If you’re here, I’m going to assume you already know strength training is important.
For most women I work with, that’s not the problem.
The problem is the picture they have in their head of what strength training actually looks like.
Usually it looks something like:
A gym.
Machines.
Lycra.
An hour they don’t have.
Feeling behind before they even begin.
So it shouldn’t have been a surprise to me that the post I shared on instagram this week went (my version of) viral.
It was a 7 second video of me doing a workout with the heading:
“Friendly reminder, the strength training you’ve been putting off actually just looks like 10mins with a set of dumbbells in your living room”
But it did surprise me. Because I’d forgotten about all of the beliefs that come up when I ask women about strength training.
For example:
What does strength training actually look like in your head?
Because if the image is a loud gym, complicated machines, and people watching you… of course it feels overwhelming.
How long do you believe a workout has to be before it “counts”?
Because if your minimum is 45 minutes, you’ll dismiss the 10 minutes you actually had available.
Do you believe you need a gym to do this properly?
A lot of women do.
But strength training can genuinely look like a bit of floor space, a pair of dumbbells, and a simple plan you can repeat often enough to get stronger.
The gym version isn’t automatically better. It’s just louder.
Do you think you need to get fitter before you start lifting weights?
This one is more common than it should be. As though strength training is the reward for already being fit enough.
It’s not. It’s one of the ways you get there.
Do you believe you need someone watching you to do it “right”?
Women underestimate their ability to learn movement.
Body awareness is a skill (just like learning a language or how to make sourdough)
Confidence doesn’t appear before you begin. It builds through repetition.
If you’re someone who hasn’t started or are doubting what you’re already doing – whichever question made you pause a little while reading this is probably the real obstacle.
Not your age.
Not your body.
Not a lack of discipline.
Just a version of strength training in your head that was never the one I was talking about.
The version I want more women to experience looks a lot more ordinary.
A bit of floor space.
A pair of dumbbells.
Ten intentional, well-structured minutes.
Done consistently enough that your body starts trusting you again.