When you see tiny pink dumbbells, what is your first thought? While these tiny pink dumbbells can have their utility in the world of post-rehab or muscular endurance, the marketing messages surrounding these hand weights are incredibly problematic. In today's episode, my good friend Nikki Naab-Levy and I are breaking down the problem with the overall message surrounding tiny pink dumbbells in fitness marketing. Key Takeaways If You Are Sick of Seeing Tiny Pink Dumbbells, You Should: Remember that just because you are a woman it does not mean you are not capable or are too fragile to be strong Stop worrying about getting bulky or comparing yourself to people on Instagram Find your weight sweet spot and focus on using an adequate amount of weight that is right for you Calling Out Problematic Marketing with Nikki Naab-Levy Nikki Naab-Levy is a strength and nutrition coach who has been involved in multiple arenas in the fitness industry for the last 17 years. She helps women move, build strength, improve mobility, move beyond injury, and find a sustainable approach to nutrition. She is passionate about having the unscripted and messy conversations necessary to help women get stronger and call attention to the problematic marketing in the world of fitness and beyond.
Pink Is Not the Problem
There is nothing wrong with expressing your femininity and working out in a way that suits you. However, you need to ask yourself if your tool fits the application. We all have the autonomy to decide how we want to lift weights or exercise; the problem comes when we allow marketers to lie to women about how they can achieve their goals using insufficient methods. Strength training, real strength training, is all about using smart programming and an appropriate amount of weight to get stronger over time, not ‘to get toned and flexible’ by using weights designed to keep women in a small mindset.
The Weaponization of Femininity
The marketing of tiny pink dumbbells says that women shouldn't get too bulky and that they need to lift petite things because they are fragile. This is simply not true, and this brainwashing keeps women from experiencing their full abilities and capacities for getting stronger.
The weaponization of femininity has a range of negative implications that we are honestly just sick of. If your goal is to get progressively stronger over time, you need to take a step back and analyze the messages that are being directed toward you as a woman who lifts.
How do you believe the marketing of fitness impacts your decisions regarding your routine? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode What is really behind the marketing of tiny pink dumbbells (9:12) Why we need to stop lying to women about how they can achieve their fitness desires (15:14) How to address a lack of lifting results and find your weight sweet spot (20:41) The difference between something that makes you stronger and strength training (27:23) Unpack the implication behind the messaging of tiny pink dumbbells (39:25) Quotes“It is amazing that we live in a day and age where tiny pink dumbbells need an entire podcast conversation, but they do! Because they are so prevalent in marketing and the marketing in what they can and cannot do for you in no way matches the reality of what you would actually want to use them for.” (7:21)
“Strength is a continuum. There is a lot of confusion about what you are trying to achieve and what is the best use of the thing that you are doing.” (21:05)
“Scratch below the surface of why you are buying something or why you are following someone or why you are doing something, because there is underlying science and utility in each of the modalities, and if you are going to choose something, choose something that actually has an application.” (38:32)
“When we make choices for ourselves, we need to step back and be logical and look beyond the marketing, I think that is my whole thing. The tiny pink dumbbell is fine, it can have its utility, just stop calling it strength training and stop saying it will make you toned because it freakin won’t.” (39:15)
“I still have capabilities that go far beyond what I thought I could do when I was in the box of the tiny pink dumbbell when I was in the world of the tiny pink dumbbell.” (44:36)
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