Why do women tend to dislike exercise more than men?

When i go training (at my running club) it seems that past a certain age its mainly men who train most evenings. Their partners and wives tend to be at home watching the kids. Whether this is more an element of women not wanting to train or whether its more becaue they have to watch the kids I dont know. But as a female I was thinking to myself that i never want to give up going to the gym and training most evenings after work. Do you think i could have this life or should i refrain from having kids? I think that if anything its the women who need to exercise due to increased obesity and drop in bone density at menopause.

Reply 1

Livvyxo

17

I think it's more to do with age than anything, young men often have far less body fat, but then once they hit a certain age, weight starts to stick and most men are kind of jolted into action by this.
I'd also argue that women struggle with their happiness regarding their weight most of their lives, fat is a feminist issue and all that.

Reply 2

ChaoticButterfly

20

I see mums (and dads) walking up mountains with babies and toddlers on their backs.

You can still do active stuff with kids, even at the same time as having them with you. Doing that kind of thing is one of the reasons to have kids imo. I wanna take them up a mountain on my back :smile:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

Tiger Rag

22

Moved to Fitness

You seem to be making a lot of assumptions here.

Reply 4

gutenberg

14

Well, for one thing you don't know for certain that the wives/partners of the men you see at your running club are not doing exercise/training of their own, but just a different times/places/different types of exercise. They may go to the gym or run on the evenings their partner is not out training with the club, or train in the mornings/lunchtime in order to balance out their partner's evening commitment. I see a lot of women at the swimming pool where I train in the mornings, for instance. So it's not safe to assume that the wives are not partaking of exercise or training.

In terms of women's participation in sports more generally and the competing demands of family life, work etc. with sports, well that is a much wider issue. There have been all sorts of studies into why women's participation drops off so exponentially from the late teenage years onwards, and campaigns such as 'This Girl Can' are designed to try address this. But anyone who participates in a sport, even if they don't have a family or partner, will have to make choices about how to spend their time, and possibly 'sacrifice' an aspect of life at times in order to pursue that sport. For both men and women who have families, I imagine it is about compromise and a fair division of labour as much as possible so that both parties can pursue their interests as much as possible, be it sport, or other kinds of activity.

Reply 5

Unistudent77

15

Women do seem to participate in sport less than men.

I can't honestly pin point say why this is.

Families do come into it but surely you can find time.
If i have a family i will still fit the gym in. I'll find a way.

I would happily take the kids to let my wife go to the gym or go a run, for her mental health if nothing else. So i don't think 'having a family' should be a barrier to keeping in good shape...

Reply 6

doodle_333

19

I doubt having kids will make it any harder for a woman to exercise than a man. Having kids is always going to make staying fit more difficult but you can do it - it's just a case of prioritising.

Reply 7

Nirvana1989-1994

20

Lord god, assumption after assumption. :rolleyes:

Reply 8

Reality Check

22

Original post by Anonymous

Do you think i could have this life or should i refrain from having kids?

I don't think doing exercise and having kids are mutually exclusive.

As to your more general point, I think you might find that these men (we call them 'Mamils', by the way) at your running club are probably the type who get home, claim they've had a long, stressful and difficult day and then in their minds justifiably bugger off to their running club, quite forgetting that their wife probably has had a similarly stressful and long day but still has to get the kids organised, tidy-up the house, do some chores, sort out a PTA meeting, pay the council tax, give the right child the right sponsorship money, put the bins out, get that washing out of the machine and into the dryer because the kids need it for tomorrow morning...

With a supportive partner taking on his fair share of the household tasks, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to carry on at a gym/running club.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 9

Nirvana1989-1994

20

Original post by Reality Check

I don't think doing exercise and having kids are mutually exclusive.

As to your more general point, I think you might find that these men (we call them 'Mamils', by the way) at your running club are probably the type who get home, claim they've had a long, stressful and difficult day and then in their minds justifiably bugger off to their running club, quite forgetting that their wife probably has had a similarly stressful and long day but still has to get the kids organised, tidy-up the house, do some chores, sort out a PTA meeting, pay the council tax, give the right child the right sponsorship money, put the bins out, get that washing out of the machine and into the dryer because the kids need it for tomorrow morning...

With a supportive partner taking on his fair share of the household tasks, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to carry on at a gym/running club.