Safe
Gym intimidation is real.
That struggle to step onto the gym floor is real.
And I get it.
20-something girls are showing up on the gym floor now more than ever.
A minority but still present.
But me?
54 year old me?
I’m solo.
No middle-aged women are represented there. Nor in any other fitness marketing spaces for that matter. We are an anomaly.
Older women, lifting weights, getting stronger.
Not exactly the norm.
But, I’ll be the first to say…
I used to walk past that section for YEARS, as I headed towards the group fitness studio (my comfort zone).
That safe space filled with women, just like me… wanting to ‘get in shape’ and exercise but in a closed room far away from the gym bros.
But a few weeks ago, I went to the gym to do some cardio (rainy day in Florida).
I headed upstairs where all the cardio equipment was lined up. Picked my treadmill. And off I went, hitting my interval sprints.
When I finished, it dawned on me as I thought about this…
Why do women stick to cardio machines?
Is it to ‘burn calories’?
Maybe.
But I think more so, because it’s ‘safe’.
Cuz…
I stay on my machine.
I make no eye contact (machines are lined up & face a window or tv screens… not people)
I don’t have to interact with the person beside me.
I don’t have to move around or get a weight plate, or a cable attachment, or claim a squat rack.
I stay put.
I do my thing.
I am SAFE.
And it’s by far less intimidating than walking onto the gym floor and setting myself up with a bench or a bar or a cable machine while others, predominantly men are doing likewise.
Safe.
And yet safety is not the place of growth.
Personal growth.
Physical growth.
I’ve coached women through the years, and have walked some of them through their very first experience on the gym floor.
I nudged them to step into that space.
I encourage them to go there.
I remind them they belong there.
Because, it’s safe.
It’s a space where EVERYONE is doing their thing.
And where YOU belong.
Know this…
Stepping onto the gym floor and building that courage will have a “spill over” effect.
Because that feeling of empowerment as you enter that space will ultimately lead to greater self-efficacy in all of the spaces your life.
Don’t let the comfort of a cardio machine or a female-dominated fitness studio keep you caged.
Because YOU belong on the gym floor too.
You are SAFE.
Coach Lisa 💪
