Lifting weights can be feminine, why do girls think otherwise?

Why are girls so scared of lifting? I’m asking this because I was scared of it myself, and I continue to see the majority of women avoid picking up heavy things because it might make them gain muscle or turn them into a man. I promise, it won’t.

I started lifting seriously about a year ago. I won’t put myself out there as some crazy body builder, because I’m not. In fact, I’m pretty average, I don’t bench press cars, I don’t squat much more weight than the average person. But even without being a pro, lifting has done wonders for me.

When I came home from college over the summer, I had a number of girls ask me what I’d been doing to workout because my body had noticeably changed. And I have to say, there is nothing that shocks girls more than telling them you lift weights.

See, it’s considered okay to lift small weights. In most workout classes now, they have women lifting up to five pounds with lots of rep. But once you start multiplying that to 10, 15, 20, or more, you better watch out. Many girls think heavy weights are for men, because they make you bulky, not slim.

So when I tell girls that I lift, they get confused. I get questions: “Doesn’t that make you gain weight?” or “You must do other stuff too, right?” or even “Really? That helps?”. Girls don’t seem to understand how I can lift without looking like a dude.

Girls are only scared of it because they don’t lift

Lifting sounds like a very intimidating, “manly” word. Really it’s just picking up weights and putting them back down again. In reality it’s much easier than all these crazy classes girls go to (Corepower, for example).

I know girls who are very intense about their lifting, tracking their daily progress, weigh out their protein, and use fancy belts I don’t understand. And then there’s me. I’ve done my research, I know the form, but I’m pretty unimpressive if you put me next to some other girls. No one expects you to be a pro bodybuilder. The benefits of lifting come from improvement, not comparison.

People just think it’s a boy, girl thing

Men and women often have very different body goals. Typically men want to get bigger, while women want to feel smaller. Lifting heavy weight has become the territory of men because it makes you visibly stronger. Cardio workouts have been marketed towards women because they are less aggressive physically (though not any easier) and focus on losing weight.

But lifting isn’t always about getting bigger. The reason that men who lift are big is because they aim to get big. They eat crazy amounts of food, take supplements to help them grow, and bulk up to achieve their goal. But, this doesn’t need to be everyone’s goal.

So why don’t I look like a man?

By lifting you burning fat, and create muscle definition. You’re not going to wake up one day with the legs of a lumberjack, but you do notice the muscles in your arm being sculpted over a couple of months, which is quite nice. Because lifting shows such gradual progress, you can make changes if needed: add in cardio here and there, build your diet a bit more around protein, etc. It doesn’t just make you bigger. Although it may not feel like you’re burning as many calories as running a few miles, you are. It’s a feeling that takes some getting used to.

Give it a try

More and more women seem to be taking up lifting. It’s rare that I find myself alone in a sea of guys at the gym, there’s always at least one other girl in the weights section working her butt off (or working in on). It may still seem a bit intimidating to those who haven’t tried it, but isn’t everything at first?

Those insta-famous girls you check out lift on a regular basis. Not to mention Victoria’s Secret models, who may look dainty but they’re strong as hell. It’s a confidence booster, a healthy habit, and a great way to de-stress. You can be strong and still maintain your womanhood.