How lifting weights changed my life 😌

💭 Things I need to hear… Part #1
I remember my brother always telling me the importance of lifting weights, especially for women, and for those who have osteoporosis in the family. Of course I didn’t listen to him at the time because I was scared of getting “bulky” and “too muscular” as a dancer, and I didn’t understand (or really value) the physiological benefits that lifting weights can have for women, or anybody for that matter. I really started to take strength training seriously during the pandemic as a way to diversify my movement practice (up until then I was only really dancing & running occasionally), and can honestly say it has changed my health, my entire relationship to my body, food, physical well-being, and confidence since then.
Strength training has taught me how to take things slower, to move with intentional focus (and not just doing to do), to appreciate my strength and not shy away from gaining muscle. It has helped me focus on building a foundation for life, establishing healthy movement patterns & increasing functionality to be able and ready to do anything. It has taught me how to embrace my body, to fuel properly, to welcome growth & change in myself and feel good about it too. There were so many years I spent doing things for the expectations of others, reducing myself to fit into the molds of society and neglect what I really wanted out of life. In a strange way, and as someone who processes things kinetically, strength training has given me back my voice, my desires, my body, my mind, a life that feels like mine again and that I’ve had to build up from the hardest of places. It’s not about lifting weights itself, it’s about what it signifies and the dedication it takes to rebuilding yourself, your confidence, despite what life throws at you.
If I could tell my younger self anything, it would be: don’t be afraid of lifting some iron. It’ll make you stronger literally, mentally, and emotionally. Your brother was right on this one.
#wellnesswednesday #liftingweights #strongwomen #strengthtraining