I know I'm not suppose to be here but this is such a good article just had to put it out.

http://www.t-nation.com/training/10-mistakes-women-make-in-the-gym

Good info for sure, but the tone is kinda douchey and does nothing to improve upon the stereotypes associated with male gym rats, which i think are at least partly to blame as well for women often fearing to go to the men's side of the gym (to the free weights, for example).

Douchey indeed. Condescending, obnoxious stereotypes. Clearly written by an egotistical "fitness" expert who feels he must bestow his vast knowledge on all of us dumb little women who don't possess the appropriate amount of converse or convex curves for his gratification because our "boyfriends" or "husbands" didn't teach us right. Blah.

OK, so I'm a girl and I liked the article (at least some of it). I've never been afraid to lift weights -- actually lifted pretty heavy in my early 20s thinking I would build up some nice muscle -- toned up but never bulked up probably because of hormones and not taking supplements.

I work out in that scary "men's area" where all the free weights are and do just fine. I prefer free weights or body weight exercises because you get so much more from them instead of just staying on machines.

Yeah, the guy sounds like he hasn't met too many smart girls, but he does have some valid points and I've seen some of the same craziness he has at the gym.

Let's go pick up something heavy and put it down.

I didn't mean to offend anyone, and he is a meat head, but if you read through the macho crap there is IMHO valid points about lifting heavy and building muscle, and that cardio is not the end all to working out.

Douchey indeed. Condescending, obnoxious stereotypes. Clearly written by an egotistical "fitness" expert who feels he must bestow his vast knowledge on all of us dumb little women who don't possess the appropriate amount of converse or convex curves for his gratification because our "boyfriends" or "husbands" didn't teach us right. Blah.

Oh yeah, he for sure makes some excellent points. I'm always telling girl friends (and actually my boyfriend, come to think of it) that they favor aerobic exercise far to heavily over weight training. Still, just thought it worth pointing out that the guy's attitude leaves something to be desired.

@@Ginger Snaps pretty much sums out how I feel about that post as well.

Be it bodybuilding, aerobics, dance, yoga, walking the dog, or fishing (had to get that in there), do what you love, and do it with passion, gratitude and consistency, and the results will follow.

Be well…

Well, the guy makes snide remarks about men too, I think that is just his style.

What I took issue with is the presumption that all women workout for the same reason - to look hot for guys. While that may be MY motivation I am sure there are a few women who work out to feel good, improve their health, get stronger, lose weight, improve their aerobic conditioning, live longer, remain more mobile and limber, meet athletic goals like running marathons etc.

So, he used the example of how awful runners look, which is bull because I happen to find a lean, long muscled look very attractive. To say that runners have high body fat is also kinda a nutty remark really. He also leaves out the genetic component of results. I always thought I must be strong because i have visible muscles - nope - turns out my genetics gives me that defined muscle look from working out and doesn't mean I am fitter or do a better job of working out then the next woman making mistakes at the gym...

I do agree that many people don't have a clue when they work out though and therefore don't get great results. I have made the mistakes of following alot of general guidelines that didn't really pay off that well.

My uninformed opinion, based on my personal results only - the best results are garnished from a combination of high intensity interval training and doing workouts that use your own body weight as resistance like TRX, boot camp style (or crossfit style) type stuff as long as you don't kill yourself in the process. Long duration exercise gets you other benefits, but shorter duration high intensity helped me lose weight and at least appear more tones.

Yeah, my bodyfat % is still about 27%, higher than I prefer but well within the range of normal for a 49 year old woman who used to be morbidly obese.

Edited June 2, 201412 yr by CowgirlJane

I had my 8 week nursing assessment at the gym today. I have avoiding losing weight because I'm preop and borderline BMI for insurance to approve. I have been working out with pretty heavy weights 3-4 times a week and meeting with a trainer once a week. I have intentionally not done a lot of cardio.

Today -- weight was the same as last time (intentional) but my body fat % was down 4% and my lean muscle mass was up 10 pounds!!! Woot!

Imagine how great my numbers are going to be when I get the food under control!!!!

Next Monday can't come fast enough.

<p>I had my 8 week nursing assessment at the gym today. I have avoiding losing weight because I'm preop and borderline BMI for insurance to approve. I have been working out with pretty heavy weights 3-4 times a week and meeting with a trainer once a week. I have intentionally not done a lot of cardio. </p> <p> </p> <p>Today -- weight was the same as last time (intentional) but my body fat % was down 4% and my lean muscle mass was up 10 pounds!!! Woot! </p> <p> </p> <p>Imagine how great my numbers are going to be when I get the food under control!!!! <br><br> Next Monday can't come fast enough.</p>

That's great..... I have to maintain my weight till Sept because of insurance too.

I had my 8 week nursing assessment at the gym today. I have avoiding losing weight because I'm preop and borderline BMI for insurance to approve. I have been working out with pretty heavy weights 3-4 times a week and meeting with a trainer once a week. I have intentionally not done a lot of cardio.

Today -- weight was the same as last time (intentional) but my body fat % was down 4% and my lean muscle mass was up 10 pounds!!! Woot!

Imagine how great my numbers are going to be when I get the food under control!!!!

Next Monday can't come fast enough.

I have two more weeks until I can go back to the weights. I find cardio to be so dreadfully boring sometimes. That's the bad thing post op, you're gonna have to wait for a few weeks before they clear you to go back to lifting.

I liked the article, I found a lot of good points to it. I also knew going in reading it that it might portray the writer as somewhat egotistical but it was also very interesting too. :-)

Whether someone thinks it's the whole condescending stereo-type thing or not with this article, TC (the author) makes a lot of valid points here. My opinion, the author is right on about almost all of it. The author also stated that guys are often the biggest "tools" in the gym, and I happen to agree that in general, that's usually the case. So I don't think this article intending to pi$$ off any women. My guess, TC had good intentions and notices why some women don't meet the goals they set out for and tried to help. I would go one step further and say that it seems he's (if the author is indeed a guy) advising women to actually not limit themselves to certain stereo-types and don't be afraid to venture into the so called....."men's area of the gym". I happen to second that sentiment.

I was taught many of these same concepts and applied them in my gym workouts. I am happy to say lifting very heavy weights, alternating upper and lower body and doing cardio such as swimming and jogging, I have had excellent results and can now see them after my plastic surgery. Good advice on the abs. I was wondering why my waist line was expanding. No more heavy weight in that area for me. Plus upping my protein. I will be happy to be able to go back to the gym.

I am a female and I actually enjoyed the article. Yes he could have kept the name calling to himself but sometimes we need this harsh tone to get points through to our brain. Plus it gives us more motivation to prove that we are not what someone just called us. I am actually going to implement some of his methods and see how they work for me personally. Starting Monday 6/30/14 and for the next 4-6 weeks I am going to lift heavier weights (but not kill myself heavy) 3 times a week with 2 days of 30 minute cardio in between. After 4 weeks I'm going to record my results and if I like what I see I will continue for another 2 weeks then change up my routine for the next 4-6 weeks as suggested. We have all tried so many diets/exercise routines in an effort to lose weight/get fit that I figured I should give it a try. Wish me luck everyone. And I wish you all the best on your weight lost journey.

Good info for sure, but the tone is kinda douchey and does nothing to improve upon the stereotypes associated with male gym rats, which i think are at least partly to blame as well for women often fearing to go to the men's side of the gym (to the free weights, for example).

LOL - I love to go to the men's side and lift just as heavy as some of the guys (but not all of them,, at least not yet). "Little woman" - yeah, there's nothing little about me.