So I’m back from a long weekend at a resort in the Dominican Republic. (I blogged this morning about doing an aquaspin class there.) I was originally worried about traveling so soon after surgery but I got the medical clearance and was just told to make sure I kept up with my physio.
On a rainy afternoon that meant a visit to the resort’s fitness centre.
It had a cardio side–spinning bikes, treadmills, etc–and a strength training side–cable machines, free weights, and benches.
There were 16 people in fitness centre and the gender break down probably won’t surprise you. Eight men lifting weights and eight women doing cardio.
Now, when I started I was one of the eight women doing cardio, rehabbing my knee on the spin bike. But after a half hour of that I wanted to move over to the weights. But all those men. So many men. I felt pretty uncomfortable with the idea of trying to work in and around them. I’m a woman, older than most of the people in the gym, there with my cane. So I kept spinning and kept stewing. I thought about the blog and the story I would tell. And then something clicked. I didn’t want to tell the story where I sat and stewed about the gender imbalance. Also, I don’t know any of those guys. Who cares what they think? I want to lift weights. They’ve all been there awhile. So I got off my bike and walked over and claimed one of the pieces of equipment.
A very wonderful thing happened almost immediately. First, one woman joined me. And then another. Some of the guys left.
The next thing you know it’s a mixed group using the weights and the strength training equipment.
I don’t know if there was a causal connection between my move and the other women joining me. Maybe? I do know it felt a bit like there was. That’s the story I’m telling anyway. We did smile at one another.
It does show you that the idea that women just naturally somehow prefer the cardio equipment, that’s that what they want to do, is false.
I would definitely do that again.
I would also do this again!
How interesting!