Ever notice that as a fit woman prepares for a heavy lift at the gym, she first tightens her ponytail?
There seems to be a correlation between how strong a woman is and how likely she is to tighten, adjust or in some way “fix” her ponytail.
I was inspired to write this post after seeing the words of wisdom below on Pinterest.
My first thought after reading this was, “That’s so true!” It must be a well-known phenomenon, because I found this other quote-image too:
Yes, I have seen women tightening their ponytails right before they did a set of squats – especially when they’re working out in pairs.
I’ve seen them do it two, sometimes three times, over the course of a squat routine.
Sometimes they take out the ponytail and then re-band it – and of course, the job’s not done till they give it a final pull on either side to tighten it.
THEN IT’S GAME ON: Lift that Barbell!
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen women tighten ponytails prior to deadlifts and bench presses, though I don’t have as independent a recall for these particular weightlifting moves as I do for the squat.
I kept putting off writing this post until the day I noticed a woman, who was wearing a long ponytail, doing cleans.
When she got up to 85 pounds, I thought, “Hmm, that’s pretty good for a woman.” Most average men off the street can’t clean an 85 pound barbell.
I wondered when she was going to tighten her ponytail.
Then she loaded the barbell to 95 pounds. And by the way, it was easy for me to discreetly observe her between my sets because I was at the nearby squat rack, and she was out in the open.
So I knew that she hadn’t tightened her ponytail yet, but I just had a gut feeling it was coming.
And by golly, she did it! She tightened her ponytail and then cleaned the 95 pounds!
Now granted, most women actually do not tighten their ponytails before they do a strength training set.
However, every woman I’ve even seen tighten her ponytail right before lifting a weight 1) Lifted much heavier weight, for that particular exercise, than what most women at a typical gym can, and 2) Had a body that looked trained.
Why Women Tighten Their Ponytail Right Before a Big Lift
I wear a ponytail but never tighten it before my lifts. It’s set securely before I step onto the gym floor and doesn’t loosen.
In the case of the woman cleaning, I had noticed, prior to her tightening it, that the ponytail was getting loose from her repeated bending over to clean the barbell.
She would actually deadlift it twice, then clean it, deadlift twice, then clean, etc., for a single set. This action loosened the rubber band’s hold.
But the back squat doesn’t require repeatedly bending over. Thus, a loosened, floppy hold is not an issue.
I gather that a woman tightens a ponytail before a heavy lift for the same reason that a man might grunt before a heavy squat or even briefly clench both fists and then place his hands at his side, fingers fanned out, arms flared out and bent, before stepping under the bar.
Ever watch a pitcher in a major league baseball game? Watch what he does with his hands for several seconds before he throws the ball.
There’s all sorts of ritualistic patting of his torso, repeated adjusting of his cap, etc., that don’t actually have anything to do with winding up for the pitch and executing the motion.
Athletes tend to perform ritualistic behaviors right before the big move. When I used to play volleyball, I had to bounce the ball a certain way — the same way every single time — right before I powered out my signature serve.
The bouncing always was five times, with a one-two, pause, one-two, pause, one tempo – and then boom!
Many pro tennis players will do this too, bouncing the ball a certain way, certain cadence and same number of times every time before they serve.
And need I point out the classic movements of a pro golfer’s feet right before they make a putt?
Tightening the ponytail right before that lift – especially if it’s the heaviest weight for her yet — is a ritualistic way to grace herself with good luck.
It yields a sense of control and security before moving a heavy weight.
Her ponytail is one of the few things she has 100 percent control over right before she steps under a 135 pound barbell to knock out eight ATG reps. It just HAS to be tightened first!
