piranha: red origami crane (Default)
renaissance poisson ([personal profile] piranha) wrote in [community profile] lifting_heavy_things2013-12-14 12:26 am

alternative to stronglifts forum

hey there.

i am doing stronglifts 5x5, started in early november. have serious mobility problems that are so far preventing me from doing proper barbell squats, so i have replaced them with goblet squats for now (at lower weights, but i am progressively increasing them). am working on improving my mobility, and am otherwise progressing well; just slower than normal. but hey, i am fat, old, and have lived a sedentary life for much too long. i don't mind the slow part, i just want to get stronger.

i signed up for the "inner circle", but i am having a hard time with it because i have plain run out of patience for sexism and homophobia. "pussy", "sissy", and "fag" are commonly used to denigrate outsiders, the former two also to exhort insiders (eg "don't be such a pussy, and work through it") and nobody sees anything wrong with it. and while i don't identify as a woman, i hate the way women are treated as well; ostensibly supported, but that often results in flirtatious calls for more booty pictures, which marginalizes fat women (because only conventionally attractive women are asked for those). the majority of women on the site are silent, the only ones who participate are the ones who seems to enjoy all that male attention. motivational images often consist of bikini babes beckoning. in short, the place oozes testosterone poisoning.

there is also not much room for people who diverge from the basic program; if you pursue other sports and activities you're lucky if you don't get written off or insulted (don't mention crossfit. ever.). doing your own research to find what works for your own body is frowned upon. i understand some of that -- a lot of the guys come from self-designed gym routines that never did much for them, so the thrust is "stick with the program and don't mess with it". but i have to "mess" with it because i am not a healthy, young guy.

nutrition-wise the place is a total mess, with broscience paleo clogging every artery. no room for veg*ns.

and i find it hard to justify supporting those attitudes with my money. but i am in need of support, advice, and encouragement, something at which that forum is pretty good (if you can overlook the above problems). nobody in my circle of friends can provide that. do any of you know of a decent forum that's less macho?
redstarrobot: Noodles from the Gorillaz in a go-kart, with the initials RSR on a red star background. (Default)

[personal profile] redstarrobot 2013-12-14 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
The Nerd Fitness forums are pretty good, and pretty inclusive when it comes to gender and starting fitness level/physical limitation.