Women & Weights at the Y
How's that for alliteration?
I mentioned this in a previous post, but for just a bit of background: about 6 or 7 years ago I purchased my first YMCA membership and attended regularly—almost every day for about 6 months. Then, I was hired as the Dean of one of our university’s four colleges, and the expected occurred… my time commitments crossed the event horizon, day and evening, 80+ hour weeks, nobody really noticed, and the Y became a distant memory.
Not quite like Douglas MacArthur, I have returned to the Y, having gone every day for nearly the past two months. I need to do this to reclaim both my physical and mental health from a deeply taxing but successful six years—I need to recognize myself again. Slowly, day by day, I am doing that—I swam the first full mile of my life the other day, and am achieving a few other firsts, like sitting in a sauna and listening to older men talk about how to best sell cars and how it ain’t 1977 anymore, let me tell you.
But the YMCA is certainly different now than it was during my last stint, and the major difference far exceeds the others—women are turning out in large numbers at the Y to lift weights. I’m not talking about just using machines. I’m talking bench presses, dead lifting, squats, and other kinds of lifts I can’t even name, often at far more weight than I can do.
I love this development.
On any given day, there are just as many women in the weight room as men, and they are mostly there by themselves (also like the men). Unlike me, they show no discomfort, fear of looking stupid, or hesitation. They just do the work. To be clear, I’m not saying look at all you sweet girls lifting weights. Not even close. I am writing this out of deep curiousity—what has changed in the last six years or so? What is the cultural shift that brought about this welcome development and crossing of a threshold? For the record, the YMCA has always possessed one quality sorely lacking in surrounding society—frequent multi-generational interaction and friendships, but this is a newer cultural shift that I truly appreciate. As the father of two daughters, one of whom has just taken up tennis, I could see her doing this—go in, work on the arm strength and speed a bit, legs, etc.
I will say that though not exclusively, this change involves women who appear to be under 30. Again, I want to know why. For example, I was there the other day, maybe squatting a modest 950 pounds, and in the area next to me, a young woman was deadlifting, and she did so for about an hour (note: at this point, I had never deadlifted before in my life). For the sake of ethos, two muscular guys on YouTube referred to deadlifting as “one of the most badass moves in the gym.” So there you go. I guess deadlifting is good for your back and core, and form is vitally important. When I tried it a few days later, not only was it hard, but she was easily lifting 50+ more pounds than me, so she’s been at it for a bit and progressing. I could also only do this exercise for about 15 minutes before feeling I had run a marathon while carrying an elephant.
I don’t know exactly why I am so pleased with this development. It’s not anything creepy (my dudes, girls are in the weight room!), but I generally like it when the nature of spaces change, especially those that were largely male occupied. (In the same way I appreciate the sharp increase in the number of women directing films.) I always appreciate when what we often identify as difference literally operates together in commonality. Thus, for contrast, my least favorite space at the YMCA continues to be the men’s locker room, where ostentatious, conversational, and unchecked nudity continues to be a scourge upon the land. (The sauna specifically has posted, right outside the door, that some clothes are required to enter—maybe that means at least a headband; I don’t know. This rule is ignored, while I go in wearing a snowmobile suit.)
Maybe it has something to do with more female high school athletes lifting weights, and thus the practice carries forward. Maybe the fact that 99% of those present stand alone in the auditory world of their headphones makes everything feel more focused and isolated. Whatever it is, women are no longer uninterested or timid or intimidated about entering the weight room (maybe they never were), and I welcome this new norm.
But again, what was the spark? What changed and made the space more open and welcoming? Seven years ago, the population in that space was very different. In fact, they still play the same old crappy classic rock on loop that they did back then, not recognizing a change in the membership and audience. And in the universe of headphones, why play music over speakers at all?
This has been another in-depth YMCA investigation, brought to you by The Declining Academic.