Changing the Channel

What a difference a year makes!  It's been just over a year since I left my big-nationwide-chain health club and joined my current gym.  This morning, as I walked back to my office after my workout, I passed ye old health club.  It was packed.  Every single piece of cardio equipment that I could see through the streetside windows was occupied. 

Now, rewind to my earlier workout - the gym was also pretty packed.  In fact, I had to wait to use the assisted chin/dip station once I was done with my squats, lunges and bench.  Biggest differences were that the treadmills, steppers and recumbant bikes were mostly empty, and I was one of perhaps 3 women training during the typical lunchtime rush.

A friend asked me why I thought there were so few women at my gym - my response, while a bit tongue in cheek is most likely accurate: because there are no personal televisions at each cardio machine.

I totally understand, too.  Unless it's an intense interval workout, I can't stand to do "cardio" unless I'm in front of the boob tube.  At home, my Tivo is my best friend while I'm on the treadmill.  I can read while on a bike or a stepper, but give me television if I'm running indoors or slaving away on the elliptical :)  But as much as I enjoyed the personal TVs at my old gym, I had to leave.  It was virtually impossible to get a decent lifting workout.  And in the long run, that was more important to me than keeping up with daytime television. 

Which leaves me wondering how I (we) can get more women under a barbell, rather than devoting all their energy on "burning calories" or the next biggest new-age studio workout (ps, I love yoga, but I hate when yoga studios advertise how many calories you're burning.  Oy.).

Any suggestions?