Are You Woman or Are
You Mouse?
By Amanda Barajas Corney, 04.25.07
Worse case scenario: As a newcomer you stand in the middle of the weight room, intimidated, not to mention freaked, by the contraption you’re about to muscle up. You try to hide the look of horror on your face and hope no one will notice that you really don’t know what you’re doing.
Then, just as you set the weight pin at the level that your ego dictates, but that you can’t lift yet, Hercules walks over to the machine next to you. You make a concerted effort not to stare or to let your mouth drop to the floor. Within seconds you regain your focus and proceed to power up the weight. But wait. Aphrodite walks in, and your heart sinks and you ask yourself once again: What am I doing here? Don’t despair! You belong right where you are.
Now and then, when I’m strength training in the gym, a woman will stand at the weight room door in what appears to be a moment of self-debate: Should or shouldn’t I enter the weight room? After about a minute of indecision she turns on her heel, never crossing the weight room threshold again and heads for the treadmills.
What these women see is a modern day torture room – only the people inside aren’t prisoners. Here, people give up every excuse in the world to give themselves to the iron way, to train their body and their mind. This experience is less about punishment and more about empowerment. Punishment breaks people down. The iron way builds people up.
These same women, who never cross the weight room threshold, soon burn out in their gym experience. Their workout routines don’t give them the results they desire because a cardio only effort simply doesn’t cut it for the transformation they desire.
Not to mention, often their cardio efforts couldn’t even power the little engine that could. For example, these women might walk on the treadmill, when what they really need to do is run. Effort always has to match the desired result or forget achieving it. It sounds cliché, I know, but there is no way around it. The return is only as good as the investment. So if watching “Oprah” while on the treadmill impedes the effort, turn “Oprah” off. Tune into the workout for added intensity.
Still, even fabulous cardio sessions aren’t enough. Progressive resistance training is critical to any physical transformation. It’s what separates the triumphant from the defeated.
Ladies, if the weight room is intimidating, overcome it. Ask yourself, am I woman or am I mouse? Don’t let the high testosterone levels in there frighten you. Most environments where men dominate are worth investigating, especially this one. Go ahead, get in there. Get ugly with those weights.
Develop your personal potential. This is about personal empowerment, not about competing with Aphrodite. If you are improving, then your game plan is sound. Remember that you are unique. Your best will vary from another’s best. Happy lifting.
