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

[xxoo]

I've already got a shapely ass, thanks.

 

Me, too!

 

I fail to see how less fat would make it look better. Glutes + fat = shapely ass.

 

Not to mention, my H would cry if it was hard like his butt

[Feelin Frisky]

I think it's probably an illusion that there are more men than women in gyms. Men will be out there doing their thing with the weights and machines. But their number does not necessarily exceed the high number of women that come for the events and classes that women almost exclusively do together. Women do more with the lower extremities and men see it as good to accent their upper physiques. Men don't trot around together and dance while Richard Simmons eggs them on as it were.

[AlexDP]

I've already got a shapely ass, thanks.

 

It's fine that you don't need squats, but to say that squats don't develop an ass is ludicrous. Well performed squats have the gluteus maximus as prime mover.

[xxoo]

It's fine that you don't need squats, but to say that squats don't develop an ass is ludicrous. Well performed squats have the gluteus maximus as prime mover.

 

Of course they do. But they aren't the only thing that does.

 

Sprinting up hills works well, too. And it is SO much more fun! (for me, anyway)

[AlexDP]

Of course they do. But they aren't the only thing that does.

 

Sprinting up hills works well, too. And it is SO much more fun! (for me, anyway)

 

As does any form of sprinting.. You're right, there are lots of ways to develop a great ass. It's just that squatting is one of the fastest and surest ways so I understand why people promote them so much.

[xxoo]

As does any form of sprinting.. You're right, there are lots of ways to develop a great ass. It's just that squatting is one of the fastest and surest ways so I understand why people promote them so much.

 

I can understand that.

 

It's the mindset that all women want the Jamie Eason look that I don't understand. I think she's hot--no disrespect!--but I don't prefer that body type, and I don't think that body type is necessarily healthier than other fit types, or that women are lazy for not pursuing that body.

[Taramere]

I can understand that.

 

It's the mindset that all women want the Jamie Eason look that I don't understand. I think she's hot--no disrespect!--but I don't prefer that body type, and I don't think that body type is necessarily healthier than other fit types, or that women are lazy for not pursuing that body.

 

Personally I like Jennifer Aniston's body shape. That would probably elicit disapproval "too thin, not enough muscle" etc, but aesthetically it's what I like. Slender and toned but in a feminine way. Her focus is on cardio, running, pilates and yoga...and, of course, watching her diet. The real problem is not that women aren't packing on enough muscle. It's that far too many people are grossly overweight. I don't think that gets fixed by arguing that they should all be getting into the gym and bench-pressing/doing squats. Muscle strengthening doesn't have to involve that. It can be achieved in more fun ways.

 

A lot of people would find swimming far more enjoyable (and relaxing) for instance, and it's great for muscle strengthening due to the water resistance. I used to do a lot of horse riding. Anybody who thinks that isn't taxing can try a bit of eventing. Having to constantly control a strong horse from bolting and not develop some pretty impressive (unwanted if you're a female - or if you're this female) muscles from that. Or spending several hours being trained to do jumps without using reins and stirrups. That gives asses a lot more to think about than a few squats will. Or boat rowing which involves constant resistance training on the arms for hours on end.

 

Those pastimes don't tend to be within easy reach, but activities like yoga, pilates and callanetics which promote grace and suppleness as well as core strength can easily be done at home. Then there are the things we have to do like gardening and housework. Women with kids who are having to carrying them around all the time are certainly using a lot of muscles. Shopping - if you walk to the shops and back. That's pretty good strength building stuff.

 

I was discussing this with a friend earlier and he said there's this thing about some gymgoers whereby they think everybody should be following the same workout tht they're doing. A lot of people don't even want to go to the gym or lift weights, but they can still do strength building exercise without all that. As it is, throughout the Western world there is this awful problem with gross obesity - and here people are complaining that women are being lazy by spending too much time on the treadmills and not enough time lifting weights. That's really going to shift the 300 pounders out of their beds and into action.

[Star Gazer]

I haven't stepped foot in a gym in over 3 months. My "gym" is running outdoors, skiing, and an outdoor boot camp class. I'm the farthest from lazy.

 

People who do all of their exercise in the gym tend to be not all that functionally fit.

[SmileFace]

Why people are bashing different types of exercises is beyond me.

[nerd]

What's the point of all those pushups if you can't even lift a bloody log??

[BehindBlueEyes]

Why people are bashing different types of exercises is beyond me.

 

 

It's all in what you like. I don't like the inside/stationary exercise.. I like to ride my bike outside, going places on it and it's just a lot more fun and fulfilling to me.

[SmileFace]

It's all in what you like. I don't like the inside/stationary exercise.. I like to ride my bike outside, going places on it and it's just a lot more fun and fulfilling to me.

I like both thankfully. I really enjoy hiking, bike riding and outside running.

However I love the power of weights and it helps me stay strong and I can pick up a good amount of logs .

[fortyninethousand322]

I'm a guy and I hate going to the gym. I don't hate working out, I love that part of it, I just hate going to the gym. The only time I'll go is because I have to use something (like bench press or chest press or something like that) that I don't have at home. Otherwise I'm quite happy having all the weights I need right there, do my sets and get on with the rest of my day.

 

Maybe some women feel like that? I don't know, sounds reasonable enough.

[hppr]

LOL at the title.

 

I see tons of women in gyms but they're more aerobics related ones that I almost never go to. Likewise the weightlifting ones are usually sausage fests with 1-2 good looking women getting all the eyeballs.

[Mme. Chaucer]

Just because a person does not go to a gym doesn't mean they're lazy. Even if a person does not work out doesn't signify that they're lazy.

 

I'm sure that you folks who spend a lot of time on your bodies are neglecting other areas of your life and personal development - does it mean you're LAZY?

[AlexDP]

I haven't stepped foot in a gym in over 3 months. My "gym" is running outdoors, skiing, and an outdoor boot camp class. I'm the farthest from lazy.

 

People who do all of their exercise in the gym tend to be not all that functionally fit.

 

 

People who do all their exercise in the gym are probably not that functionally fit.

 

People who do all their exercise outside the gym (ie no weights) are probably not that functionally fit either.

[Archgirl]

I don't really do gyms, it's always made me feel like a hamster on a wheel.

I do a 3-4km (takes between an 1hr and 1 1/2hrs) swim three or four times a week plus a couple of hours skating...I have no idea how that compares, is it less than most guys?

[sweetjasmine]

Squats are a major part of ballet dancers' training (except that they tend to refer to them as the more graceful sounding plies and they're performed with legs apart, toes outwards). No dancer I've ever met has had a huge butt - including the ones who weren't as slim as dancers are meant to be.

 

Because of turnout, ballet actually works different sets of muscles. The muscles involved in rotation and in lifting the legs are generally the smaller ones, not the bigger ones you usually work with ordinary squats and whatnot. So those aren't ever really going to get that huge anyway.

 

I can understand that.

 

It's the mindset that all women want the Jamie Eason look that I don't understand. I think she's hot--no disrespect!--but I don't prefer that body type, and I don't think that body type is necessarily healthier than other fit types, or that women are lazy for not pursuing that body.

 

Precisely. And some of us don't like lifting weights. And what's the point in trying to do a form of exercise you don't even like and wouldn't even consistently do?

[tman666]

I go to a pretty typical "globo gym" (as the Crossfitters would call it). It's not ideal, but they are so far fine with people lifting heavy weights and training hard so I'm more or less fine with the place. And it's cheap.

 

But anyway, I would say that it's a pretty even 50/50 split of men and women in the gym exercising.

 

HOWEVER...

 

The majority of the women are there doing group classes, group training, or working on some piece of cardio equipment. There are some females who participate in resistance training, but even then, the majority of them stick to machines. It's a rarity to see a female lifting with free weights or doing any sort of higher intensity bodyweight-only work at my gym.

 

YET...

 

It's the ones focusing on improving athletic performance with GUSTO through a combination of mastering their own bodyweight and getting stronger overall (mostly through various compound movements) that tend to have the best physiques. I just call 'em like I see 'em.

 

It sort of amuses me that people defend/bash their or others' "brand of fitness" so vehemently. But at the end of the day, there are common threads between the various things that "work" for achieving general fitness:

 

1) It must continually challenge you

2) It must be balanced in the scope of what it covers

3) It must be something that allows you to make long term progress

4) It must strive to minimize injury and maximize mobility/joint health

5) It must be something a person can stick with long term

 

I'm sure there are more commonalities than that, but the above seem to be common "trademarks" of effective approaches to general fitness. Bodybuilding/powerlifting/Olympic lifting are basically examples of sport specific training, which is not what this thread is about.

 

Basically, I see a lot of women in my gym lacking balance and any sort of intensity. But let's not just pick on the ladies. I see plenty of men in my gym with the same problems: lack of programming balance and not really pushing themselves.

 

What I do see a lot of are people going through the motions. They show up, saunter through their workouts, and chat with their friends, talk on the phone, grab a smoothie and leave. And there is nothing wrong with all of that. If that's what makes a person feel good, then I'm all for it. There are plenty of good health benefits to even modest daily physical activity.

 

Maybe that works for some people. I guess it just depends on what your goals are. If you're not where you want to be, then change something.

[Taramere]

I don't know if the mods will let me away with posting the following link, but this guy just explains how I feel about this so brilliantly. That the role model of "ideal female form" that the fitness industry pushes compromises more on softness than a lot of women may be happy with- though he's guilty of presenting a couple of improbable supermodel type figures as what women do want.

 

The Essential Guide To Female Training For A Sexy Feminine Physique | FitMole

 

To me, Jennifer Aniston does a great job of maintaining a balance between slimness, good tone and feminine softnesswhich is what he's talking about.

[pbjbear]

Hmmm..I dont know. I know more women that work out than men (I cannot think of one female friend I have that doesnt work out at least some) because women feel more pressured to look good all the time. Several of my female friends say they go to the gym primarily to be "hot enough to get a boyfriend" due to the competition of NYC with beautiful women everywhere

 

I do have male friends that work out, but alot of them dont do it that much just enough to build some

muscle. Men build muscle easier than women and tend to lose weight quicker and more easily too

[tman666]

I don't know if the mods will let me away with posting the following link, but this guy just explains how I feel about this so brilliantly. That the role model of "ideal female form" that the fitness industry pushes compromises more on softness than a lot of women may be happy with- though he's guilty of presenting a couple of improbable supermodel type figures as what women do want.

 

The Essential Guide To Female Training For A Sexy Feminine Physique | FitMole

 

To me, Jennifer Aniston does a great job of maintaining a balance between slimness, good tone and feminine softnesswhich is what he's talking about.

 

Interesting article. I agree with him that heavy squats and deadlifts are sometimes misapplied by well intentioned trainers for women who want to build "bikini" or "celebrity" bodies. Hey, if you want to look like a model or Jennifer Aniston, then train like a model or Jennifer Aniston. Be sure to eat like them too.

 

That said, I'm sort of laughing to myself that this guy's (FitMole) blog is supposedly exists to "declutter all the absolute nonsense that plagues the fitness industry", yet he uses two stock photos to support his point (a "big", "masculine looking" woman performing a barbell back squat compared to a slim, "sexy" woman in lingerie). I'd be interested to see if a) this guy actually trains real life women and b) what sort of results his methods have obtained in real clients.

 

I suspect this guy has neither a) or b) and that it's all just talk. Maybe I'm wrong. That article was interesting, and not necessarily wrong (not necessarily right either), but I do have a problem with how he "supported" his opinions.

[Taramere]

Interesting article. I agree with him that heavy squats and deadlifts are sometimes misapplied by well intentioned trainers for women who want to build "bikini" or "celebrity" bodies. Hey, if you want to look like a model or Jennifer Aniston, then train like a model or Jennifer Aniston. Be sure to eat like them too.

 

The camera tends to add pounds so it may well be that a lot of women seeing JA in real life would feel she was too thin. However, I don't think something around that look necessarily requires a terribly sparse diet. A careful one, of course, but not one that involves the anorexic style approach women of that size are often accused of.

 

That said, I'm sort of laughing to myself that this guy's (FitMole) blog is supposedly exists to "declutter all the absolute nonsense that plagues the fitness industry", yet he uses two stock photos to support his point (a "big", "masculine looking" woman performing a barbell back squat compared to a slim, "sexy" woman in lingerie). I'd be interested to see if a) this guy actually trains real life women and b) what sort of results his methods have obtained in real clients.

 

I thought that particular photo was a mistake too. I would kill for a pair of legs like that lingerie model's but unless somebody sculpts away bone and stretches me on a rack it is not going to happen.

 

I suspect this guy has neither a) or b) and that it's all just talk. Maybe I'm wrong. That article was interesting, and not necessarily wrong (not necessarily right either), but I do have a problem with how he "supported" his opinions.

 

I don't know if his methods are effective, and I'm not about to pay to find out I have to say...but what I liked was his acknowledgement of the way the fitness industry tends to assume everybody who goes to the gym is going to want that very hardbodied look. I realise a lot of women do, or end up wanting to look like that after they've spent some time in the gym, but I think plenty more don't.

 

If they're constantly getting the message from fitness instructors that that's what they should aspire to then they start to think "there's a disconnect between how these people think I should look and how I want to look. Maybe a gym isn't really suited to my needs." I think that's a shame, because gyms are a useful tool for anybody to get in shape. Strength training is useful, but as a woman I don't want to ask for advice on how to use a machine then be given the kind of advice that's going to lead me towards a body I don't really want.

 

I'm an endomorph build and I've got muscle just from ordinary exercise, the elliptical training, swimming etc. I've had gym assessments where they look at that and get all "great, somebody who puts on muscle - now let's get a bit more of that on you" and that is really the last thing I want. I don't really want to add more muscle to my legs with squats or more to my arms with dead lifts "working to failure" and all of that.

 

When they say "you won't get all built up" what they mean is that I won't get all built up like one of the blokes - but if I follow their advice I will still become a more built up woman than I want to be. This is the part where I feel a disconnect with gyms - and that's what that bloke covers so well with his article.

[pbjbear]

I looove free weights. I dont even know how to use machines. A personal trainer friend told me to never use machines unless I have injuries and I took it to heart.

 

I will admit, I am terrified of going to the free weights room. I use between 12-25 dumbbells for my exercises so Im not afraid of seeming like a wuss, but I dont want any male attention at the gym

[Taramere]

I'm an endomorph build and I've got muscle just from ordinary exercise, the elliptical training, swimming etc. I've had gym assessments where they look at that and get all "great, somebody who puts on muscle - now let's get a bit more of that on you" and that is really the last thing I want. I don't really want to add more muscle to my legs with squats or more to my arms with dead lifts "working to failure" and all of that.

 

That should have been mesomorph - the one that puts muscle on easily (and doesn't necessarily want to). I can see that a woman with the build that has huge difficulty in putting muscle on would want to push really hard in that area, and I suspect that this would be the build of woman a lot of men are thinking of when they talk about a need for weight training.

 

For others the kind of resistance training provided by body conditioning methods (where your own body acts as "the weight") may well be enough, and they're also good for promoting flexibility.

 

I looove free weights. I dont even know how to use machines. A personal trainer friend told me to never use machines unless I have injuries and I took it to heart.

 

I will admit, I am terrified of going to the free weights room. I use between 12-25 dumbbells for my exercises so Im not afraid of seeming like a wuss, but I dont want any male attention at the gym.

 

In my gym there's an area that projects an aura of "serious work area- don't come in here unless you know how to work the machinery ". It's not a tempting prospect. I'm not sure exactly what goes on in there, because every time I walk past it I do so with eyes averted. On the occasions I have looked usually all I've seen is a bloke or two sitting on benches gazing into space.