The “one- pounder” is pink. Next are lime, lavender, light blue, and canary respectively. After the five pound barbell come the manlier shades—of course beginning with robust orange and following with durable navy, hardy hunter, harsh crimson, with the ten pound weight being jet black, the manliest color of all. I see it every time I go to work out—the rack of sexist weights. It’s as if the miniscule dumbbells are made only for the weaker gender. They don’t have to make them, but no helpless woman can lift six pounds.
Gyms are divided. Half of each gym is made up of ellipticals, bikes and treadmills while the other half is free weights and weight machines. It’s as if there’s a glass wall in the middle with a sign reading “Do Not Enter”. Rarely have I seen a man stray away from his fellow buff counterparts to use a girly elliptical. Nor have I seen a woman leave the social circle to go “get big”. It’s an unwritten rule, or maybe it is written, that women are trying to get smaller while men are trying to get bigger. Gyms echo the world and it’s divisions.
Why can’t all workouts be created equal? Can a woman not do a few squats every once in a while? Why can’t a man use an elliptical? Well, I couldn’t tell you, but maybe, sometime in the far future, we will get over this rule. No, the opposite sex does not have cooties, and it is okay to wander away from your workout buddies to try something new. Women, show the world you can indeed lift more than grocery bags, and men, let us see how fast you can ride a bike. As for me, I take the initiative when I cross the painted line on the floor and try out something other than an elliptical.