I love Becca Barowski’s Breaking Muscle website. Love it! Today she shared a guest post Are Women’s Only Gyms Discriminatory? by Nicole Crawford. Its a good read but I have to say I disagree with the entire concept. Ignoring the part where if men had a Men’s Only gym, women would freak out and sue for discrimination let’s just roll with the points presented. I can understand the point about religious reasons. And maybe in the beginning there’s being self conscious of effort and noises and sweat (this concern is not the sole concern of just one gender) but one shared amazing workout and you’re past that forever. Fear of the guys attacking us? Umm…no. If anything working out with a room full of guys makes you feel stronger. At least in our gym it does. Because if you’re finishing in the front or middle of the pack you feel like you’ve really done something and you have! If you finish at the back of the pack there’s no one laughing at you but there sure is a cheering section. Who works out with people pushing you to be your best and being excited for you when you’ve hit a new personal record for yourself? If you don’t, why not?! The support here never comes in based on gender – she did good “for a girl”. The support is the support. Comparing ourselves to others is the best way to make ourselves unhappy. Finding bliss in our own efforts is where happiness grows. I love working out with guys! My husband has been my training partner and coach for 20 years at the end of next month. Wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I posted the Co-Ed article linked above in our CrossFit Champions Facebook Group. Here are some of the responses from our gym members:
From Emily: “Co-ed has never bothered me. I think I even prefer it.”
From Brandi: “I agree with Emily, I think I prefer it.”
From Adam: “My thoughts: 1. Any woman who feels insecure about working out in the same facility as men is very unlikely to consider CrossFit in the first place. Obviously, that’s just a hunch. But I’ll bet I’m right. 2. As for the “Facts of Life”, at least at CFC, there is no shortage of female coaches and staff. 3. Smaller Safety Bubble – Nobody’s laughing at anybody after a good CF workout. There’s just too much heavy breathing. Are women in my class really afraid I might try to kill them while struggling on that set of 7 thrusters of Fran…? Really…? 4. Camaraderie (she spelled it wrong) My fist bumps to Jana and Nicole mean just as much to me as fist bumps to Clay and Jamaal after a workout.”
From Cassie: “Doesn’t bother me either way. I’ve grown accustomed to having little to no females train in juijitsu, mma, or kickboxing. It’s always fun to out beat the boys sometimes.”
From Jason: “All joking aside, that’s why CF and scaling is so cool. Whether you’re a man or a woman, newbie or a vet, a bodyweight ninja or a beast, if we both scaled the WOD right we probably both feel the same afterwards! Being able to relate to your classmates regardless of sex, age, height, weight, strength, experience…heck, that’s the magic behind the camaraderie, and the competition…and it’s why those fist bumps Adam mentions are always appreciated!”
From Lynda: “Personally, when I walked in the box the first time last year, I was glad you had a women’s only class. It helped the transition. Now? I wouldn’t trade Dan, Austin, Narinder, Pat (did i miss anyone?) or any other strays we get in class for anything!”
From Tracy: “Women need to show men how its done! Ha! Bring on the co-ed!“
