Women’s vs men’s barbell

[truthtellah]

Women of CrossFit, does your box have women’s (15 kg) barbells? Mine only has one, so it’s often hoarded by certain people. I find (as a small handed female)I have trouble with my grip using the men’s (20 kg) bars. I asked the owner if we could get more, but she said probably not, as she’s trying to replace some other things. What’s a good way to improve using the men’s bars, since I rarely get to use the women’s?

 

[trioxiori]

@truthtellah Geez. Our gym has more women bars then men’s, and I usually use a women’s bar (ladies get first dibs of course, but we have plenty).

That’s kinda messed up. It makes a big difference. Definitely something that should be addressed.

 

[chris999]

@truthtellah Every CrossFit gym I’ve been to have enough to cover like 10-15 ladies. Your gym owner is doing its members an extreme disservice in my opinion.

 

[james24essex]

@chris999 This.

We even have more bars for the ladies, but we also have more female members. Sometimes, I have to use a 15 kg-bar, but that‘s ok as long it is not for deadlifting or squatting.

 

[bornagainrealist]

@chris999 Mine has the same number of ladies and men’s. In fact some smaller dudes just use the women’s ones

 

[manal]

@truthtellah Honestly if my gym didn't have 15kg bars I would find a new gym. Is buying a used one on Facebook marketplace an option?

 

[garrettholliman2001]

@truthtellah I’ve been to maybe 20 different CrossFit boxes over the years and I’ve never seen one that only has one female bar. I don’t think that is very common at all.

 

[downloadking]

@truthtellah This is 100% a red flag for me for this gym. If they are skimping on supplying womens barbells they may skimp on other things. Have never heard of such a thing at a legit box. What is it? An all boys school? Proper barbells should be a priority at the minimum. if i was in your position I would start exploring other boxes, i have a feeling there may be other benefits you are missing out on.

 

[nwc]

@truthtellah Find a new gym. I’ve never seen one with less than 8 women’s barbells

 

[kennedy11]

@truthtellah Best I can suggest is improving your grip strength or buying your own bar to use that you can store in that space (ideally with an agreement that no one else will use it)

That really sucks. My work gym only has the male bars and I hate it so much - makes everything so much harder than when I'm at my box. I feel for ya

 

[onceemt]

@kennedy11 And if you store it there buy a lock to go on the sleeve

 

[letitia812]

@truthtellah I fucked up my thumb / tendon using a men’s barbell once at a comp. Your owner needs more women’s barbells.

 

[rand_paul_lover]

@letitia812 Nooooo, what were the movements???

I have a partner comp coming up in a couple weeks where they specify each lane will have one men’s bar and one women’s bar regardless of team makeup, so some women will have to use the men’s bar. I’m taking the L and will be using the men’s for one of them (I’m doing hang power cleans, partner will be doing hang power snatches so figured best to give her the proper women’s bar). I was practicing yesterday and was shook by how much grippier it felt! Potential injury did not occur to me though

 

[letitia812]

@rand_paul_lover Your comp should be fine unless you have to F/F synchro, which they shouldn’t be programming synchro with only 1 bar of each, it should be M/F.

 

[rand_paul_lover]

@letitia812 Yes I know that's how it SHOULD be, but that's not what they're doing. It is synchro, each person gets their own bar. Also... there is a distinctly different experience to be a man using a women's bar than to be a woman using a men's bar! Annoying. Just curious to know what movements bothered your hand so I can be mentally prepared/adjust my strategy accordingly lol

All lanes will have a Male bar & a Female bar - regardless of the gender makeup of your team. See the loading patterns:

Male/Male Team - Male Bar w/ 35’s, Female bar w/ 25’s+15’s

Male/Female Team - Male Bar w/ 35’s, Female bar w/ 25’s

Female/Female Team - Male Bar w/ 15’s + 5’s, Female bar w/ 25’s

 

[letitia812]

@rand_paul_lover Wow! That’s bizarre.. I’d like to think for cleans you should be ok. Mine happened during snatches. Just be careful and pay attention to your body. I hope you guys crush it!

 

[rand_paul_lover]

@letitia812 It's apparently a very heteronormative valentines day themed partner comp that only recently allowed same-sex teams but apparently decided they're not rearranging the whole layout for you. Seems so silly to me. None of their other competitions are like this.... Luckily it will only be for the one workout! Thanks!!!

 

[msrathore]

@truthtellah We have just as many ladies bars as mens bars at my gym. Plus short bars, training bars, and kids bars! Only having a single ladies bar is crazy!