Why so many women going to the gym only do cardio?

[StandingO]

At the gym I often go to (when I do) most of the women come in jump on the cardio machines and go home. So it seems. Now at the gym my GF and her buddy go to (I rarely go there) A much higher percentage of women lift weights then at my gym but still too many are just using cardio.

Ladies what is your view on this...

[melell]

b****'s be crazy.

 

Scared of getting too bulky is the most usual reason.

 

It is interesting though, I strength train, and have for over a year now. But my cardio level is not great- I think my heart health would benefit hugely from some regular lengthy cardio.

[xxoo]

Maybe that's what they enjoy. I don't use gyms, but I run on trails. It get a good adrenaline rush from it, great stress relief, and it makes me feel like a kid.

 

I hate lifting weights. It feels like work.

[Phoe]

My view is people should do whatever makes them happy. If people just LOVE running on the treadmill for 30 minutes then high five to that!

 

I personally hate cardio. I lift. Love it... my muscles burn sooo gooood.

[almond]

I don't really have a view on this - it's just good to see people exercising really. I don't pay much attention to the particulars of random people's routines.

 

Different strokes and such.

[D-Lish]

I used to do that too. I had a gym membership along with a few gf's, and we'd meet after work, hop on a treadmill and just chat. It was a social thing for me. My gf's started getting bf's and quit the gym, so I was left alone on the treadmill with my ipod, lol.

 

For me, when it came to weights, I wasn't ever sure how to even use them to achieve results- so I avoided them because I was a little intimidated.

[StrongLass]

It's usually due to something silly like being self conscious about not knowing the proper form for lifting or worries over "getting bulky" (which isn't how the female body works).

 

There also seems to be this unspoken rule that you either have to be a man or Zena for it to be "acceptable" to show up to lift weights, while mere mortal women are supposed to be running on a treadmill/elliptical at all times. Honestly I think that's all most women know how to do in a gym since most people seem to be really self conscious about asking about proper equipment use.

 

People pay more attention to each other & their insecurities than true fitness in most gyms; or at least that's how it's always seemed to me, so this question really doesn't surprise me.

Edited November 14, 2013 by StrongLass

[AnyaNova]

Well, for me at least, I have worked out a schedule. Mondays and Fridays I meet with my personal trainer and pretty much all we do a strength trainng.

 

Tuesdays and Thursdays are my cardio days, where I do (I started with the gym's suggestion--I just started there, it is my first gym ever, about two weeks ago-- with three ten minute sessions on he elliptical. I have bumped the resistance level thingie up to a notch, and added two minutes into each of the first two 10 minute intervals. When I have worked up to a full 45 or 60, I will begin the interval training program written out on these little cards.

 

Wed is my combo day: 10 minutes cardio to warm up, some of the strengh training exercises that I know I can do on my own safely and 10 minutes cardio (of course all of these followed by a cool down).

 

So I do what strength training I can do safely for sure when not in the presence of my trainer. :-)

[Sunshinegrl]

They're intimidated. They think the guys will laugh at them. If they do get off the treadmills they will get on the thigh abductor/adductor machine and the hamstring curl machine and that's about it.

 

I don't get it either. Guys ask me about weightlifting and the personal trainers have taken cues from the exercises I do and incorporate them into their client's workouts. I love it.

[theonlyjuan]

I work at a gym and some of it could be

 

Time

The myth of getting bulky

Being surrounded by testosterone fueled men ( Unless they have a women only weight area )

 

A lot of it is down to not having the information. If you look through women's magazines it is full of diet and exercises that only really incorporate cardio. I have seen a few that list cardio with weights ( Kettlebell swings etc ) A lot of people spread the wrong information like " Weights make you big " which is rubbish unless you are having the correct nutrition and training to gain mass.

 

To be fair I see a few women on the lower body resistance machines. I don't see many doing free weight isolation exercises like concentration curls etc.

 

Each to their own, just cardio is better than sitting at home.

[Imported]

Some people, just getting to the gym and doing anything was a struggle. And then you have people judging them because they only came and did X. Who the **** cares.

[clia]

A lot of it is down to not having the information. If you look through women's magazines it is full of diet and exercises that only really incorporate cardio. I have seen a few that list cardio with weights ( Kettlebell swings etc )

 

This isn't true at all. Most women's magazines encourage a lot of body weight exercises. Is it heavy lifting? No, but it is not pure cardio.

 

I personally find cardio to be a lot more fun than lifting weights. I feel better after jumping around and sweating for 30-45 minutes than I do after lifting weights.

[theonlyjuan]

This isn't true at all. Most women's magazines encourage a lot of body weight exercises. Is it heavy lifting? No, but it is not pure cardio.

 

I personally find cardio to be a lot more fun than lifting weights. I feel better after jumping around and sweating for 30-45 minutes than I do after lifting weights.

 

I didn't say it was pure cardio. I've seen some that mention kettlebell swings, squats etc. It is cardio with weights which people are using a lot for HIIT.

You don't really see many encouraging working a muscle group per day or even a split routine. It's mainly a routine bodybuilders use but a lot of people do it for pure fitness.

[Grumpybutfun]

Probably myths about muscle mass or bulkiness for weight lifting even though we know that isn't true. At my gym, there aren't very many women in it at all. I put a gym in my house because my wife doesn't want to work out where sweaty men have been due to cooties and germs (aka copious amounts of sweat.)

[ConstantVoyager]

I do my strength training at home.

[lollipopspot]

In my case, I don't know what to do, which machines to use to make a balanced workout, and proper form. Hired a trainer once but they didn't know how to work around a specific injury and it made it worse. I wish I had someone who could show me what to do who knew how to work with my limitation. There are also often people waiting for machines at my gym, and it's intimidating to have a bulked up guy who is "serious" about lifting waiting, and here I am lifting a small weight slowly. You just feel trivial.

 

A lot of females don't grow up with weightlifting as their "culture" and are clueless about it. I'd put myself in that category.

[Emilia]

It's all about points of reference. Before I started lifting and strength training I didn't see people the way I do now. Today when I go to the gym I evaluate everyone on their posture, how balanced their physique is, how hard they work (not on how much they lift ). A lot of girls are or will be skinny fat, with relatively high body fat still %, no muscle definition but quite skinny and usually terrible posture.They won't see it that way though, they just think of it as keeping their weight down. Most people - unless they have real interest in this kind of thing - have no idea what a properly trained, strong physique is and what it is supposed to look like in reality.

[madjac74]

Here is the problem with women (the op mostly) ...her exercise routine involves worrying what other women are doing.

[Emilia]

Here is the problem with women (the op mostly) ...her exercise routine involves worrying what other women are doing.

This is true. I see women watching what I do all the time which I find bizarre. Guys ignore it or ask about a specific exercise.

[xxoo]

Here is the problem with women (the op mostly) ...her exercise routine involves worrying what other women are doing.

 

The op is male.

[Shepp]

It works the other way too with a lot of guys not doing enough cardio,

 

or the ones I often see at the gym - the guys who totally concentrate on 6 pack and biceps and there calf muscles are non-existent.

 

 

I don't really know about girls but I think maybe guys want to tone / muscle up whereas girls tend to, sometimes (trying not to make a sweeping statement), want to lose or keep down their weight and a have a misconception about strength training.

 

 

I have a gym at work and the girls at the station lift - whether that's due to them knowing that strength training is useful in the nature of their job or because they know all the guys and feel comfortable, I dunno, maybe i'll ask them!

[Shepp]

Saying that I much prefer cardio and if I could only pick one it would be that, so maybe that's why?

[xxoo]

I think there is a tendency to do what comes easily for your body type. For my husband, lifting weights is relatively easy compared to cardio. He has more appreciable rewards sooner lifting than he does running. He quickly gets stronger, gets bigger muscles, and likes the results. So he lifts weights.

 

For me, lifting weights is an exercise in frustration. It's difficult, and the results are not quickly forthcoming. Running, on the other hand, gives me visible results quickly, both in terms of body shape and performance gains. And it feels good. So I run.

[MissPotato]

I go to the gym with a friend (a girl) since the beginning of the year 1 or 2 times a week and I do 20 minutes cardio, then 5-6 exercises to "get muscle", just like the coach suggested. He is very nice, if i don't know how to use a machine he shows me, gives me some advice...

I really like it. There are few girls but they seem more serious than guys who often don't do cardio and run towards the machines. I see the girls lift weight, but not all of them it's true. The main difference I see is that they often do exercise with the coach whereas guys do their job alone (question of ego maybe). Plus many girls go with a girl friend, guys are alone.

 

As a girl, it's really nice to go to the gym . If you need help for something you'll quickly find a heavily muscled arm with a big smile, just for you. Plus the proportion of super hot guys is very interesting. If you're a single girl this is a really good thing you must try.

 

I do it to get muscle in my back and abdos cause i have a fragile back (scoliosis), so i don't work my biceps (i already have some without doing anything, and i don't want more because i found it masculine). The aim is to do exercise (good for the heart, long term benefits), to remain fit and to have a solid back and a strong (but thin and feminine) body. I'm not afraid to look like a man by the way. I'm 5'1, petite, thin, long blond hair, "with breast and all the rest" (a Placebo's song...)...

[kiss_andmakeup]

I think there is a tendency to do what comes easily for your body type. For my husband, lifting weights is relatively easy compared to cardio. He has more appreciable rewards sooner lifting than he does running. He quickly gets stronger, gets bigger muscles, and likes the results. So he lifts weights.

 

For me, lifting weights is an exercise in frustration. It's difficult, and the results are not quickly forthcoming. Running, on the other hand, gives me visible results quickly, both in terms of body shape and performance gains. And it feels good. So I run.

 

Same for me! Running comes naturally to me and is actually relatively enjoyable, especially if I've got some good tunes on my iPod. Weight lifting, on the other hand, is something I have to literally force myself to do because I hate it so much. It is not enjoyable in the slightest to me. And like xxoo, my fiancé would say the same but opposite thing - he prefers lifting and hates cardio.

 

Explanations aside, this is the second or third thread in the past few weeks that serves to bash women who don't lift weights. You know what? They're at the gym. They're active. They might even be doing something they enjoy. So why don't you mind your own damn business? If it's not hurting you, what the eff is the big deal??!