Physically that is. I’m curious about whether women are conscious of, or even care about, how strong or weak they are relative to other women (or men).
Can you carry or move large objects (without a car key). Are you surprising strong or weak for your size? What’s your strongest body part? Do you frighten people with your power, or is it really just a non-issue with most women?
I think that for most women strength is a none issue. My strength is very important to me though. I can lift 130lbs with my legs which I consider to be pretty good considering I am only 115lbs. My arms are the weakest part of my body and can only do 50lbs. I am working on that though.
I think that the reason strength is so important to me is because I am pretty little (I am only 5’1). I don’t like people thinking that I can’t take care of myself.
Strength is very important to me. I’m physically strong, but not remarkably so. I’d like to be stronger (and fitter).
I think it’s so important to me because perceived weakness is one of the big justifications that men use to say/imply that women are inferior or shouldn’t do certain activities or jobs.
Strength has always been a thing for me. Again, like Shera I think it’s because I’m little (5’0").
I haven’t been doing a lot of weight lifting lately, but not too long ago I maxed out on the bench press at 100 lbs. (not that I could do any reps, but I could at least do it once!)
While that may not sound too incredibly impressive, I think there’s something to be said for benching more than you weigh (95 lbs in my case!).
I’ve always been the kind to move my own furniture, carry big loads of stuff around, etc.
I took weight training in high school partly because I was recovering from a botched handling of a broken collar bone. (In case you’re wondering, I was dealing with Army doctors who decided not to give me the correct figure-8 brace to wear during the healing process, and so the bones grew together in a convex shape, that is, they formed sort of a V shape that pointed away from my body. I had to have it re-broken a few times.)At that time I could barely lift 2 lbs. with my left arm, so weight training was good physical therapy.
My brother was on the wrestling team, and my husband currently studies kung fu, capoeira, and wing chun. I’ve always considered strength and physical condition somewhat important.
I am 5’3" and about 150 pounds, though a lot of it is muscle. Really.
I work out a lot, do yoga, will start Pilates soon, ride my exercise bike, climb stairs and walk too. I can lift some fairly heavy stuff, but it’s better if I have a back brace on. I am stronger in the legs than I am in the upper body, and I need to be careful with my lower back–but then, don’t we all?
I haven’t really thought about it much, and I don’t recall this topic ever coming up in my conversations with other women. Or men, for that matter.
I’m fairly strong for an over-40 woman. I don’t know how much I can bench press, tho, 'cause I’ve never tried it. The last time I did leg presses I only did 90 lb.
However I feel like a giant amonst the other ladies in these posts ! I’m 5’6" and weigh 165 lbs. which is indeed mostly muscle. My legs are probably the strongest part, but I like to concentrate on the “core” (abs) so that I have stability and flexibility. For example, I’ts groovy to be able to pick up a bicycle and swing it into the bed of a pickup truck. Or chop wood on a crisp fall day. Or just plain move furniture !
Another reason I started weight lifting was for bone strength. I don’t want to be a brittle old woman!
It is important to me, plus you should see the look on some guy’s faces when I shake hands.
When I was in my twenties and working hard to be strong, I could bench my weight (110) and squat double my weight. I am average height (5’4") and I have always prided myself on being physically strong. Since I’m in my late thirties now, I haven’t tested my strength with weights for a long time, but I’m probably still above average. The baggers at the grocery store always shake their head when I tell them I’ll carry my own bags of cat litter and dog food out.
My legs have always been strong, probably from riding horses, although when I started biking this past fall I was in for a surprise. My muscles took a bit of a beating at first, but it didn’t take long to get my biking muscles up to par (although I do need to work on endurance).
I don’t think I frighten people with my strength, but I know I’ve surprised a few.
I can lift 150 pounds, or at least catch her when she jumps into my arms. I can palm the floor still. I used to be able to bench my weight and do a military press of half my weight. I once leg pressed the entire stack on the universal for 10 reps. My usual leg press was just 360 for 3 sets of 10 reps each. People don’t expect me to be strong, so I sometimes surprise them.
Well, I’m not weak.
I know I’m stronger than some people at the gym, (I have to move the weights down or add more), but in the same way, I also know that I’m weaker than some of them.
In one way, it isn’t really an issue for women, or at the very least it presents itself differently. The questions aren’t “How much can you bench?” or but “Have you been running recently?” or “Did you make it to yoga last week?” The positive words are “conditioned,” “fit,” and “toned.”
I also feel like a giant in this thread. A fat giant, for that matter. (And I’m not all that tall, just slightly below 5’8")…but while I was writing the above, it occured to me that for someone my size, “strong” isn’t necessarily a compliment or a desirable trait. It goes with “unfeminine” and “hard” and other even less flattering words - while I do want to be strong, I don’t really like being called strong.
5’ 9", 123 lbs. … and I can lift a stack of credit cards, baby! 
(Not terribly strong otherwise.)
5’3" 110 lbs and I once dropped the 45 lb bar on the bench press, no weights on it, on my chest. I would like to get a treadmill or a bike, or possibly a gym membership, but I don’t see it being in my budget any time in the forseeable future. I have no interest in working with weights, though. I’m perfectly happy having men around to do all the heavy lifting for me.
I started lifting weights when I had trouble getting out of the bathtub (about three years ago). I was already in pretty good cardio shape, since I’ve been exercising for about 7 years now, but my upper body strength was pathetic. Now I can manage (with difficulty) to get a 50 lb. bag of cat litter from the bottom shelf into the big part of the shopping cart, and I find 35 lb. bags easy to shoulder.
I like not having to depend on a man for every heavy thing I need taken care of, but my husband, who also lifts weights, is very, very much stronger than I am, so he still does most of the heavy lifting. (He has the most fabulously broad shoulders. Yummy!)
I have no idea about bench pressing or squats or anything, since my weight machine doesn’t have all that. I can curl a 20 lb. barbell one-handed between 5-10 times, and I do 40 lb. butterfly presses.
I’m 5’3" and [sub]mumble[/sub] pounds.
I’m stronger than I used to be but I don’t know exactly how much I can lift.
Actually compared to most of the people already posted I’m huge (6’1 220lbs last I checked)
We live in an apartment building so I often carry loads of groceries up 3 flights of stairs. I also go to school and my bag on a regular basis weighs around 30-40lbs I think. I haven’t actually weighed it. That’s what I carry around daily.
My ex-roomie did tell me once that I was the only woman he was afraid of, because he felt I could just take a whack at him and he’d be out. He’s probably exagerrating though.
Oh, and jin, I have a broken stairclimber I’d be willing to give you if you wanted to drive up here and get it. I don’t know what it’d cost to fix it, but I could find out if you’re interested.
I’m 5’7" and 130 lbs. I was working out (weight training and cardio) at least 5 times a week up until a year ago. I had to tone it down quite a bit after a back injury. During my prime, I could benchpress my weight for 3 sets of 10 reps, legpress 235 lbs, and pump out more man-style pushups than most of the men I know. I build muscle mass up quickly, so I was a little embarrassed by how big my upper body got. My male friends always made fun of me because my shoulders were so much bigger than theirs. At least I got killer legs, abs, and ass to go along with the shoulders. But I was proud of my strength. I’d even show off if I got the opportunity. Now I don’t have the huge mass, but I’ve retained a good deal of the strenght. I worked hard for it, so I’m happy when I’m the one that gets asked to help move furniture, etc.
I just took a job last Friday as a mover/painter so I’m really realizing just how strong I am. Sitting at a desk for the past few years softened me up, but I can move furniture with the big boys just fine.
I think my legs are the strongest part though. They have to be, carrying 200 pounds around all day.
Damn, I wish I’d known you wanted a bike and/or some gym stuff. I was in Seabrook over the holiday. I would have been happy to bring you a load of stuff. Got family working for NASA, so I get down there from time to time.
I’ll let ya know when I’m headin that way again if you’re interested.
I haven’t lifted any weights in a while, but I’m pretty strong. Years ago, I was a firefighter, the only female at the time who was and every class I took, I had to match what the men did. I passed easily.
My legs are stronger than the rest of me - I used to regularly leg press 130 lbs at my prior gym. I still could if the gym equipment I was using now didn’t put so much strain on my lower back for the leg press. My arms and shoulders are relatively very weak. I am interested in taking martial arts training for this reason.
I am doing weight training with low weight at the moment - as the women in my fathers family tend to build bulky muscle easily. I am 5’9" and 150 lbs (I was 130 prior to beginning my weighttraining)
5’1", 100 lb wimp checking in. My husband says I have spindly arms. If my job prospect pans out, I’ll have access to the gym for free. I intend to get back into shape, as I’m 46 and pre-menopausal and would like to be able to stand up to a strong breeze. I’ve always had a bone brittleness problem.