this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
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I never went to a gym, but here:
https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/kg
It says 17 kg is a beginner weight as a woman.
65 lbs, aka 29.5 kg, is almost Novice level, which is probably nothing what one does out of thin air.
Sometimes you do to many reps and your arms just can't anymore
An empty (olympic) bar is usually 20kg, or 20.4kg/45lbs if you live in poundland. Difficult to lift a lower weight than that if you go the barbell route.
Most girls at my gym lift more than just the empty bar for reps, even if they look new to the movement, so 17kg sounds like an underestimation for 1rm. When I first introduced my sister to the movement, she did 3x12 of an empty bar just fine.
I agree with you that 20kg for a woman is not thát crazy, even for a beginner. But the "woman's bar" is also very popular, which is only 15kg. I think the main reason many women prefer this one is because the thinner bar is easier to grip.
If you gym got one, yes. I think I've only ever seen a lighter bar once, and the gym only had one of those.
Maybe other countries are better at accommodating for woman in the gym than commercial gyms in Norway are.
Please explain usage of the word “movement”. Do you mean “the right way of lifting” or do you mean “the weightlifting revolution,” comrade?
Movement is often just another word for exercise. Movement just feels like a more precise word as e.g. the bench press "exercise" can be done in different movements. Just compare how a powerlifter bench press vs a bodybuilder.
You may have done an exercise for a long time, but small changes to your technique/movement can have a big impact.
It's also more descriptive. When I said they look new to the movement, it is based on how they move the bar. It doesn't look "refined" and their nervous system hasn't yet nailed down the movement pattern. That could be because they've never bench pressed before, or it could be because they are trying a new technique.
For a woman, 29.5kg is heavy judging by what I usually see when training. My gym has olympic bars, which weights 20kg. Rarely women add any more weight, some add 5kg each side and like 1/50 (made of my head) put 10kg each side. To go past novice level, you need to bulk and build muscle/strength. Women aren't interested in doing that for the upper body.
Source?
Obviously it's painting with a broad bush but it's a reasonably good estimate of what most people do.
Yeah I think there’s a strong generational divide on it. I remember seeing gen X worried about looking too muscular meanwhile on the young millennial and older gen z end a lot of women my age want to look at least a little buff if they’re the type to go to the gym and lift weights.
True. I just don't think it's the place of someone to tell that 'women aren't interested in that', because even if people hold the opinion or lack the motivation behind that, those statements would not be the reason that women are not to have interest in muscles.
-> what I usually see -> my gym
My experience pretty much. That's the source, the territory that I am in. Women want to have big butts (((here))) where I live, upper body aren't their most interested area to build muscle.
Location is a big variable. I live in south america, women are praised for their big butts. That's what they train the most.
That’s a good point. Here in the US, butts are the primary targets (myself included) but many women also do upper body targeting for a variety of reasons
Judging by what I seen. Counterpoint it or read it straight.
I don't think that is what's going on. I work upper body plenty, just don't eat to bulk and that gives me shape not size. Probably most women who do lift are working upper body, and just not bulking.
I'm too lazy to look up actual studies, but I know that inferring from a singular POV will not yield meaningful enough info to claim that a whole gender is not supposed to or doesn't do something regularly unless there is a reason that you can infer something as bold.
He was very explicit about it being his experience. No study can affect his experience
I am mid-50s, female, casual lifter, mostly do yoga & only lift once a week on average. Look lean but not at all bulky. I can bench 65lb, sure. Strength can be built separate from bulk. But personally wouldn't do it alone, just in case, and honestly it would be my heavy set. For scale - Big awkward dog food bag is 45lb and most of us can wrangle that, or a 50lb bag of dirt or whatever. So it's not a crazy heavy amount and also not crazy light.