“I (30F) met this guy (28M) in January and he became my BF in February. Comes March, the world goes down the drain and we decided to move in together for the time of the pandemic.
Everything was great. In the morning, we have this routine where he browses Reddit and gives me the highlights. A few weeks ago, he shows me a post where this guy is challenged to an arm wrestling competition by his GF. The guy didn’t seem to have any sort of training/work out whereas his GF did. I commented he might have a surprise.
My BF started educating me on biology and how men are stronger than women. I told him there were way too many factors to take into consideration to make such a broad comment. I have been doing weightlifting for 2 years and my BF has never seen a gym in his life, so I used us as an example. That was a BIG mistake.
He got really defensive and condescending, and made comments like “That’s cute.” I just let it go. Fast forward to yesterday. He’s playing some game with his friend (online) and I can clearly hear him talk about me. Well curiosity killed the cat. At first it’s all pretty and my ego is bursting, but then he says I’m delusional because I think I’m stronger than him. Pause. “Seriously? I know I’m weak but not weaker than a girl.”
So later, I decide to call him on his BS. I asked him if he wanted to come workout with me the next day (this morning) so he can show me how strong he is. He accepted and I was happy because I had been dying to bring him and initiate him to something I’m passionate about.
So, this morning, we went to my friend’s (27M) garage (my region allows groups of 10 or less and we wipe everything). I told him we’re gonna do deadlifts. It’s my favorite exercise and I was already planning to test my personal best so it was perfect.
My friend was there cause he corrects my form and it’s been our Sunday ritual since Covid-19. We started light and slowly worked our way up, doing the same number of reps as the other. Comes 185, his form starts to crumble so we made him go lighter. But 185 really isn’t that much for me so I kept stacking the plates. He looked very supportive and impressed the whole time. I ended up beating my personal best at 265. I was ecstatic and so were they.
When we got in the car, he was very silent. I assumed he was just tired. We got home and that’s when he exploded and asked me if I was proud of myself.
Apparently, I humiliated him in front of my friend. I apologized. I didn’t realize he was feeling that way. He got angry and said it really changed the way he saw me, like I’m less of a woman now. He stormed to the basement.
I started collecting my things, but now I’m wondering if I should have been reading between the lines and stopped at 190 or something. Or just dropped it and never suggested we workout together? I knew very well I was stronger than him but I just had to prove it to him. AITA?
So, the boyfriend first mansplained to his girlfriend why all men are stronger than all women, and he refused to believe that she could have a point when she expressed her doubts. Keep in mind that she has been working out for 2 years, and he hasn’t stepped in a gym, so, naturally, she lifted way more weight than him.
The giant baby of a boyfriend got angry and he’s now not talking to his girlfriend. Wow – such a mature response! Expectedly, the people of Reddit agreed that she did absolutely nothing wrong here, and that her boyfriend is one fragile child of a man.