Why are there more men than women in gyms? Are they lazier?

[iris219]

Please. My gym is at least 70% women. The classes I do are 95% women, and we bust our a**ses in there. The women at my gym are dragging their kids from school to the gym daycare and complaining about the fact that their husbands won't work out.

 

Women are expected to pop out babies and bounce right back to their pre-baby weight the way celebs do, and this is the norm among my friends. We are in our 30s, but have good bodies because we work for it, whether we've had kids or not. The men our age have beer bellies because they can. They will still get female attention whereas we have to look practically like models to get male attention.

 

Pretty much every one of my female friends works out regularly. Only a few of my male friends do. I just convinced my BF to come to the gym with me. He's thin but soft and needs to firm up. I'm working on getting him there!

[KathyM]

I think you see more men in gyms because men are more into muscle building than women, and the gym is the place to do that. Women are more into exercise to keep the weight off, not to build muscle, and they would be more inclined to either jog outside or simply just to diet to keep weight off. There's not that many women who are into building muscles. Women are also more inclined to engage in exercise class activities, such as jazzercise, joga, pilates, etc. You're not so likely to find them on the weight machines.

[Anela]

I used to workout every other day, only I did it at home, using DVDs and my own equipment. I stopped due to health concerns and deep depression.

 

I need motivation to get started again, and to keep going. I'm just not feeling it right now (and I still have some of those health issues).

[KathyM]

Exercise improves your mood and helps to fight depression. Exercise releases endorphins in your body that boost your mood. I recommend it to people who are dealing with depression.

[Anela]

Exercise improves your mood and helps to fight depression. Exercise releases endorphins in your body that boost your mood. I recommend it to people who are dealing with depression.

 

I've been vomiting a lot, and dealing with dizziness. That's one of my long-standing health issues. Two years ago, when I was determined to get started again, not only did that issue get worse, but my back went out on me, and I had problems with my hip and back all year. It's like a sick joke. I know that exercise helped me with depression in the past, but I was put out of commission - and there's no point to it when you're throwing up the water you drink to rehydrate.

[sweetjasmine]

Plus, women are considered boring if they talk about their fitness routines; others get annoyed that said people workout and start to feel themselves guilty. So, after this type of programming, women rarely talk about it. I, for one, am far more outspoken than most and even I will keep quiet with men when they start discussing weights. I usually will chime in to correct something that is wrong, but that is it.

 

Another thing I've noticed is that a lot of guys my age seem to think it's totally fine to condescendingly lecture anyone who doesn't look like they work out a lot as if they were some sort of expert on health and fitness. Just because they go to the gym 4 times a week and read half a book once about some fad that promoted a ton of misinformation. It's incredibly annoying and one of the reasons why I don't bother talking about this stuff.

[KathyM]

I've been vomiting a lot, and dealing with dizziness. That's one of my long-standing health issues. Two years ago, when I was determined to get started again, not only did that issue get worse, but my back went out on me, and I had problems with my hip and back all year. It's like a sick joke. I know that exercise helped me with depression in the past, but I was put out of commission - and there's no point to it when you're throwing up the water you drink to rehydrate.

I'm sorry to hear that. You should ask your medical doctor what forms of exercise you might do that would not have a negative reaction on your body. Some people who are dealing with health issues have to customize an exercise program to fit with what their body can handle. I'd suggest you ask your doctor about what he recommends in your situation. Maybe there's something that your body could tolerate that would also be beneficial for you to do. You should talk to him about it.

[KungFuJoe]

Women don't need to workout as much as men do.

 

Hell, most women don't need to workout, period. Just need a good diet.

 

Men like smaller, slim women. Working out doesn't make you slim...it builds muscle.

 

On the flip side, women like big strong men. You ain't getting that without workout out.

[iris219]

Women don't need to workout as much as men do.

 

Hell, most women don't need to workout, period. Just need a good diet.

 

Men like smaller, slim women. Working out doesn't make you slim...it builds muscle.

 

On the flip side, women like big strong men. You ain't getting that without workout out.

 

Huh?

 

A good diet might mean you aren't fat. A good diet won't give you a hot body.

 

Women need to work out more than men because men lose weight and build muscle easier.

[xxoo]

Huh?

 

A good diet might mean you aren't fat. A good diet won't give you a hot body.

 

Women need to work out more than men because men lose weight and build muscle easier.

 

A good diet meant I had a hot body in my 20s.

 

In my 30s, working out started to matter more. We lose muscle with age, and have to exercise to maintain it.

[iris219]

A good diet meant I had a hot body in my 20s.

 

In my 30s, working out started to matter more. We lose muscle with age, and have to exercise to maintain it.

 

I had a terrible diet and smoked in my teens and early 20s and had a hot body! Yeah, being young will do that for you.

 

Actually, I feel like I have a better body now in my 30s, but it takes work to maintain. My butt is definitely better--firmer and perkier--but it's not that way from eating kale. It's that way from squats. Lots of them.

[kaylan]

Your idea of attractive body isn't shared by all. Crossfit women aren't attractive to all. A lot of men are attracted to softness and curves, not visible tone.

Most men want tone. Why do you think the hottest girls guys talk about have some tone? A girl can have soft curves and still plenty of sexy tone. I dont know why women think this is an either-or thing. And plenty of Crossfit women are attractive. You need to talk to more men.

 

The only Crossfit women who look less attractive are the elite ones who compete and drop their body fat super low to compete. They do NOT make up the bulk of crossfit women.

 

While a man can count on being more attractive to women by lifting, women may lose interest from a portion of men (not you, obviously).

This is part of the problem. Another woman who knows NOTHING about lifting. How do you think fitness models and girls like Jessica Biel get those bodies guys drool over. Lifting HEAVY weight...not 3 pound dumb bells. Get your facts straight. Its just that many women think like you do and somehow come to the false conclusion that lifting heavy will make them manly.

 

Um no...women will naturally have their soft curves unless they super diet to the max.

I believe younger women exercise less because they don't have to. They attract plenty of men without it. Young people often aren't giving too much thought to healthy habits. So it isn't that they are lazy, but rather that putting time into window dressing is more effective at that age than putting time into toning an already attractive body.

It is that they are lazy. Young people take their genetics for granted and then struggle to get into a fitness lifestyle once their youthful genetics start to go.

 

I guess Im different. I think about my later years, being healthy, and maximizing what I have now.

It depends on which gym you go to, where it's located, what time of day you go, what part of the gym you go to, etc. I've never noticed any big gender difference at the gyms I've gone to. If anything, I see more women at the gym than men. And I certainly see more women who look like they go to the gym than I see (straight) men.

 

As to your friends, the big pilgrimage to the gyms usually doesn't start until after 30, when people realize their metabolism is slowing down. Most people peak physically around 25 and don't have any reason to go to the gym. Looking good in your 20s is pretty effortless and most people that age haven't started thinking about their mortality, so unless they are engaging in competitive athletics or driven my some sort of insecurity, there will always be relatively fewer 20-somethings at the gym.

I wish the last paragraph were more true. I see soooo many trainwrecks of people I went to highschool with because they didnt take care of themselves at all right now in our 20s.

 

Even with that being said, this shouldnt be just about looking good. This is also about aging well and being healthy. A girl who doesnt care about those things turns me off. And its sad because it seems a lot more guys care about this stuff than women.

[kaylan]

I think you need to clearly state whether you're talking about fitness and health here, or about appearance. And whether you're talking about the gym or just exercising in general. You seem to be overlapping one with the other. When it comes to fitness and health, there are many ways to achieve that outside the gym. There are plenty of predominantly female fitness activities - pilates, zumba, rollerskating, etc.

Im talking about fitness, health, and looking good. And Im also talking about gyms and general exercise. My OP states all of this. Again, despite predominately female fitness activities, I hear more men working out than women....and most of my friends are female. They barely exercise compared to the men. Also, a lot of these fitness classes dont target overall health...which is my problem with a lot of fitness things aimed at women. Many do half of a total fitness lifestyle, while some are outright useless (like those machines i mentioned b4)

When it comes to appearance, most models (not fitness models, who cater to a specific niche, but models, who are paid solely for their appearance) will assure you that working out is a much smaller part of the female beauty regime compared to a man's. A male model generally needs some muscle bulk, but female models don't. For the females, dieting is more essential to achieve a tiny waist, and the other components of beauty - hair, skin, makeup, clothes, etc - consume more time for the female model than the male. The stereotypical definition of beauty for women encompasses much more than simple athleticism - the average person will find http://www.shape.com/sites/shape.com/files/imagecache/lists_list_image/list_images/krista-329.jpg more good-looking than http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/001/155/326/103904407_crop_650x440.jpg?1312523529 despite the latter definitely being more athletic.

Still, top models, like Adriana Lima, have done athletic workout routines.

 

Lima has said shed do squats (with weight on her back) with her trainer. Thats my point...people keep citing the bodies of models...but plenty of them do have a legit workout routine. Only the really small ones with super genetics dont.

[xxoo]

Most men want tone. Why do you think the hottest girls guys talk about have some tone? A girl can have soft curves and still plenty of sexy tone. I dont know why women think this is an either-or thing. And plenty of Crossfit women are attractive. You need to talk to more men.

 

Maybe you need to talk to more men.

 

I've got tone. I know that my body is not what all men appreciate, although my guy likes it a lot.

[kaylan]

Also,

 

Women are mislead. Thats what Ive been saying. They diet and diet, trying to get smaller. When more of us need to be telling them that they need to eat to get that sleek, curvy, toned body that they want. They need to build muscle. And when they lift, their bodies will be burning fat because of the calorie requirements of building muscle. They wont hulk out...theyll look like those models they desire to look at.

 

But most dont seem to know this or look for the info on how to attain the bodies they want. They simply fall into thinking cardio cardio cardio, and diet diety diet will do everything. All itll make them is thin but weak...and not all around healthy. Thats def not good for getting older.

Maybe you need to talk to more men.

 

I've got tone. I know that my body is not what all men appreciate, although my guy likes it a lot.

I talk to PLENTY of men. Again...women like Adriana Lima and Jessica Biel are considered top of the female pyramid, and both have plenty of tone.

dude plse you need to read my post again.

cause you dont know if they have kids or not.

and i see enough woman at the gym.

but like i said often in the morning cause they are moms. etc

so what you are saying make no sense.bye:sick:

Obv you need to read my posts again. I said I have mostly female friends. And these girls, as well as my acquaintances are all young and childless. So YES, I do know who does and doesnt have kids. Plus, the average young chick in the gym wont have kids.

 

The older women I see who are mostly likely moms, barely workout either...but they at least workout harder than the young girls on their cellphones.

 

Ive made plenty of sense. You just have to read better and not see what you wanna see in a post.

Edited February 16, 2013 by kaylan

[iris219]

Also,

 

Women are mislead. Thats what Ive been saying. They diet and diet, trying to get smaller. When more of us need to be telling them that they need to eat to get that sleek, curvy, toned body that they want. They need to build muscle. And when they lift, their bodies will be burning fat because of the calorie requirements of building muscle. They wont hulk out...theyll look like those models they desire to look at.

 

But most dont seem to know this or look for the info on how to attain the bodies they want. They simply fall into thinking cardio cardio cardio, and diet diety diet will do everything. All itll make them is thin but weak...and not all around healthy. Thats def not good for getting older.

I talk to PLENTY of men. Again...women like Adriana Lima and Jessica Biel are considered top of the female pyramid, and both have plenty of tone.

 

Kaylan, This ^^ is common knowledge. I would assume everyone, aside from the most naive, knows that models and celebs are in the gym lifting weights.

 

It is obvious from her body that Jessica Biel isn't starving herself. She's eating properly, doing some cardio, and lots of strength training.

[kaylan]

Yeah, women are also discouraged from talking about said exercise ever! Even when found in the middle of a fitness-related topic. Didn't you know? We all have our amazing figures Naturally! We never eat healthy foods, only pizza and tacos, and NEVER EVER workout. This body just IS.

 

Plus, women are considered boring if they talk about their fitness routines; others get annoyed that said people workout and start to feel themselves guilty. So, after this type of programming, women rarely talk about it. I, for one, am far more outspoken than most and even I will keep quiet with men when they start discussing weights. I usually will chime in to correct something that is wrong, but that is it.

 

Only the people close to me, who have worked out with me or been invited to, or who have asked for my help and advice know to the extent that I workout. Don't want to get flamed for it anymore.

 

All of your "statistics" are anecdotal; they don't really apply in real life. What articles are you talking about? More importantly, where do you live?

 

Because, honestly, after spending a good deal of my time and life with other women, every single woman I know works out. The ones who at one time didn't wanted to, and I usually helped them get into it. The ones I meet in the city? All do something, it just comes out slowly ("Oh, I have to go for a run, can we meet in an hour instead, etc") Never as an actual topic of discussion.

Wow...anecdotal?

 

Did you miss the study and article provided by me and another poster that backs up what Im saying?

 

And spare me the "women are programmed not to talk about fitness" bull. Any girl I know who works out, cannot shut up about it on facebook. Its obvious which girls work out, because out of my friends who do, they will definitely mention it to me so we can bounce ideas off of one another.

 

Its clearly by my friends lifestyles, and lack of speaking about fitness, who does and doesnt work out. And these are people I talk to a fair bit. They just arent not talk about fitness. The reality is many of them do nothing for fitness.

 

Im guessing that study was a bunch of bologna that the other poster provided? Im merely asking why it is that many young women dont exercise as much as guys. Doesnt matter what the exercise is, the findings were that women do less of it and in less numbers. So Im just asking why.

 

And apparently people get all butt hurt about this.

[xxoo]

Kaylan, you've got to realize that not all women are the same, and not all women's bodies respond the same way to exercise. I know women who do get thick when they work with weights.

 

My body looks a lot like Adriana Lima's (although I'm not nearly so tall), and I don't use weights.

 

If you think that there is a one-size-fits-all exercise program to make all women look like models, you are misled.

 

Yes, weight bearing exercise is important for women as we age. But it doesn't require lifting at the gym.

[kaylan]

Kaylan, This ^^ is common knowledge. I would assume everyone, aside from the most naive, knows that models and celebs are in the gym lifting weights.

Most women dont know this. Id say 90% of women Ive talked to about lifting automatically say "I dont wanna get bulky"...or if I give them advice when their routine isnt working for them...they say "nah ill stick to this...i dont wanna get all big"

It is obvious from her body that Jessica Biel isn't starving herself. She's eating properly, doing some cardio, and lots of strength training.

But most girls wouldnt know this. They think theyll turn into an elite looking athlete with brawny muscles. My chick friends who workout even say all their gfs think like this. Its very deeply ingrained into the female fitness community.

Kaylan, you've got to realize that not all women are the same, and not all women's bodies respond the same way to exercise. I know women who do get thick when they work with weights.

 

My body looks a lot like Adriana Lima's (although I'm not nearly so tall), and I don't use weights.

 

If you think that there is a one-size-fits-all exercise program to make all women look like models, you are misled.

 

Yes, weight bearing exercise is important for women as we age. But it doesn't require lifting at the gym.

All Im saying is resistance training is great for women, and while bodyweight exercises can be good...they only do so much...and it wouldnt hurt a girl to drop the 3lb dumbbells and use something heavier.

 

If she is doing bodyweight stuff, theres no reason for her to use weights so much lighter than her body.

[iris219]

Most women dont know this. Id say 90% of women Ive talked to about lifting automatically say "I dont wanna get bulky"...or if I give them advice when their routine isnt working for them...they say "nah ill stick to this...i dont wanna get all big"

 

But most girls wouldnt know this. They think theyll turn into an elite looking athlete with brawny muscles.

 

I don't know. I guess I associate with fitness minded women because we're all pretty savvy when it comes to knowing the proper way to eat and work out to achieve results. And it has nothing to do with starving ourselves and running on a treadmill until we collapse.

[kaylan]

I don't know. I guess I associate with fitness minded women because we're all pretty savvy when it comes to knowing the proper way to eat and work out to achieve results. And it has nothing to do with starving ourselves and running on a treadmill until we collapse.

How I wish you ladies were the norm.

[TheFinalWord]

One thing I think you might like to see is in that book link I provided, men tend to do better with exercise, but virtually every other domain of health: diet, preventative health care, risky behaviors, injurious habits like smoking/drinking, etc. women do better.

 

Health Psychology - Google Books

[Radu]

To answer the question in the title, no they are not lazier. In fact generally women are more fitness consciencious than men.

 

Many women are simply afraid of putting on lots of muscle and losing some of their femininity.

A similar thread popped up a while ago and i remember a thread about how attractive women in the Olympics are.

 

I've tried in the past to convince women both on LS and in RL that most of the men actually find women attractive if they have some tone on them and that it's impossible for them to put lots of muscle because of their lower overal testosterone ... very little succes.

[kaylan]

<----Would sleep with all female Olympians lol

One thing I think you might like to see is in that book link I provided, men tend to do better with exercise, but virtually every other domain of health: diet, preventative health care, risky behaviors, injurious habits like smoking/drinking, etc. women do better.

 

Health Psychology - Google Books

Interesting.... *strokes beard*

[ascendotum]

"Most women dont know this. Id say 90% of women Ive talked to about lifting automatically say "I dont wanna get bulky"...or if I give them advice when their routine isnt working for them...they say "nah ill stick to this...i dont wanna get all big""

 

I could make that same statement myself. In my current gym which is not a meathead gym, its probably about 70:30 M:F. 95% of the women are on the bikes or in the cardio classes. Its good when you see a woman actually hit the weights (putting in effort to sculpt her figure and not just the perv factor). Most of the women who do, have good figures and the few who don't are always with PTs.