Once you dive into the world of fitness, your outlook on the world will change. I don’t mean to speak in hyperboles, but it’s true. During your fitness journey, you’ll look at food differently, you’ll look at other women differently, and you’ll look at your discretionary time differently. And this is all good. Below you’ll find a list of things women who lift will understand.
Before I get started, the items below are things I noticed back when I started (How to Start Working Out For Beginners) down my path of health and fitness. Some of these things I noticed immediately, and some took time, but I’m guessing you’ll be able to relate to a majority of these within a month.
Things Women Who Lift Will Realize
- Confidence Booms – When you first start lifting, you might be a little shy and introverted. You don’t really know much about the equipment, what workouts to do, or much at all about a fitness routine. But over time you’ll know what exercises work certain muscles. You’ll be able to identify muscles by name. And you’ll feel confident about fitness in general. This will carry over into your everyday life. You’ll start to walk with your head up, eyes forward, and a sense of confidence you might not have had before.
- New Female Bonds – It’s dismissive to think that the guys belong down on the weight floor and the women belong on the treadmills or aerobic classes. Once you start working out with weights, you’ll start to form an unspoken bond with other women who are not afraid to work out with the men. Just like motorcycles nod to each other on the street, a similar bond will form in the gym with other women. It’s like you’re in a club that few women voluntarily belong to.
- Increased Appetite – Don’t be afraid of this one. You need fuel to lift (Best Pre-workout Energy Bars). If you don’t fuel your body, you’ll fall over and collapse. If you’ve ever done some physical exertion you can relate to wanting some food. I’m an avid hiker and after a day of hiking, I can crush a cheeseburger and fries. Obviously, food like this is a poor choice, but your body will crave calories. Lifting will increase your appetite, so be prepared to increase your food intake.
- Food Has Meaning – Speaking of craving calories, you’ll start to see food as fuel for your body. Before you might have looked at food as something you consumed to keep alive. But soon, while you’re grocery shopping you’ll look at food as either protein, fats, or carbohydrates. You’ll also start to look at going out to eat (How to Control Portion Sizes) differently. When I’m with my friends, they know that I’ll lean towards grabbing something healthy vs calorie-dense foods. Instead of pizza and burgers, it might be more of chicken and seafood.
- Definition – We’ve all seen the guys at the gym posing in the mirror and rolling our eyes. But pretty soon, you might not roll your eyes so much. When you start living, you’ll start to see some noticeable definition in your abs, arms, and legs. Pretty soon you’ll find yourself doing a quick flex in the mirror, to appreciate all the hard work you’ve been putting in. And take no shame in checking out your flat abs, or chiseled arms.
- Fitness Addiction – Once you start to see noticeable “gains” from working out. It will become a way of life. You’ll have a new desire to keep the bodyfat low, and the gains. Working out will become a priority and you’ll even start to feel guilty if you skip several days. And beware, fitness addiction is real. You don’t want it to take over your life, but as mom always said…”everything in moderation.”
- New Curves – Muscles are sexy! Working out will provide the muscles. A little bit (or a lot) of muscle will start to add some curves to your body. Don’t get this confused with bulky. Women, a vast majority of us don’t have the genes to get bulky. Unless your going pro, don’t fear getting bulky. It’s highly unlikely to happen. When you see other women walk by in those dresses with curves in all the right places, you can almost guarantee it’s because she lifts. Get on board!
- A Tighter Body – Say goodbye to arm flab and soft bellies. Lifting weights will burn calories, reduce body fat, and add muscle. We’ve all seen the unsightly underarm flab that comes with a lack of fitness. Lifting will keep that softness at bay, and provide for a tighter body.
- Callused Hands – Okay, this one might not be for all women, but some of my girlfriends are seriously proud of the calloused hands they’ve developed. They take pride in knowing that they look, feel good, and aren’t afraid to show what it takes to get the body they want and deserve. It’s like a badge of honor. Personally, I don’t have calloused hands, but they’re not exactly supple soft either, and I’m okay with that. Where does it say that women have to have soft hands!?
- Potential Mates – When you lift, you might look at potential partners a little differently. Before you might have spent an afternoon on the couch, but now that you have a rocking new body and you’re feeling great about yourself, your views on partners could change. You might lean towards wanting someone to exercise with or someone who appreciates health and fitness as much as you do. Before it might have been pizza and beers on a date. But now it might be healthy frozen yogurt and a stroll. A couple that lifts together stays together!
- More Competitive – At first I didn’t care how much I could lift or how much anyone could lift. I just didn’t care about being able to lift heavy weights. But soon you’ll start to compare the amount of weight you’re lifting to the other girls in the gym. And a little bit of competition is a healthy thing. I’ll never advise you to compare yourself to others, but the first time you find yourself lifting more than a guy next to you. Internally, you’ll give yourself a pat on the back and it will feel awesome!
- Comfort in Pain – At some point, you’ll going to feel sore after a good workout at the gym (or your home). And the next morning you’ll have some soreness. Similar to getting calloused hands, you’ll appreciate the soreness. You can take pride in knowing that you’re body is making itself stronger, and a little bit of soreness is part of the process. No pain, no gain!
- Self Reliance – Men, bless their souls. Always trying to help out the women with those weights. Before, you might have needed their help in getting the plates (45 pounds) off the bars. But now that you’ve got your own muscles, you can do it on yourself. You’ll soon take pride in racking your own weights. No men needed, thank you!
- Lines – Yes, it’s inevitable. If you occupy a similar space to men, you’ll get hit on. A lot of women prefer the machines or classes, to avoid getting sweet pickup lines from guys. Be prepared to hear a lot of offers to spot you, help you with weights, words of wisdom, or just straight-up pick-up lines. It comes with the territory. But once they recognize you’re there to lift, and you know what the hell you’re doing, the pickup lines become less frequent.
- New Clothes – I mean this on a variety of levels. Your new curves might make some of your jeans supertight. A certain amount of tightness is okay, but worried your jeans might split, or can’t even get them on, it’s time to get new jeans. Also, workout gear will be on your mind. Before you might have put on some really loose or baggy clothing to hide your body. Now that you’ve got some definition and muscle, you might want so new workout gear. Sometimes all you need is some new booty shorts to get you amped up to lift.
Conclusion
I strongly urge you to start a life of health and fitness. It will change the way you look at the world and you’ll learn to appreciate the body you have. Lifting weights opens up so many opportunities that I wouldn’t even consider if I wasn’t in shape. I’m not afraid to do anything physical out of fear of being weak and it’s all because I lift weights.