Why females should never be held back from expressing their potential in the lifting space
Weight training is such a vessel for self-growth. For many women the gym may be a hobby that derives from self-loathing, a need to set rules and restrictions that involve expending energy and controlling their physique. However, for those who start to navigate through the weights section, and in particular expressing maximal physical strength, it becomes a space where the aesthetic results become a secondary benefit, where the focus and energy shift towards becoming stronger than you were yesterday.
From a strength standpoint we are so capable of lifting way more than we realise as females, and internally it provides so many health benefits. Prior to entering the gym environment, we simply haven’t tapped into that potential. Traditionally females have taken on roles as caregivers and beauty pedestals. We have not been able to express a power that is physically beneficial to our wellbeing. The stigmas and normalised feminine ways of being have held us back for as long as time can remember.
From a health standpoint the benefits of gaining muscle mass, bone density (preventing osteoporosis), and improving energy regulation only scratch the surface. Improving posture and balance, sleep quality and enhancing quality of cognitive thinking skills. Preventing muscular and joint injuries, heart conditions, dementia, diabetes and certain cancers.
From a mental health standpoint, many females, myself included, have stories of how entering the training space continually enables them to find more parts of themselves, has improved their resilience to life, been an outlet in the hardest times, and has grown to be an abundant forever growing self-development tool. The sheer powerful nature of proving your capabilities, escaping gender preconceived norms, and proving to yourself just how strong mental power is is enough to be intrigued.
And the amazing part? Training with weights has no age restrictions, no age at which lifting weights cannot negatively impact your health, but in fact advance it to great degrees both mentally and physically. There will of course be limitations to your abilities within volume and intensity of your training schedule based around prior injury, current strength levels and any heath conditions that carry consequences. However, strength training is also often the facilitator to growing strength from a rehab perspective, that gives you your foundational health back.
Words cannot describe how incredible it is for females to be able to claim their power and potential in the weights area, but you will never know until you enter that self-growth space to see where it takes your unique self, with unique needs.
Hi, my name is Kim. I am a qualified sports scientist, personal trainer, specialist in eating disorder and body image recovery, an avid powerlifter and strength enthusiast. I have been working coaching females over the course of 6 years to find themselves intentionally in the strength training space, to feel more powerful, train smarter not harder, escape body image and dieting culture, and live harmoniously within their minds and bodies.
If you would like further insight and educational resources, my instagram is seasalt_and_strength. You may also find some clarity and education (because I know the fitness space can be quite overwhelming and misinformed), via my podcast “breaking beliefs and building physiques” on Spotify.
I know you are ready to find yourself and level up, even if you don’t feel like it yet 🔥✨
