[custom_adv] A co-ed gym in Fereshteh Ave. area of the capital was shut down by the moral police. Having women and men working out next to each other which is not allowed by national laws. Ever wonder how people overseas feel about women only gyms? [custom_adv] Firstly oversees a women only gyms are a choice and not forced and you don't need to worry about getting arrested... fitfoodiefiles blog site writes, In high school and college, the gyms I frequented were co-ed. I loved these gyms, and was never bothered by working out alongside both women and men. [custom_adv] At those times I tended to favor cardio and group fitness classes and was able to do my strength training in a women’s-only area, at least during high school. In college, I went to the gym during less crowded times when only a few other people were using the equipment. [custom_adv] Towards the end of college, I began to get much more into strength training. The summer after I graduated, I returned to teach group fitness classes at the gym I belonged to in high school. I could no longer complete my strength training in the women’s only area, as there was no squat rack or bench press or heavy weights there. [custom_adv] It was here that I became hyperaware of the gender dynamics in these areas. Even when the area wasn’t busy, I always felt like I was being watched. There is still a stigma against women weight lifting, and I believe that a lot of men feel like they own that space in the gym. [custom_adv] I don’t mean to say that all men feel that way. In fact, there were some who were very respectful of my space, always asking if I was done using the squat rack or bench before claiming it. In general, however... [custom_adv] I felt that I should rush through my workout as quickly as possible, not leave my weights on a bench between sets, and make my movements as small as possible to avoid drawing attention to myself. Such behavior is in line with the general social scripts for gender performance in other public spaces [custom_adv] What I mean to say is that it is RIDICULOUS that I felt the need to take up less space and time in the weight room than the men did. It took me a while to get past this, but I decided that I wanted to get in an effective workout and would take as much time as needed and do my movements as fully as was required. [custom_adv] I must admit, however, that in this enviroment, it is much easier to play the comparison game. It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparing how much weight another woman is lifting to what I’m doing, or how thin or muscular someone else is to what my body looks like. [custom_adv] Ok, that was quite the rant of a post. I just wanted to express that while I definitely enjoyed working out at a co-ed gym, for women who want to do significant strength training, becoming a member of a women’s-only gym may be well worth it!
