Things Only Girls Who Lift Will Understand

Despite what some people say, weight lifting is actually awesome, and that goes for girls as well as guys. And yet as awesome as it is, there are some problems only girls who weight lift understand, as captured perfectly in this brilliant Buzzfeed video. Hey, nothing is without its challenges.

We live in a society that doesn't think of women as physically strong — and actually still struggles with the idea of strong women in any sense. And all of that becomes pretty apparent once you start weight lifting.

I remember when I moved to NYC recently, guys on the street would stop and offer to help me with furniture I was perfectly capable of carrying, and I got more and more annoyed every time. I mean, since I am clearly not struggling, the only reasons someone would offer to help is if they either assumed I as a girl was too weak to handle carrying something or if they were planning to steal my stuff. Neither is endearing.

Not to mention when I looked for a new gym and the manager of every place tried to breeze right through the weight room, assuming I wouldn't be interested.

Still, despite the fact the world is clearly not set up to handle girls who lift — and despite the phenomenon that is the day after a leg day — lifting weights is awesome. Getting stronger is awesome.

Now if only someone could invent skinny jeans for weight lifters.