I don’t know what these meatheads think is going to happen, but I promise the world will not end if more people get into weight lifting.

Yes — weight lifting is rising in popularity. Because of this, I am starting to see people post on social media, complaining about how weight lifting is becoming a trend.

These are probably the same people who complain about obesity in the US.

We will not run out of gyms. We have the resources to build more.

The definition of gatekeeping is controlling, and usually limiting, access to something.

Why would someone who is passionate about lifting weights, and can see the positive change it has had on their mood, self-confidence and attitude towards others, want to limit the number of people doing it?

I understand if your gym starts to get busier it can result in frustration. However, I feel like we owe it to ourselves as humans, to increase positivity in our environment, mood and attitude towards others.

And, of course, we should want to see an improvement in others when it comes to self-confidence.

Self-confidence is so important. A lack of it can be the reason someone doesn’t get out of bed for days. 

Knowing lifting weights can help someone feel better about their health and their physical appearance shouldn’t scare people away from the idea of inviting and encouraging this uprise in weight lifting.

We should instead embrace the idea of society becoming intrigued by the gym. Personally, when I see someone going hard in the gym, it makes me feel motivated. Especially if that someone looks like me.

Because more people are going to the gym and experimenting with weights, there will be more diversity in the gym. Increased diversity in activities is a good thing.

I hope that gyms start to look different. I hope there are more females lifting weights, and more minorities lifting weights. 

I’ve noticed that the people who feel threatened by this increase in weight lifting are the people who already have inspiration from weight lifters that look just like them. 

The gym is filled with people who are similar to these gatekeepers in race, gender and size. So in their heads, they feel like it’s not necessary for others to join. 

They’ve gotten where they need to be, they are satisfied with their progress, so why would it matter to them if a large diverse group of people joined that same gym? In their head, it is just more time waiting on a bench to open up.

People are selfish in general, and I know that the majority of us recognize this. We should want better.

We should want different people in the gym, even if it means we have to wait longer for machines to open up. We don’t know how much of an impact going to the gym has on somebody. 

For some people, the gym is more than a way to get over a breakup, Chad.