For women who feel awkward because they’re stronger than their husbands, I’ve decided to write this article.
I was inspired by a thread on a fitness site. I could not believe how many women (who’ve been working out hard) are struggling with the fact that they’re stronger than their husbands.
First, a little about me: I’m a former personal trainer and have been lifting weights hard and heavy since my teen years.
I recommend that women try to see things from their husband’s perspective.
Imagine, ladies, for a moment that you’re the husband. And your wife is you.
Wouldn’t it please you to know that your wife — stronger than the average man off the streets — could probably fight off a rapist?
I noted in the thread that the negative feelings that the women expressed seemed to be coming from inside their heads, not from their husbands.
The mindset was to the effect of: “I don’t feel right being stronger than my husband,” or, “I’m afraid he’ll find it a turn-off.”
A turn-off? Really! Think of how much better your hub feels knowing that your physical strength puts you in a better position to fight off a man who wants to rape you. I’m serious.
Certainly there are times when you’re out and about alone, and your husband can’t help but worry for your safety.
A woman who trains hard with weights is stronger than the average man off the streets (but certainly not the average man in the free weight area in a gym).
So that man on the street, in that dark parking lot, or some smuck at the office, who begins behaving badly to that strongly-weight-trained woman and crosses the line — will get a real pleasant surprise!
Your husband will not feel more secure if your ability to defend yourself has been compromised by the absence of strength-trained muscles and bones.
No matter how big some thug out there is, no matter how violent he is, no matter what kind of weapon he may have, and no matter how much a woman weighs…it’s just a plain fact that if she is strongly trained from weight workouts — this puts her in a far greater position to fight off an assailant — or survive a completed attack — when compared to her non-weight-trained self.
Don’t hang your head with despondence that you’re stronger than your husband.
Don’t hesitate to offer him some strength training advice, either, when he’s struggling with a 165 pound bench press.
In fact, a woman who has figured out a way to bench press 185 pounds certainly knows a few secrets that a male — for whom benching 185 comes more naturally—isn’t aware of.
Freepik.com, senivpetro
When I was a personal trainer at a large health club, a male patron came up to me one day and told me how impressed he was with the way I trained my female clients (he apparently had never seen me with my male clients).
He then said, “Gee, you can even train the MEN!”
That was an interesting comment, because a man who’s struggling to build muscle and strength would learn what REALLY works if he were trained by a very strong woman — because she’s had to work with one-tenth the testosterone level as the average man.
If I were a man and saw a woman doing textbook-perfect parallel bar dips with a 35 pound plate hanging from her waist, I’d want HER to train me, because proportionately, she’s far stronger than many male trainers.
Bottom line: Your husband probably relishes the fact that you’re stronger than him, and if you have bigger muscles — well, he knows you’re that much less likely to be overtaken on the streets.
