If the only reason you’ve been told to go to the gym is to change your body…

We need to talk.

For a long time, women have been sold the idea that the main (or only) reason to exercise is to change how their bodies look.

Lose weight.
Get smaller.
Tone up.
Burn calories.

And yes, your body might change when you train. But that doesn’t have to be the point.

There is so much more you can get from strength training.

You get to feel strong.

You don’t have to become obsessed with fitness.

You don’t need to train every day.

I just think more women deserve to know what it feels like to be strong.

TBH, it’s actually fun.

You get to hang out with the girls and pick up heavy shit. That should be reason enough.

You develop a skill.

You’re not just “doing a workout.”

You’re learning how to move, lift and train your body.

You learn how to squat, hinge, press, pull, carry and lift. You learn how to challenge yourself and gradually get better.

There’s something pretty fucking cool about developing a skill and realising you’re capable of more than you thought.

You have something measurable to work towards.

You can literally watch yourself get stronger.

The weight that once felt heavy becomes your warm-up.

You add another rep.

You add another 2.5kg to the bar.

You nail a movement that you’ve been working on for months.

Your progress becomes about what your body can do, rather than whether it looks different in the mirror.

Strength changes how you experience your body, not just how it looks.

You start carrying things differently.

Moving differently.

Trusting yourself more.

You become more confident in what your body can do.

And that carries over into everyday life.

Carrying the groceries.
Moving furniture.
Picking something up off the floor.
Trying something new.

Your body becomes something you can do things with, rather than something you constantly need to change.

And it matters as we get older.

Building and maintaining muscle and strength becomes increasingly important as we age.

Not because we’re trying to stay young forever.

Because we want to maintain the ability to live our lives.

To carry our own bags.
Get up and down from the floor.
Travel.
Play with our kids or grandkids.
Feel physically capable.

You don’t need to train every day.

You don’t need to lift enormous weights.

You don’t need to make fitness your entire personality.

But you do deserve to experience what it feels like to get stronger.

So if you’ve only ever been told to go to the gym because you need to change your body, maybe it’s time to look at training a little differently.

Your body isn’t a problem that needs fixing.

It is the thing you get to live your life in.

And getting stronger is one pretty fucking cool way to take care of it.

♡ Coach Jem x