INTRODUCTION
As a means of maintaining the health of the musculoskeletal system throughout the lifespan, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that adults participate in resistance training at least twice per week (1). However, Kruger and colleagues (18) highlight that only 20% of women were resistance training two or more times per week, and this percentage is lower than the goal of 24% targeted in Healthy People 2020 (21). The strength training trends reported by Kruger et al., further highlighted that wide gender disparities are evident in resistance training participation levels, as men are engaging in this activity approximately 30% more frequently than are women (18). This gap is further supported by findings from Haines and colleagues (14), who noted that for every woman utilizing the free weight section of the gym, there were approximately 27 men using this same equipment (27/1 ratio). Such documented disparities present challenges for fostering musculoskeletal health for women throughout the lifespan.
The ACSM defines resistance training for health and fitness as “a form of physical activity that is designed to improve muscular fitness by exercising a muscle or muscle group against external resistance” (2). Resistance or strength training is widely performed in contemporary health and fitness environments through the use of equipment like free weights, weight-selectorized machines, plate loaded machines, weighted balls, resistance bands, and body weight resistance equipment. This particular form of exercise is instrumental in building and maintaining lean muscle mass, which is necessary for the completion of many functional tasks, as well as for sport and recreational activities. It is widely known that lean muscle mass decreases as individuals age and this is linked to many medical conditions and lesser measures of quality of life and/or function, prompting professional health organizations such as the ACSM to advocate for the inclusion of regular resistance exercise into comprehensive health and wellness programming.
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Within this context of disease prevention and health promotion, researchers are intrigued by the sizeable evidence indicating substantially fewer women utilize resistance-specific training modalities when compared to men. This evidence regarding participation is contrary to the considerable research literature that highlights the numerous physical, psychological, and social benefits for women who regularly complete resistance training regimens (3, 7, 8, 11, 12). The most apparent health-related benefits of resistance training include improved muscle definition, strength, body composition, metabolic efficiency, and bone density (9, 10, 12, 16, 19, 25).
In addition to physiological health, improved psychological and social health domains also have been positively linked to regular resistance training (7, 11, 17, 27). Such psychological health benefits have been shown to be especially important in college-aged women, as the transition from being a teenager to an adult can be exceptionally difficult when living away from home for the first time (13). Furthermore, college women have reported “increased feelings of vigor, physical self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, as well as decreased total mood disturbance” following regular resistance training workouts (27). As a means of more fully understanding the social health benefits of regular resistance training, (5) college-age and middle-age women were surveyed to better understand their preference for resistance training atmosphere. Results indicated that women overall preferred a structured resistance training class as they reported that they received a better workout, tended to be more committed and were more likely to be encouraged by others in such an environment. Such positive psychological and social health outcomes with resistance training have been consistently supported in the literature; yet, few young women engage in the resistance training necessary for optimal health. These disparities suggest that further research is warranted to better understand such exercise behaviors within women.
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Such disparities in regular resistance training between men and women (6, 11, 14) suggest that an examination of potential barriers may be valuable. One such obstacle may be the general tendency of many women to spend the majority of their exercise time using cardiovascular machines rather than lifting weights (11), perhaps believing that cardiovascular exercise results in more benefits to health and/or body appearance. To illustrate, Dworkin (11) noted that roughly 70% of patrons using cardiovascular machines in fitness centers tended to be female. This behavior is supported by Velija and Kumar (28) and Wachs (29), who suggested that females may be socialized at a young age to avoid perceived “masculine” areas (e.g., weight rooms) and are likely encouraged to pursue activities perceived as more “feminine” (e.g., dance aerobics). A strong gender-based stigma also still exists for resistance training, as many women report concerns that they would “bulk up” or look “manly” if they participated in ongoing resistance training (11). Such mismatches in perceptions pertaining to exercise modality present challenges toward fostering the benefits of resistance training among women throughout the lifespan. Similarly, the Transtheoretical Model (23) describes the stages of change and decisional balance in respect to engaging in behaviors on a long-term basis, and it is widely used in clinical environments to gauge readiness – as well as to promote – client readiness to engage in healthful behaviors. As such this and other models may prove valuable in understanding the disparities in resistance training exhibited by men and women.
Nonetheless, research literature is scant examining perceptions of benefits and barriers to exercise among college women. Harne and Bixby’s (15) research remains one of the few peer-reviewed examinations of perceptions of benefits and barriers to resistance training within college women. As a means of best describing potential barriers to resistance training, past research has divided such barriers into four different categories (i.e., time-effort, physical, social, and specific), based on Myers and Roth’s (20) conceptualization of the benefits and barriers for exercise. To illustrate, the number one reason women reported for not participating in resistance training in Harne and Bixby’s (15) study was a perceived lack of time. This is a commonly noted barrier, particularly among women, that has been mentioned in previous studies (7, 10, 14). Myers and Roth (20) classified this issue within the time-effort category, grouping it with other reasons such as being too busy, lacking the desire or discipline, and feeling that the activity is boring. They described the second category, physical, as pertaining to the physical aspect of weight lifting or how one might be perceived by others while engaging in the activity; this includes barriers such as not having the desire to sweat or have an athletic physique, being uncoordinated, feeling uncomfortable or intimidated, and having a lack of knowledge. Myers and Roth (20) described the third category, social, as barriers pertaining to social settings such as not liking to exercise alone and not having family or friends who encourage or take part in resistance training. They described the last category of barriers, specific, as explicit barriers falling outside of the first three categories, such as bad weather, no convenient locations, medical problems, family obligations, and interference with other activities. In summary, Harne and Bixby (15) in 2005 modified these domains first described by Myers and Roth so as to specifically address perceived benefits and barriers to resistance training, yet this topic has received little attention since that time.
Thus, given the incongruity between the research literature demonstrating that regular resistance training fosters musculoskeletal health and the evidence that women participate in this activity substantially less often than men, this study examined underlying motives (i.e., benefits and barriers) to resistance training experienced by college women. In this vein, little is known regarding demographic variables such as age, grade point average (GPA), number of years in school, full or part-time status, housing status, or other variables may influence perceived benefits or barriers to regular resistance training. The purpose of this study, then, was to assess behaviors, perceived benefits, and barriers to resistance training among college women. More specifically, the study sought to answer the following questions: 1) What percentage of college women are currently using free weights in fitness centers?; 2) What are the relationships between descriptive variables, benefits, and barriers to resistance training?; and 3) Which benefits, barriers, and/or demographic variables predict resistance training activity of women in a fitness center?
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