I’ve been there. I’ve been that woman that would never dream of stepping into THAT section of the gym. The side where you hear the overexaggerated gasps, the colossal sounds of the crash of metal as dumbbells come flying like lightning to the floor at the end of a set, the pump of biceps combined with crimson faces in unison with amplified breaths. But what was it that made me feel this way? Was I worried of the conversations from said males, or was it simply because I avoided that area because I was intimidated with the fact that I hadn’t a clue what I was doing so I would avoid it altogether, stick with what I knew and areas I felt comfortable in-like the machines and treadmills. Yes, once upon a time I completely avoided using weights because I was uneducated, I thought it would change my body shape for the worst and I never felt comfortable. My self-esteem was so low I hated the thought of being surrounded by a big group of males because I felt people were watching me and my low levels of self- esteem and confidence made me unhappy with my body and I simply didn’t know what to with the equipment, yet I failed to seek the knowledge. On top of that I was made even more self-conscious with everyone else knowing my secret; that I knew nothing.
In an interesting conversation with two male colleagues of mine, this topic came up. It seems men really do have a radar when it comes to the women that train in the weights section of the gym. What was interesting was their perception that women that DO venture in THAT section were individuals that did know how to train and were confident in themselves and what they were doing. Those females that stayed away, that stuck habitually to the cardio machines were the types of people that needed a Coach more than anyone else.
It does take a certain type of person to train themselves in the gym. My personal belief is that if you have a good technique, you’re quite intermediate, you know how to programme effectively, you have discipline and motivation to stick to your chosen amount of weight training sessions a week, then I think you’ll definitely see the benefits. That said, for you to change your body shape whether that be to drop weight and become lean, or eat in an appropriate surplus and get super strong, you still acquire a sound knowledge of nutrition: YOU CANNOT OUT-TRAIN A BAD DIET. So even if you’re someone that DOES know how to train but you’re still not seeing results, then getting a Coach to talk you through your nutrition and even your programming is vital.
THE BENEFITS OF TRAINING WITH A COACH
It took me at least 2 years of training with a Coach 4 times a week, for me to have the knowledge, the technique and the confidence to train independently in a gym. Years before when I entered the gym I would stick with the cardio machines, they were boring but I knew it wasn’t too hard to do them properly, so I’d wouldn’t be at risk of getting injured. Even when I built up the confidence to try weights, I look back and cringe at how badly my exercises were executed. Depth on squats and bench presses were poor, I knew nothing about how many reps and sets to do so would often do 3 or 4 sets of 20 on leg extensions, leg presses and leg curls. I was even doing a stupid amount of exercises that weren’t working a wide variety of muscle groups, simply because I had no idea how to programme! Often, I would do some exercises in isolation like a walking lunge, but wouldn’t find it very difficult. If I attempted to pair exercises together, it would be exactly the same muscle group like walking lunges into a leg press. Rarely did I think about what exercises worked particular muscle groups specifically. If I was sweating and eating what I wanted I thought that was enough, yet I’d become demotivated when my body didn’t change and I wasn’t seeing results. I knew nothing about nutrition either!
Everyone should invest in a Coach, there is no point weight training and wasting time guessing. But, the problem many people have is not seeing the value in investing £500 a month into your health. Instead, half of that may blow in one weekend of drinking, eating out or takeaways. Of course you have to be in a relatively good financial position, but even those that are, do not see the point because they truly believe they can do it themselves. By getting a Coach, you are speeding up lots of wasted years. I know people who have been dieting for 10 and even 20 years, yet stingy to spend the money on someone that DOES know what they’re doing and would rather waste more time, eventually giving up. Every year they may pat themselves on the back that at least they’re trying. Personally, whenever I do anything, I’d rather do it properly, even if it means spending my money and investing and trusting in someone that has done it before.
When you train with a Coach, you are paying for a service, an investment, an investment into your health. Someone who will do all the mind work for you. You are paying a professional to train you effectively, with intensity, someone who will teach you the right technique. If you don’t have the right technique or full range of motion, the exercise is pointless because you are not working the muscles to their full potential. Hence, why a lot of women give up and dare not venture into THAT section. Ladies, a Coach will help speed up the process to get you to where you want to be. They will programme effectively, with knowledge of the muscle groups, the appropriate amount of sets and reps. They will monitor your intensity and push you more than you would ever push yourself. When you’ve learnt enough, you are probably ready to go it alone.
SO IS THE GYM REALLY A MAN’S DOMAIN?
So in the conversation with my male colleagues, one made a valid point that they think in the 10 years of them being in the fitness industry, they truly believe more women are weight training than they ever have done before, despite many still avoiding the ‘men’s section’. When I asked why, they answered ‘social media.’ Another made a valid point that for women there is ‘an illusion of the fitness journey’. When I pushed him further, he maintained that more women are probably doing more weight training because more and more women in the fitness industry whether competitors, models or trainers are posting on Instagram and Facebook, widening the awareness and education. Women in particular with amazing, lean physiques. But, seeing such a woman doing a band workout, gives the illusion that that’s all you need to do to get that physique, which is plain wrong. In reality, to get their amazing booty, they’ve probably spent years hip thrusting and squatting heavy. It is impossible to see someone’s fitness journey in 1 video. What you rarely see is how they began. They would have started somewhere, they were a beginner once, they would have at least one person guide or advise them, they would have had to learn it first.
If you are the woman as I described at the start, you MUST invest in a Coach. You will inevitably build more confidence to eventually train yourself. But weight training and gymming (properly) is something you must be educated in. It’s not as easy as it may look; even if you’re goblet squatting a light weight and your technique is all wrong, you will never learn the correct way before you increase the weight.
Even now, I am someone that still requires a Coach. I have been weight training for 6 years and even I will still send videos to my Coach for a second opinion. Accountability is one of the biggest advantages of having a Coach and you have someone guiding you, holding your hand and therefore making you feel more comfortable and supported.
Men may appear more confident when they’re kicking ass in their sessions, but you will not believe the amount of men I observe in the gym whose form is TERRIBLE. Yet, they will keep going anyway. Ladies, the lack of confidence and self-esteem is probably more so in your head and in fact, no one is really looking at you, no one really knows your secret, not unless your body language shows it. My advice? LEARN FIRST. Learn from someone who knows. There are only so many videos you can watch and comprehend, but if there is no one there to really knit pick at your technique for every session, record yourself and ask someone for their feedback. Maybe even go with a female friend to the gym-you’d feel more comfortable in a pack, no?
To end, I want to explain a valid point and throw an idea out there for you to ponder over. I visit Yorkshire once a year and whenever I stay, I always go to the same gym (yes, I still train on holiday because I enjoy it). This particular gym (near Bradford) has a ‘Ladies Gym’ a small room within the main gym with a section just for ladies, assuming to cater for those women I have talked about, a woman I once was. When I went in there out of pure curiosity, I was horrified to find that the barbells only went up to 15kg and the dumbbells a mere 10kg. I could not train in there. I sauntered out shaking my head. By creating a ‘Ladies only’ section, does that not increase the distance of isolation between men and women training alongside each other, or is it more positive in making women feel more comfortable to train? Does it assume that women will only progress to a certain level in weight training and therefore keep them in their place? I will let you decide. So, no, the gym IS NOT a man’s domain, it’s just a case of more men having the confidence to go in there and do their thing. MAKE THE GYM YOUR DOMAIN.
