I’m tough, ambitious & I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, Okay.
–Madonna
So I had the pleasure of having a long discussion with some of the ladies from Pure Health last night about women in the gym. Before I begin, let me preface with this:
My intentions are not to belittle/hate on any females that do not power lift or weight lift. My goal with this post is to uplift my female clients and athletes that are put “out of the norm” because these sports are still seen as “masculine” in many groups. These women should be uplifted and complimented for their hard efforts both in and out of the gym both for having accomplished what they have and dealing with ignorant people (mostly insecure men).
The conversation was about training and how it helps both in and out of the gym. It was about how training (and I mean training, not exercising), makes you want to be better in every arena of life. It takes what you thought you were, crumples that up, and brings on a whole new you. This new you has no limits, there is no “but what if I fail”, and doubt is overcome in a brief moment.
We also touched on the issue with women and lifting and how you are viewed from outside “the lifting life”.
But here’s the thing:
At the end of the day, you just have to keep being you. You get to choose who you want to be, what you want to be, and how you want to be. If you want to be a basic, weightlifting, Kate Spade-toting, loud, carefree gym-rat, then you do you. If you want to be a hardcore, power lifting, “boss-ass bitch” (not meant in any derogatory term, this is actually used by the girls at the gym), then by all means, you do you. Don’t let the image of the “ideal girl” effect your goals and aspirations to be so much more than the average person. That “ideal girl” cannot put wheels on the bar and squat it, that “ideal girl” couldn’t begin to image what it would feel like to crush a PR in a room full of people, and that “ideal girl” doesn’t know the time and effort it takes to even put 1 extra pound on the bar.
So, embrace the strong, beautiful women in your gym, because they are the true face of hard work and determination. These ladies come in everyday breaking stereotypes and stepping out of gender roles to be who they want to be, so keep your comments to yourself because they are there for them, not you!
On a different note, here is a yoga flow with emphasis for those shoulders:
Shoulder mobility is a huge issue for a lot of athletes and can mean the difference between being able to put weight overhead properly and causing undo stress on the rotator cuff leading to injury.
Just like our other video, we start the flow with a test posture (in this case it is mountain with our arms in extension behind us). The goal is to do this posture again, after doing the flow 3-4 times or for at least 20 minutes, and see the difference a little yoga/mobility practice can make!
PURE HEALTH PERFORMANCE 