You Sound Ridiculous

Here are some ridiculous statements we've heard about weightlifting. Then a brief explanation as to why they are ridiculous. Hopefully this will clear up some misconceptions about women's weightlifting.

1.)"You're too small to be a weightlifter."
~Weightlifting has seven weight classes. 48,53,58,63,69,75, and 75+. This means anyone under 105 lbs. to 165 lbs. and over are welcome and able to lift or compete. China is dominating the world of weightlifting right now. One of the reasons is because they are small. (more on this later...)

2.) "I'm  lifting like a boy."
~There are no such things as  "boy" or "girl" exercises or lifts. (Kegel exercises are the only female exercise I can think of but, we won't talk about those here lol.) Both genders lift and compete in the same categories. I can remember talking to my grandpa one time and he asked, "What is your best dead lift and squat?" I replied, "We don't compete in those lifts, Papa." "Oh those must be for the boys then." No, we do all the SAME things.

3.) "I don't want to be as big as her."
~That was said after a our P.E. professor at Alabama asked a girl, "Do you want to be able to lift like that?" I was just thinking last night how ridiculous it would sound if someone asked me "Do you want to vault as high as that girl over there?" "No, I don't want to be that small." Lifting weights will NOT make you big like me. Weightlifting will not make you look like a body builder either. Here are a few reasons this is ridiculous in my head:   (A) My mom is 5'11" and my dad was 6'6"
           (B) I was born 10 lbs. 14 oz. Most two month olds weigh that much!
           (C) I'm 5'10.5"/265 lbs.
So no, weightlifting will not make you grow 5 or more inches, give you giant parents or make you gain over 100 lbs. That's ridiculous. Just as me pole vaulting or doing gymnastics or other "little girl" sports will not make me little.

4.)"I'd hate to get in a fight with you." or "I'd hate to run into you in a dark alley."
~I don't know why people think that just because we lift weights means we want to fight. Or can fight for that matter. Weightlifting doesn't make you want to mame people. Nor can it automatically make you a black belt in Ninja.

5.)"I'm too old to start weightlifting."
~ I heard a 17 year old girl say this. I was stunned. Why would anyone tell her she's too old to start something? At 17, you're not too old for anything, honey. Also, If you are "old" like in your mid to late 20s (just kidding) or much older like, "Senior Discount" status, you can still lift weights." Lisa Fisco as previously mentioned in an older post, started at 47. It's NEVER too late to lift weights!

6)My personal favorite that parents come up with alot is "weightlifting will stunt your growth" Give me scientific fact Sarah is 5'10 it obviously did nothing to her!