If you are a woman who lifts weights, chances are pretty high that somewhere along the line, someone has given you their unsolicited opinion of what you should and shouldn't be doing in your pursuit of strength. These comments can be cringeworthy and are part of a much larger problem that dissuades women from strength training despite all of the benefits that we know are out there.

Key Takeaways

If You Want To Be A Champion for Other Women, You Should:

1. Find a support system of people who get you and want to celebrate your wins
2. Don’t be afraid or doubt yourself when it comes to your strength training goals
3. Remember all of the benefits of strength training and the positives that it can bring to your life

You Are Not Alone in This

So many of us get these ridiculous comments along our strength training journey. That we should be worried about getting ‘too big’, that we won't appear ‘feminine’, or that we will hurt ourselves. Being aware that there are always people out there who say stupid shit is important, but these belittling comments can stop women from strength training and reaping the multiple health benefits and quality of life improvements.

This is why having a support system, whether it is virtual or in person, is so important on this journey. There are people out there that want to celebrate your wins with you and encourage you to keep going; you just have to find them.

Listen to Your Inner Badass

Did you know that only 1 in 5 women meet the recommended guidelines for muscle strengthening and cardiovascular activity? If we could put more weights in the hands of women and help them feel ready for the strength training journey, the benefits would be endless. This is why these comments matter. The negative comments that women in my community have received defy both science and logic.

Please, don't give in to the ridiculous things people say. This is your life and body, and the badass in you who wants to lift weights and get stronger is the voice you should listen to.

Are you ready to be your own champion and stop letting the haters get you down? Share the most ridiculous unsolicited advice you have received with me in the comments section of the episode page.

In This Episode

• The inspiration behind our conversation in this episode (4:08)
  Some of the unsolicited ridiculous things people in my community have been told about lifting (10:05)
• Why you need to have awareness around people saying stupid shit (16:00)
• Why women getting talked out of strength training is a massive problem (19:06)
• The importance of being your own champion in a society that has not caught up (22:27)

Quotes

“I think it is important that we know about women out there breaking records and doing cool shit and saying hey, I can be strong and amazing at what I do.” (6:05)

“There is this interesting dynamic that is not just when a woman describes that she wants to exercise, buts it’s the kind of exercise that we applaud.” (13:35)

“When I hear this, it really annoys me, because I know there are women out there who get talked out of or start to doubt, and they stop strength training, or they never even begin.” (18:52)

“We know that there is so much evidence for why muscle strengthening, strength training, resistance training, that's adequate to produce the response we need for our bodies. That it's adequately loaded, that it's progressively loaded, doing it in a smart way, we know that this has benefits.” (20:53)

“Doing this alone can be extremely isolating. It is very easy to start second-guessing yourself. It is very easy to let the naysayers get you down or talk you out of this. It is very easy to succumb to the pressures around you of what you should and shouldn't be doing. And it is really lonely when no one gets you.” (23:50)

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