying to every single meal they eat then they would be the longest lived people in Europe.

 

[omega 616]

You should also eat a lot more fruit and veg but very few people do. People should do all sorts of stuff but all it comes down to is energy or time.

Either your life just has too many demands on your time already, full time job, kids etc or you work your butt off all day and even the thought of working out makes you whimper.

Funny thing about people is, they don't want to die or get a serious disease but they don't do anything to prevent them ... in fact they encourage them to happen, take smoking as the prime example, how many people actually want cancer? And how many people smoke?

We all think we are immortal, till things go wrong.

 

[Charli]

Words used were a bit excessive, but when used in his post... he wasn't really calling YOU those things was he?

No, but since when do I have to be a target to call out abusive behavior. He was attacking people I know, people I love and care about, and given that it's likely a decent portion of the Escapist forum users don't exercise, a good deal of the people that read this board.

Personally, I think that's poor.

He was calling those making excuses and whining about it as those who exercise as some kind of privileged fops that they can't achieve in their wildest dreams.

No, he wasn't. His exact words were: "Every person on the world should exercise. It gets rid of so many issues, from obesity, to low selfesteem, to general flimsiness, to depression, the list goes on.
The problem is, I think people know this, but people just lack either the motivation (aka: are lazy ****s) or lack the discipline (aka: are spoiled brats)."

That clause structure means he was accusing everyone who should exercise (everyone) but who doesn't of being "lazy shits" and "spoiled brats".

As for why this matters? Well, I believe we've had at least one person on this thread talk about not liking the gym because of the hostile, judgmental attitude there. Far, far too many people in the athletics scene aren't there to improve their fitness, they're there to piss on people less fit than them.

Well in my attempt to steer you back onto the topic and off the pissing contest with jimmy-tries hard.
I did imply that I have never been a gym goer... and I still kept fit in my own way. I believe the intent he held was ...simplistic but correct, just keeping a SLIGHTLY healthier lifestyle than many of us keep would solve alot of health issues that are more common in recent history. A gym is not required for general fitness.

 

[rasputin0009]

As a male, I totally agree, if only so I can take a break from opening pickle jars.

I apologize for that blatantly sexist joke. Sometimes I think I'm funny.

But ya, strength training is healthy for anyone, no matter the sex.

 

[Bertylicious]

Strength training can certainly be a means to self actualising. The ability to achieve and set goals is exactly what strength training incorporates. For a lot of people strength training can almost be a spiritual experience, pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could do.

Strength training isn't about how you look. Its not body building. I can understand the confusion but it really is spoken out of ignorance. There is room for personal growth in anything you do it just matters how much of yourself you put into it. And it certainly is small compared to some things but so is most everything else. So is being on this site. SO is watching TV. You can make a lot of progressive putting in less than 3 hours a week. Most people certainly waste more time than that.

There are people in the fitness community who are narcissistic but there are a lot of doctors like that as well, especially surgeons. That doesn't mean that the medical field is a terrible thing, it just tends to draw a certain personality type. There have been all kinds of people who have been helped by a good strength training coach.

I saw a video of a woman who was born with one arm and had not been athletic for most of her life. As a grown woman she wanted to get into better shape for her health. In the video she is doing one armed pull ups. That may be small to you but I promise you it wasn't to her or her coach or the people she befriended at her gym that many people may assume were narcissistic because they were in shape. There are numerous stories of veterans maimed by war finding support in a tight knit community of gym goers and ended up accomplishing more with a handicap then they ever thought they were able to do when they were full bodied. I've worked with women who have been self conscious about their weight their whole lives and then came alive with a barbell in their hands. Their self confidence grew so much and it stopped being about how their body looked and became about what their body could do. Once this shift in thinking took place the weight began to come off. It was the byproduct of goal oriented and purposeful training. They didn't just get stronger physically but mentally as well. It changed how they viewed themselves and made them realize how much they were capable of. The action of picking something up and putting it down is small but greatness is what we put into small things to become great.

Ah, well, I'd be inclined to suggest that what your lass had there was a sense of validation from being accepted by a community. I've seen similar effects in people integrating into online communities for instance.

And you know what? That's a marvelous thing, truly. It is nice to have friends, is it not?

The worry I have is that people can use persuits like fitness, or religion or a hobby or any manner of things, to distract themselves from resolving their underlying problems. Truthfully I've always been rather suspicious of using the need for validation as a motivation; it has always struck me as a disingenuous reason to do anything.

I know what you're going to say; that striving to be your best physically is an equal or even neccesary aspect of the path for self improvement. Zen and the art of weightlifting and all that. Yet isn't that a path of acceptance? Of making peace with ones demons? Perhaps fitness can be a signpost to enable one to walk that path, but I do not believe it to be the path itself.

I hope that makes sense. Let me know if it looks like incoherant gibberish.

 

[Tobu]

Yes more women should strength train because exercise is waaaay more than just look but now I'm just blabbering the obvious.

There is an awesome website where I get my fitness tips from, its called Nerd Fitness and its awesome for people who love excise and video games. For me I love levelling up in RPGs and I like to make exercising feel like levelling up, which is what Nerd Fitness talk about.

There are quite a few very helpful articles on strength training which I have found incredibly helpful

Anywho here's the link: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/