When I was growing up, it seemed like women had their own special forms of exercise that were different than men’s. We had Jazzercise and Jane Fonda (and then yoga and pilates) and they had the weight room. You had to be brave to venture in there.
Now we know better.
Women need strength training.
I took my first kettlebell training in 2018. I had been picking up weights in the gym and I found I really liked the flowing nature of the kettlebell. Fast forward to lockdown and the first thing I did was go buy a couple of 20lb kettlebells.
Best decision ever.
Here is why…
It made me feel physically capable.
It feels good to be independent; for instance I can hoist my tires into the back of my car to get them changed for spring and not need to ask my son for help.
Reduced aches and pains and injuries.
My body has greater resilience and capacity, I don’t ache from a long hike or injure myself turning and twisting the ‘wrong’ way.
Mental and Emotional resilience.
Strength training has helped me mentally and emotionally as well. Exercise in general helps with mental health but strength training has improved my confidence.
Greater muscle mass = a higher metabolism.
They say we start to lose muscle mass in our 30’s and by the time we are in our 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, we risk becoming frail and all that goes with that like decreased bone density and lack of strength to even perform the basic tasks of daily living.
Improved motor control and brain function are also a benefit of strength training.
So strength training is amazing but the real question is how do you get started? Especially if you have not exercised in a while or you have previous injuries?
The good news is that you don’t need a gym membership or a personal trainer to get started. You don’t even need to leave your home. It is possible to build strength and improve muscle tone from home. You just need to know what to do.
That is why I created Strength 101.
It is a beginners course to learn to strength train at home. This course will do more than get you started, it will give you the skills and confidence to train at home OR the gym long after the course is over.
Here is what you can expect if you join
- 6 online live classes
- Check in emails each week with information about strength training
- Video tutorials of the exercises
- Recordings of all the classes
- PDFs of the exercises
Enrollment is limited so I can give everyone lots of feed back on your form and technique.
This is what one participant said about the course
“I have really enjoyed the classes—everything seemed just right to me. I like the way you layer the moves in your teaching—everything builds slowly/gradually and so I can do the harder things more easily.”