Empower Personal Training
Women on Weights Workshop Recap
First of all a big thank-you to everyone who attended! We had a much higher than expected turnout, and got a lot done. (Special thanks to Tom for helping me out in coaching some of the lifts, wouldn’t have been able to get around to everyone without you!)
If you didn’t get a chance to make it out, fear not! Below we’ll recap some of what we went over in the workshop.
Perception of Female Lifters – We went over what primarily comes to mind when most people imagine female weight lifters – female bodybuilders. We then went over various types of female lifters: Not only bodybuilders, but also powerlifters, olympic lifters, general athletes and those who lift just to maintain their strength and bone density, as well as explained how very normal all of these types of women looked. Some specific examples were given were Sarah Bertram from USA Weightlifting and Jennifer Thompson, a competitive Powerlifter who lives in North Carolina herself!
Weight Class – 152lbs, Best Competition Snatch & Clean and Jerk – 193 & 235lbs, respectively
Weight Class – 132lbs, Best Competition Squat, Bench and Deadlift – 315lbs, 293lbs and 419lbs, respectively
How Women’s Fitness is portrayed and marketed – How did the “weightlifting makes women bulky” myth come around in the first place? We went over examples of how fitness is marketed to women, such as in fitness magazines and commercials for fitness products. What do the terms that you see on magazine covers (tone, sculpt, firm, lift) really mean? They’re all the same thing – losing fat and gaining muscle; exactly what men do when they work out, except men’s magazines use different terms: ripped, cut, bulk, swole, etc.
Benefits of Weightlifting – Not only the physical benefits, but the mental ones as well! Lifting HEAVY weights is the best way to prevent osteoporosis, build up bone density and build or prevent the muscle loss that both men and women see in their later years. As well, we talked about the kind of confidence that becoming strong can build – the kind that can only come from knowing that you are capable of much more than you may have thought before and don’t need to depend on anyone to get things done for you.
Warm-Ups for Heavy Lifting – As all Empower clients should know, warm-ups are very important to do before a workout! We did a series of lower-body dynamic stretches to help open up the hips and loosen the quads, calves and hamstrings. This is imperative before performing moves such as squat or deadlift!
Practical Demonstrations – We went over 4 different basic strength training moves:
1) Box Squat
2)Deadlift
3)Bench Press
4) Overhead Press
And spent the rest of the workshop practicing each of these! Tom and myself were on hand to answer questions and correct form.
I had a GREAT time working with everyone who attended. Thanks again to all of you, and feel free to email me with any questions! (katwhitfield@becomepowerful.com)
Kat Whitfield
BS, NASM-CPT