The weights section of the gym used to be my greatest nemesis. I had perfected the art of the new gym-goer strut from an early age: The walk toward the strength training area, the attempt at maybe even touching a dumbbell, and the immediate bail towards the treadmills. The fear-inducing free weights always won my workout battles. In my heart, I wanted to be the girl who walked up to the loaded barbell with a belt and no care in the world of who was watching me, but I lacked both confidence and knowledge on where to begin.
For the past four years, I’ve immersed myself in weightlifting, both competitively and as a personal hobby. I’ve gained a substantial understanding of the sport’s mechanics and mentality, but I will never forget the intimidation I felt at the start. So, if you have a similar interest and hesitation I experienced surrounding the gym, here are the five best pieces of advice to help you avoid the misconceptions and mistakes that kept me from starting sooner.
- No, heavy lifting won’t automatically make you “bulk up like a dude.”
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As a sophomore, still riding on an adrenaline high from my first clean and jerk, I opened my phone to a text from a distant relative. She had recently been informed of my new sport, and like any encouraging loved one, she wrote, “BTW, can you do me a favor? Can you try NOT to bulk up like a dude?” I wish I could say that some part of that message was not a direct quote. However, it is as real as the laugh my coach let out when I read the text to her. She had been chuckling at both the message in itself and the sheer extent to which my relative had misconstrued the idea of heavy lifting.
My family member isn’t the first to believe weightlifting makes women bulky. This misconception is a major reason why females have avoided heavy lifting for decades. Although, as my high school coach once put it, “a few push-ups won’t turn you into the Hulk.” Building that much muscle requires a far more extreme level of training. Women, due to their biological and genetic makeup, cannot gain significant muscle mass without a substantial caloric surplus, or in many cases, the use of performance-enhancing drugs. It’s rare to build that amount of muscle naturally, and the women who do so have a level of dedication that is truly commendable. So, unless you decide to commit your life’s work to bodybuilding, both you and my relative have nothing to fear about accidentally exiting the weights section with the muscular composition of a male.
- Learn the form of lifting before trying to lift your ego
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With this one, I offer my sincerest condolences to the ego-lifting gym bros and their deteriorating spines. “Ego lifting” is a term many members of the weightlifting community use to describe an individual who tries to move too much weight, sacrificing proper form to look impressive. It can be very tempting, especially as a new lifter, to try to prove something to yourself by hitting high numbers before learning the ropes. Although as gratifying as it may be in the moment, the longer you try ego-lifting, the more likely it is to get bruised.
I learned this lesson the hard way when I spent an entire competition season unable to achieve a personal record on cleans. I had come out of the gates swinging at the beginning of my weightlifting journey because I had strength from gymnastics. I never learned how to get into a proper squat under the bar before I started loading it with plates, so the numbers got high until one day they plateaued, along with my bragging rights. This mistake cost me a season of progress and forced me to spend the following summer relearning the lift from scratch. Take the time to learn the lift correctly, and while it is a longer process, the results will ultimately be more rewarding and safe in the long run.
- Some days are about running a mile, while others are about just putting one foot in front of the other
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I must recognize the irony in me, who chose to start weightlifting because I hated cardio, using running as my go-to analogy. Nonetheless, this mantra always rang in my head during tough practices. Your lifts will be consistent until the very moment you need them to be. Think about when you set up your phone for a personal record video, it’s the week of an important meet, or your gym crush walks in. That is when the weight in your hands will refuse to go anywhere besides crashing down.
The days when gravity isn’t your friend will make for the worst lifts, but the best stories. Failure and fatigue are critical parts of your journey. There isn’t a weightlifter alive who hasn’t had a bad training day or a day one. Give grace to your body on the hard days, and celebrate the little milestones. The fact that you showed up for yourself even when you didn’t want to means more than any personal record ever could.
- Lifting is what you make of it
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One of my favorite aspects of weightlifting is that it makes me a bit of an anomaly. All of my life seemed as though it could fit into a box wrapped with a bow, until my love for lifting was added into the mix. I’ve grown up with a profound appreciation for the arts, whether that be through theatre, language, pottery, or otherwise. Competing in pageants, joining a sorority, and gymnastics all made sense, but throw in my love for tossing around heavy metal, and people couldn’t quite figure me out. Weightlifting is what makes me unique. I found a lot of my identity over the years by competing in that sport.
The idea that took me the longest to understand with weightlifting, however, is that it doesn’t have to contradict who I am. It’s a realization that became clear when I discovered I could add a sparkly belt to my training singlet, which felt like a no-brainer given my love for the loudest dresses on stage. This sport has become another way for me to express my individuality through what I wear, what I listen to, and how I approach my lifts. It’s a beautiful practice that allows anyone to bring their unique passions into their workouts.
- You can leave weightlifting, but weightlifting will never leave you
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I vividly recall making a promise to myself when I got off the platform at my last high school state meet that I would never pick up a barbell again. I had reached burnout in the sport and was convinced there could be a better fit for me in the workout world. The next year was spent doing my fair share of walking, pilates, and barre classes, but nothing quite gave me the same joy that weightlifting had.
It wasn’t until this past summer when I reconnected with my best friend (teammate/coach’s daughter) from high school that I found myself with an urge to crawl back to an old passion. I broke my high school promise, picked up a barbell again, and treated it like it was my first time lifting all over. However, this time around, I was lucky enough to have the knowledge I just shared with you under my belt. I left the sport, I moved on with my life, but when all roads led back to weightlifting, I found the barbell waiting right where I left it.
Being able to walk into the gym and strength train with confidence takes time. Even four years later, I still have days where I feel like bolting straight to the treadmills. In those moments, I ground myself with the five pieces of advice I just passed on to you. Everyone has a special place and path when it comes to the gym. We each have a journey that teaches us something new about ourselves or the sport. I hope that a piece of my journey will help you embark on the next part of yours.