...sorry I tried coming up with a witty title. And sorry to let you all down--this passage isn't about LMFAO either.
Why is it that women should be more focused on cardio machines while men are supposed to be seen in the weight lifting area? Is it because cardio machines are seen to be more frilly, more dainty while weightlifting is more macho? A human needs both parts to maintain a healthy lifestyle; yet, sexes hardly are seen crossing the other half of the room. How is it do you think these norms have come about?
What happens when an individual crosses the other half of the room? How have you reacted, personally? Be honest!
HAHA i love the title!
ReplyDeleteThat is so true though. I used to play sports in high school. I have no arm strength, so that's something I want to work on when I go to the gym. I only lift the 5 pound weights, but I am only brave enough to go get them when I work out with my friends and we ALL do it. If I did it by myself, I feel like people would look at me like "what is she doing?"
Good point!
This is a very accurate point. It is interesting to see girls doing weights. In high school, for JV basketball conditioning, my coach made us do weight lifting while the football players were also training in the room and we got some looks. Mainly the looks were like "oh damn, look at that." I mean we were only lifting 10 pounds total so it wasn't a big deal but still. Now I go to the Lyon center and every so often, I see this one girl walk through the gym while lifting 5-10lb weights in each hand. She looks like she's a swimmer or some kind of athlete so she doesn't seem to get looks. I feel like with the athletes, there's less "judgment" (for lack of a better word) from others if girls go lift weights and guys use the cardio machines because they're supposed to be dynamic and strong.
ReplyDeleteGood point! Also, it's interesting to think about the way men and women think about working out. For men, it's almost like a bonding activity; they go in groups and socialize, engaging in friendly competitions with one another. But for girls, it's very competitive, even if we don't project that outwardly. We use other girls in the gym as competition to push ourselves to work out more, and it's very independent; from my experience, girls don't usually talk to each other when they work out.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the reasons for working out are different between guys and girls. Generally, guys go to bulk up and gain muscle, while girls go to stay in shape, which is another product of societal expectations, and therefore causes that divide in the gym.