this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
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I never went to a gym, but here:
https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/bench-press/kg
It says 17 kg is a beginner weight as a woman.
65 lbs, aka 29.5 kg, is almost Novice level, which is probably nothing what one does out of thin air.
An empty (olympic) bar is usually 20kg, or 20.4kg/45lbs if you live in poundland. Difficult to lift a lower weight than that if you go the barbell route.
Most girls at my gym lift more than just the empty bar for reps, even if they look new to the movement, so 17kg sounds like an underestimation for 1rm. When I first introduced my sister to the movement, she did 3x12 of an empty bar just fine.
I agree with you that 20kg for a woman is not thát crazy, even for a beginner. But the "woman's bar" is also very popular, which is only 15kg. I think the main reason many women prefer this one is because the thinner bar is easier to grip.
If you gym got one, yes. I think I've only ever seen a lighter bar once, and the gym only had one of those.
Maybe other countries are better at accommodating for woman in the gym than commercial gyms in Norway are.