If you've been reading from the start, you'll know that I started this Journal as I began learning about strength training myself. I was too intimidated to go to the gym, so I looked online to see if there were any strength training programmes for beginners, which only left me more confused.
Instead, I recently joined a circuits class as a way to get some strength training in without having to work it all out myself. Although I feel stronger after each class, there's one thing I keep wondering: am I actually getting stronger? I don't really know how to tell.
I suspect many women feel something similar. You might already be exercising regularly, but still wonder whether you're getting the benefits you want from it. Or perhaps you've been thinking about strength training for a while, but simply don't know where to begin.
Research on barriers to strength training in women has found "poor knowledge of strength training" and "difficulty balancing work and family life" among the reasons women don't start or don't stick with it. Sometimes it's not that you don't want to do it, you just don't have the time to sort out where to begin.
For some, a single session with a physiotherapist or qualified trainer, or a beginners' class, can be enough to take away a lot of the uncertainty around what to do and how to do it.
And as for knowing whether it's working, I'm still working this out myself. For now, I'm trying to notice the things I do in everyday life that feel a little easier than they used to. There may be a better way to track progress, and I'll share what I discover as I go.
This whole question of making it easier to start is part of what's behind something I'm exploring at the moment: a small half-day experience here in Sitges, focused on strength, movement and connecting with other women.
It's still taking shape, but I'd love to create a morning where women can move, learn, ask questions and spend time with others who are also interested in feeling strong and well for the long term.
More on that when it's ready.
More soon.
Next time: why so many women feel unwelcome or judged in gym spaces, and what a different kind of exercise environment could look like.
