{"id":70282,"date":"2024-12-29T16:54:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-29T16:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=70282"},"modified":"2025-01-06T18:28:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T18:28:26","slug":"men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Men and women are not built the same&#8217;: Fighting for female-friendly fitness gear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Cardiff based personal trainer and weightlifting business have highlighted the need for better sport gear that&#8217;s specifically made for women<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Women using weightlifting equipment that is designed to fit properly\n\" class=\"wp-image-70286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1366x768.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1400x788.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Women using weightlifting equipment that is designed to fit properly\n\" class=\"wp-image-70286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1366x768.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-1400x788.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lolli Lifting currently sells lifting belts made to fit women with no discomfort Image Credit: Ana Jobson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For female athletes, the pursuit of sporting excellence often comes with unexpected obstacles like ill-fitting sportswear and uncomfortable equipment. &#8216;Men and women are not built the same, as such the equipment that they use should reflect this&#8217;, explained Lucy Wooldridge, the founder of Lolli Lifting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lolli Lifting is a sportswear company, looking to revolutionise the fitness gear market for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI identified the needs of female gym goers through my own lived experience,\u201d said Lolli Lifting founder, Wooldridge, \u201cI continued to see the same old black lifting belts dominating the market, all designed with a male audience in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe lack of options for women both in terms of style and quality, inspired me to create a brand that was solely focused around female fitness gear\u201d, explained Wooldridge, \u201cIt made me feel like the gym was a space designed for men, and that women\u2019s needs had not been met.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The impact on female athletes<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Wooldridge explained that weightlifting belts are designed to sit between the top of the hips and the bottom of the rib cage to provide stability during lifts. Men have longer torsos than women on average, therefore if a woman used a belt designed for a man, the belt would cause discomfort in the woman\u2019s ribs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt would be like going to your boyfriend\u2019s house and using his ex-girlfriend\u2019s toothbrush. Sure, it will work, but it won\u2019t make you feel welcome\u201d, explained the Lolli Lifting founder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lolli Lifting offers gym equipment in a variety of sizes and pastel colours, aiming to make women feel confident when using them. Wooldridge explained that styling gym equipment is also different for men and women, \u201cconfidence is key for any gym girl. We believe that when you look good, you feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI wanted to design lifting gear specifically for women to show that women are just as at home in the gym as men are and can of course lift heavy too!\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lolli Lifting is making a difference for women in the sporting world. They are also looking to release new products such as barbell pads that protect women\u2019s hip bones when performing hip thrusts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A wider issue<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Wooldridge&#8217;s experience is echoed by many female athletes. Sharmin Aktar, a <a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2021\/03\/22\/personal-training-in-a-pandemic-how-trainers-survived-when-the-fitness-industry-went-virtual\/\">personal trainer<\/a> from Cardiff, highlights the issue: &#8220;A lot of brands don\u2019t think about women with different body shapes or sizes, and that\u2019s frustrating. Sports bras, for example, can be a nightmare to find\u2014some don\u2019t give enough support or feel comfortable.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lack of suitable sportswear for female athletes appears to be an issue across various sports. A recent BBC Research study looked into the challenges of finding kit and equipment for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-70371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin-770x434.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin.jpg 1087w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-70371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin-770x434.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin-293x165.jpg 293w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/sharmin.jpg 1087w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sharmin Aktar, a personal trainer in Cardiff, coaching one of her clients Image Credit: Sharmin Aktar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The BBC Sport questionnaire found that more than two-thirds of 143 elite British sportswomen said the majority of equipment they\u2019ve used is not specifically designed for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\u201cIt is symptomatic of gender inequality and sexism in the sports sector that the first football boot in the world designed around female feet came to the market less than four years ago\u201d said Caroline Nokes, the Chair of Women and Equalities Committee from a report by the Committee of MPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color has-background-dim-100 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-white-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-89a408d17a1f0cd4eccf14fd0888163a\">How women&#8217;s feet differ to men&#8217;s:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-de8a02e420509b85281ef608096ac069\">Higher arch<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-e686d8e2329fa2da29ed33ab392ce460\">Shallower big toe<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-c2202724c896db4dd0c597a9a4946e80\">Wider forefoot<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-a66fe879a7e2f1adac4e26a60ea138c8\">Smaller instep circumference<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-deb3b22ed9af871c730f1445e4b49038\">Narrower heel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The BBC Sport research also revealed many female athletes suffer with discomfort and sometimes injury due to the lack of equipment and sportswear designed solely for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dame Laura Kenny discussed this on <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/WONCx#selection-3125.264-3125.498\">The Telegraph\u2019s Women\u2019s Sport Podcast<\/a> about the pain which wearing men\u2019s cycling shorts has caused her and how women\u2019s shorts weren\u2019t created until recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI find it mad that it took until then, 2016 is not that long ago really\u201d, said Kenny, \u201cThe amount of female cyclists that must have passed through the system, that have had to have operations because the kit was based around men rather than women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This lack of variety in sportswear for women can have a negative impact on <a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/11\/18\/women-worry-about-running-alone-and-seek-groups-to-run-with-as-nights-get-darker\/\">female athlete\u2019s<\/a> performance and confidence. \u201cIf you\u2019re uncomfortable, you\u2019re not going to focus properly\u201d, said personal-trainer,  Aktar, \u201cImagine running or working out and having to adjust your clothes every few minutes-that\u2019s so distracting!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>It\u2019s like we\u2019re always compromising on something<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A call for change<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>To address the issue, it is evident that the sportswear industry needs to change. \u201cI think brands need to do better by listening to us\u201d, explained Aktar, \u201cThey should work with women!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lolli Lifting is leading the way in this movement, offering stylish and functional equipment with the aim to empower women and perform at their best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe want women to feel confident in the gym, so we design equipment especially for them\u201d, said Wooldridge, \u201cWe do not want gym girls to have to settle with things designed for men.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe industry is currently doing a much better job of catering to female athletes than ten years ago\u201d, explained the business owner, \u201cHowever, on the equipment side of the market, there remains a lot to be desired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wooldridge hopes to see more products designed specifically for women in the future, \u201crather than having to make do with equipment designed for men, which is both less comfortable and less stylish.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignright is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"sbi-embed-wrap\"><blockquote class=\"instagram-media sbi-embed\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DD2Gx4mson1\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DD2Gx4mson1\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DD2Gx4mson1\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Mia Wilson (@miajjourno)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote><script async src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Cardiff based personal trainer and weightlifting business have highlighted the need for better sport gear that&#8217;s specifically made for women For female athletes, the pursuit of sporting excellence often comes with unexpected obstacles like ill-fitting sportswear and uncomfortable equipment. &#8216;Men and women are not built the same, as such the equipment that they use should reflect this&#8217;, explained Lucy Wooldridge, the founder of Lolli Lifting. Lolli Lifting is a sportswear company, looking to revolutionise the fitness gear market for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1202,"featured_media":70286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7087],"tags":[203,401,5999,1627],"coauthors":[8077],"class_list":["post-70282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-life","category-long-reads","tag-cardiff","tag-sport","tag-weightlifting","tag-women"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Men and women are not built the same&#039;: fighting for female fitness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cardiff-based company, Lolli Lifting is working to address the specific needs of women weightlifters by selling female-only equipment\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Men and women are not built the same&#039;: fighting for female fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cardiff-based company, Lolli Lifting is working to address the specific needs of women weightlifters by selling female-only equipment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-29T16:54:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-06T18:28:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mia Wilson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mia Wilson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/\",\"name\":\"'Men and women are not built the same': fighting for female fitness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-29T16:54:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-06T18:28:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/f0ee381e0d5e4e03fc0419eee9bcaaf4\"},\"description\":\"Cardiff-based company, Lolli Lifting is working to address the specific needs of women weightlifters by selling female-only equipment\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1440},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"&#8216;Men and women are not built the same&#8217;: Fighting for female-friendly fitness gear\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\",\"name\":\"alt.cardiff\",\"description\":\"If it\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\u2019s online here.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/f0ee381e0d5e4e03fc0419eee9bcaaf4\",\"name\":\"Mia Wilson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f9f7475264996165fed89010a081f148\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/10\/avatar_user_1202_1729001133-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/10\/avatar_user_1202_1729001133-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Mia Wilson\"},\"description\":\"Mia Wilson is a trainee journalist on the MA Magazine Journalism course at Cardiff University.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/miajjourno\/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet\",\"www.linkedin.com\/in\/mia-wilson-699a19281\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/author\/wilsonmj8\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Men and women are not built the same': fighting for female fitness","description":"Cardiff-based company, Lolli Lifting is working to address the specific needs of women weightlifters by selling female-only equipment","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Men and women are not built the same': fighting for female fitness","og_description":"Cardiff-based company, Lolli Lifting is working to address the specific needs of women weightlifters by selling female-only equipment","og_url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/","og_site_name":"alt.cardiff","article_published_time":"2024-12-29T16:54:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-06T18:28:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mia Wilson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mia Wilson","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/","name":"'Men and women are not built the same': fighting for female fitness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2024-12-29T16:54:42+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-06T18:28:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/f0ee381e0d5e4e03fc0419eee9bcaaf4"},"description":"Cardiff-based company, Lolli Lifting is working to address the specific needs of women weightlifters by selling female-only equipment","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/LolliLifting-1-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1440},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2024\/12\/29\/men-and-women-are-not-built-the-same-fighting-for-female-friendly-fitness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"&#8216;Men and women are not built the same&#8217;: Fighting for female-friendly fitness gear"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/","name":"alt.cardiff","description":"If it\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\u2019s online here.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/f0ee381e0d5e4e03fc0419eee9bcaaf4","name":"Mia Wilson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f9f7475264996165fed89010a081f148","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/10\/avatar_user_1202_1729001133-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/10\/avatar_user_1202_1729001133-96x96.jpg","caption":"Mia Wilson"},"description":"Mia Wilson is a trainee journalist on the MA Magazine Journalism course at Cardiff University.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/miajjourno\/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet","www.linkedin.com\/in\/mia-wilson-699a19281"],"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/author\/wilsonmj8\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70282"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70411,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70282\/revisions\/70411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70282"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=70282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}