I keep thinking too about the time factor: So many women have written about being "golf widows" or "marathon widows" or "gym widows" because they have to stay at home and take care of everything so their husbands have the freedom to spend hours every week pursuing their physical hobbies and workout perfection (https://www.bustle.com/life/marathon-spouses-relationships, that TikTok of a mom finishing a race and her husband thrusting their kids at her, etc)
The barrier to entry for more intense working out is high and made higher by demands on women's time, especially when they're partnered and mothers.
I strongly agree that women should lift weights and lift heavy. I also agree that Pilates and walking only is insufficient, and that there is a lot of misinformation around female fitness online.
However, I think your comparison/metaphor at the beginning about a doctor prescribing different medications is misleading. Actual doctors do not prescribe different exercises based on sex. The world health organization does not have separate recommendations for men and women. They specifically say that muscle building exercises benefit everyone.
So Instagram influencers say this crap, but medical bodies do not. Which doesn't mean it's not a problem but I think it's a different kind of problem, and it's a bit disingenuous to conflate the two.
I absolutely loved this! Thanks for using your knowledge and research to share with us! I didn’t know about the 40s/50s exercise trends with women—fascinating, and I feel even more empowered to keep running and lifting!
I totally get that, and because the article would be too long, I couldn’t include this part, which is that I think the mindfulness, attention to body pain and sensation, and pacing that mind body modalities use is something the gym/bootcamp/weightlifting side could learn from ♥️
I keep thinking too about the time factor: So many women have written about being "golf widows" or "marathon widows" or "gym widows" because they have to stay at home and take care of everything so their husbands have the freedom to spend hours every week pursuing their physical hobbies and workout perfection (https://www.bustle.com/life/marathon-spouses-relationships, that TikTok of a mom finishing a race and her husband thrusting their kids at her, etc)
The barrier to entry for more intense working out is high and made higher by demands on women's time, especially when they're partnered and mothers.
I strongly agree that women should lift weights and lift heavy. I also agree that Pilates and walking only is insufficient, and that there is a lot of misinformation around female fitness online.
However, I think your comparison/metaphor at the beginning about a doctor prescribing different medications is misleading. Actual doctors do not prescribe different exercises based on sex. The world health organization does not have separate recommendations for men and women. They specifically say that muscle building exercises benefit everyone.
So Instagram influencers say this crap, but medical bodies do not. Which doesn't mean it's not a problem but I think it's a different kind of problem, and it's a bit disingenuous to conflate the two.
I absolutely loved this! Thanks for using your knowledge and research to share with us! I didn’t know about the 40s/50s exercise trends with women—fascinating, and I feel even more empowered to keep running and lifting!
What a powerful metaphor in the beginning! I really enjoyed reading this article and all the research you’ve synthesized for us here.
I totally get that, and because the article would be too long, I couldn’t include this part, which is that I think the mindfulness, attention to body pain and sensation, and pacing that mind body modalities use is something the gym/bootcamp/weightlifting side could learn from ♥️