‘A Muscle Manifesto for Women’: Why You Should Gym Like a Girl

By Emily Coleman

I have been going to the gym for two years now. Well, *technically* three. I say two because I acknowledge my first year at the gym was inspired by all the wrong reasons. I feared capitalising on my body’s capabilities to tone and become stronger by limiting myself to cardio and resistant bands. I was fixated on burning calories and looking as nimble as possible, only discovering later the internal implications of my image-driven and unrealistic workout routine. I was exhausted, developed an anxious relationship to food, looked pale, and was prone to fainting. 

When I reached my goal weight, I persisted with the same workout structure without adapting how and why I exercised. This was primarily due to my lack of research and obsession with what my weight scored on the scales every morning, but also because it felt intimidating to venture outside of cardio and stretch studios into dumbbell and barbell territory without feeling like a circus animal to the male-dominated audience. Then, after watching team GB’s Emily Campbell achieve a silver medal in women's weightlifting, I became motivated to commit to strength training both mind and muscle. 

One of the primary reasons I chose to remain controlled by cardio is that the weight area at my local gym is dominated by men. This extended to media representations too, whereby after a summer of faithfully watching Love Island, I never saw the women lift a dumbbell alongside their fellow male islanders. 

I had experienced the unwanted and patronising interactions stemming from ‘Do you want me to show you?’ to ‘Let me give you some advice, sweetheart’, which unnecessarily punctuate my pump sessions and interrupt my sets. Whenever I head over to the bench and pick up my 10kg, I feel an audience behind me (but at least there will always be a pair of 10kg available. It’s the *small things*). Even when squatting to grow my glutes, it feels uncomfortable to do so in front of a man sitting on the bench. 

There are bigger societal reasons for these feelings, but for now I have decided to channel this casual sexism into a mind workout. By that, I mean maintaining my focus and putting the volume up on my music to complete my set before I move on. I politely decline any advice or unwanted pick-up lines and continue to reach for my 10kgs. As I continue to strengthen my body, I will strengthen my mind and continue to block out the testosterone trolls. However, if this is more of a concern for you then find a gym with a women-only section to exercise amongst peers you are comfortable around. 

Changing our perceptions about women’s bodies will change our perceptions about how women should work out and engage with fitness. There is a persisting myth that lifting weights will make a bulky body, which dissuades women from seating themselves on a bench by the dumbbells. It is important to understand that men and women’s bodies differ when it comes to muscle composition. Women don’t produce as much testosterone as men, which is a contributing factor to a person’s capacity for muscle growth. Unless you lift extremely heavy and routinely and eat excessive calories, your muscles will adapt their shape rather than burst with growth. 

I have put together a muscle manifesto for women looking to start going to the gym. My first piece of advice is to do your research to finalise and understand your goals. Do you want to be fitter? Do you want to tone? Do you want to feel stronger? Do you want to change the relationship you have with your weight? These are more enabling and productive goals rather than ones that simply stem from the ambition to look ‘skinny’ and ‘thin’. Do your research to find out what nutrition, exercise plans, and routines can help you to meet these targets, and make sure that the targets themselves are realistic. 

My second piece of advice is to structure your workouts – but try new things. There are thousands of exercise routines and combinations out there, from specific ‘leg days’ to days where you do what you feel up to (very much the latter for me). It is a good idea to structure your workouts at the start to condition your body into a routine, but then feel free to try new machines, routines, and weights to mix up the gym visit. Want to try an ab abductor rather than do crunches? Go for it. As someone who gets bored easily and goes to a popular gym where a strict routine is not possible when people take 30 minutes on a leg press, I benefited greatly from having a repertoire of exercises I could do to maximise my time. 

Next: do cardio when it works for you. I typically stick to cardio at the start of my exercise, although many fitness influencers will be telling me I am destroying any muscle ‘gainz’ and will max out my energy before I can lift a dumbbell. For me personally, I find that it is better for me to get cardio over and done with at the start, and there is no risk of over-exerting myself because I am conscious to reserve energy for the rest of my workout. As long as cardio is there to either serve as a warm-up or to improve your stamina and heart health, it is not a bad thing to keep it incorporated into your fitness routine. Cardio should complement your workout routine, not control it.

Find out what protein source you are comfortable eating. Once you start lifting weights, it is important to eat more protein to aid the repair process and maximise the outcome of your workout. From bars to shakes, clear shakes, pancakes, and oats, there are ample ways to incorporate protein into your diet. Not to mention the flavour combinations out there. Still worried about calories? Try alternatives with low sugar to get you started. 

Ever since going to the gym for all the right reasons, my mental well-being has never been better. I am more alert, perform better academically, feel more confident in myself, have healthier relationships, and have acquired a new hobby to balance my work-life divide. Exercising isn’t for everyone, but endorphins are in everyone. 

Oh, and when the moment inevitably comes when you receive unwanted advice, say ‘no thanks’ and put those noise-cancelling headphones on to your best beat.