Women Who Lift
Lifting Up Women: Finding Strength in the Weight Room
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In recent years, more women have traded the treadmill for the barbell. With it comes the challenge of rewiring their brains to embrace their strength. Photo by: Abigail Weaver.
From First Glance:
Lifting weights is traditionally seen as a male sport,
yet that couldn’t be more wrong. In North America, studies
show that the misconception often causes many women to
feel uncomfortable or judged when entering the weights
section of the gym or performing exercises considered
counter-normative.
Strength-based exercises have a multitude of benefits that are often left out of the conversation. Many other studies show a positive correlation between weight-bearing exercises and overall health in a variety of ways like:
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Increasing protection of muscle and bone density as you age.
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Improving metabolism and body composition.
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Elevating mood and energy levels by releasing endorphins that improve self-esteem and confidence.
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Lowering the risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.
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Strengthening and protecting cognitive function.
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Lowering the risk of injury or disability.
While highly beneficial, entering the weights section of the gym is still one of the most difficult tasks at hand for women. Three women spoke on their experiences entering the weight room, and the misconceptions they had to tackle along the way.
Learning how to use equipment properly can deter many women from ever trying.
Photos by: Abigail Weaver.
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A New View:
Abigail Mathis is a Colorado State University student studying biomedical science with a concentration in pre-veterinary medicine. She first started lifting back in high school when a friend invited her to the gym. Since then, Mathis has seen benefits aplenty.
Living with chronic health conditions, lifting has provided Mathis an outlet for both mind and body. Something that's beneficial in many other aspects of life, whether she's rock climbing or horseback riding. Mathis is proud of the strength she's come into, but that's not to say it was easy to start.
Strength training provides benefits in many other forms of recreation and improves self-esteem and confidence outside of the gym. Photos Courtesy of Abigail Mathis.
Besides battling these stereotypes from both men and other women, Mathis noted another phenomenon many women in the gym relate to. Often, women will wear a facial expression meant to keep away unwanted attention, but, that can also become a barrier towards forming connections. Mathis is guilty of the same.
"I get so into my routine and focus on what I'm doing that I'll sometimes forget to talk to the girl who's there who looks kind of lost or looks really uncomfortable," Mathis said.
To Mathis, it can be rare to find another woman who enjoys lifting. But when she does, a quick friendship can be formed just by taking the time to compliment or help someone. There's a mutual comradery that forms when women support other women and Mathis hopes to see it grow even more.
"I'd say that's a lot of what pulled me in was finding other women who lifted and finding that community," Mathis said.
Challenging the Online Perspective:
Shannon Meinardus is a personal trainer and online coach in California who uses her expertise and humor to present herself on social media. Currently, she has around 192,400 followers on TikTok, around 20,000 on Instagram, and a little over 700 on YouTube.
Meinardus started seriously posting on social media in 2020 hoping to use her knowledge and humor to add some realism into the world of online fitness. At first, when her page focused on results and aesthetics, a majority of her followers were men. But when Meinardus shifted away from that mentality, she gained more female and gender-nonconforming people in the majority.
“The moment I stopped fixating on my body and making it about, again, my external appearance, was the moment that switch flipped,” Meinardus said.
Choosing not to fixate on aesthetics and instead learning how to improve a person’s health for the long term is when Meinardus sees progress get made among her clients, and herself. Taking chances and being willing to make mistakes is often the biggest hurdle to overcome when entering the gym. But when a client comes in and does the work consistently with an open mentality, that’s where things shift for the better.
Meinardus teaches people how to lift and do so correctly as a way of ensuring they can continue exercising healthily in the future. Photos Courtesy of Shannon Meinardus.
Using her online presence, Meinardus enjoys putting educational and humorous content out to help destigmatize many views about lifting or gym culture. However, that’s not to say it’s easy. A lot of truth can get lost in the shuffle with so many influencers on social media sharing their diet, exercise, and health tips.
Watching clients grow in confidence and strength is something Meinardus is always proud of. Photos Courtesy of Shannon Meinardus.
“It’s really discouraging when I see people blow up so fast,” she said. “And the stuff that they post, it’s not really giving helpful information – it’s actually harmful. Or they’re giving just their personal experience instead of considering the individual.”
Nevertheless, Meinardus continues to work on producing content she’s proud of in the most authentic and honest way possible. Whether that's mobility and form tips or blooper reels, she's working to change the way people view the gym.
“This stuff really helps feed into all facets of life,” Meinardus said.
She's determined to help others see that too.
Ever Learning, Ever Teaching:
Everyone has their own comfort levels with the gym. It's about finding what environment works best for you that is key. Photos by: Abigail Weaver.
Laura Kness-Torrez has been lifting and training for about 25 years.
When she first started, it was a heavily male dominated field, but that
failed to deter her. Falling in love with feeling and looking strong,
Kness-Torrez turned that into a career as a personal trainer at Work Out West while teaching kinesiology, health and wellness, and an introductory personal training course at Aims Community College in Greeley, Colorado.
That’s not to say everything was easy going from the start. While strength-
training helped heal her relationship with food and increase confidence, participating in bodybuilding competitions led to a backslide of mentality because of the sport's culture.
“I loved the process, but I never really found a place where I was comfortable in the competition world,” she said.
Leaving the bodybuilding world didn’t mean she left the gym. Rather, Kness-Torrez uses her experience and knowledge to help guide other women in the gym. One area of guidance is with nutrition.
“I really have a passion for helping young women have a better relationship with food,” she said.
Just recently, Kness-Torrez spoke with a local girls’ soccer team about the importance of nutrition and having a good relationship with food. There’s this preconception women have that less is more, which makes proper nutrition difficult for many and often leads Kness-Torrez to retrain people’s thoughts on eating.
With clients and students alike, Kness-Torrez strives to meet people where they’re at and help them move forward from there. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, it's about finding what connects for you.
The Common Thread:
Mathis, Meinardus, and Kness-Torrez are just three people within an ever-growing group of women who lift. Regardless of differences, all three agree on the benefits that transcend physical health. Most importantly, all three have a hope to destigmatize the weight room so more women can join the community and do so confidently.
Lifting and strength training doesn't mean having to sacrifice femininity for strength. Photo courtesy of Laura Kness-Torrez.