Only a few months ago, Katie Landes never would have even considered going to a gym to lift weights.
It can be an intimidating environment, especially as a woman with little experience on how to bench press a barbell or use the proper technique to deadlift.
“If you go to a gym, there’s a lot of guys who are lifting, like, 200 pounds, and you feel kind of silly,” Landes said.
But now, she’s come to "love it" and consistently lifts weights in the mornings twice a week, she told The Daily Progress while cooling down after a "community lift" on a warm evening in June in Charlottesville’s Belmont neighborhood.
What’s changed her mind? The Strength Initiative.
Founded by Dr. Evelyn Frazier, a developmental pediatric physician, the Strength Initiative is not only boosting women’s health and wellness, but their confidence in the gym.
“The whole mission is to remove the barriers so that women feel really empowered to lift weights, create a really comfortable community where they’re welcome and they want to keep coming back and to improve their lives and longevity,” Frazier told The Daily Progress.
Today, women ranging in age from their early 30s to mid-70s are taking advantage of the Strength Initiative’s pay-what-you-can classes. Frazier transformed the space at 232 Douglas Ave. in Charlottesville’s Belmont neighborhood adjacent to her medical practice, Pathways Development Pediatrics, into the headquarters and workout space for her new nonprofit group.
Taught by the initiative’s “strength for seniors specialist” Eve Hesselroth, the intiative’s “Strength is Ageless” three-week program is available for women over the age of 55. Hesselroth focuses on incorporating balance and stability work along with the basics of lifting for her current four-person class with an average age of 74.
“It’s really impressive seeing these almost-80-year-old women under a barbell,” Frazier said.
Younger women can sign up for small-group courses on the fundamentals of strength training, or “strength progression,” to level up in terms of weight and workouts. Frazier brought on Julia Moschella, a local exercise physiologist, to develop and lead those programs.
For women just getting into strength training, one factor that is just as important as good form is a supportive community, Frazier said.
To facilitate that social component, the Strength Initiative has also launched “Movement & Mocktails,” a free-of-charge, open-to-all strength class that includes post-workout refreshments and a chance to connect with other activity-minded women. There have been two so far, in May and June, at the Mockingbird’s recently opened Birdcage patio space, located conveniently above the Strength Initiative’s real estate.
More than a dozen women — most of whom were new to the Strength Initiative as well as one another — attended the June 12 Movement & Mocktails, where Moschella paired and coached them through a couple circuits of four separate strength exercises.
“The research shows that the No. 1 reason why women continue to strength train is actually that sense of community,” said Frazier. “Letting women know that you can just come as you are and it’s never too late to get started, we’re going to make sure it’s safe and that you progress and that you’re not wasting your time here.”
When she was coming up with the idea for the initiative, Frazier took a deep dive into studies conducted on women’s involvement in exercise. She found that only about 20% of all adult women in the U.S. participated in muscle-strengthening workouts at least twice a week.
Statistically, women tend to be more drawn to other forms of physical activity, such as high-intensity interval training, Pilates and yoga. This is partly because businesses that offer those programs specifically target women.
But there are other underlying causes.
“I read some research studies, and they literally talk about women afraid to cross the line from that kind of cardio zone to the heavier weights,” Frazier said. “A really welcoming and supportive environment seems to be a huge factor for women, both what I see and also in the research that plays out.”
Strength training can be cost-prohibitive for newcomers who might want to join a small group or find a personal trainer to learn about safe and proper training techniques. Additionally, Frazier pointed out that women may be dissuaded by the idea of intentionally increasing muscle mass, specifically in the upper body, due to societal pressure on women worrying them about “becoming bulky.”
“We know that weight loss is not actually a measure of health and can be ultimately really damaging long term,” said Frazier. “So focusing on strength … has been shown to be a much healthier and actually more effective way of getting to all the goals that I think ultimately these women want, which is just to feel good in their bodies, look good in their clothes and have the ability to do the things that they want in life.”
Studies also show that women can experience three times the physical benefits of strength training compared to men, not only in terms of muscle mass but also cardiovascular and bone health, diabetes prevention, longevity and cognitive wellness.
This becomes particularly important for women in their late 30s and 40s who may be experiencing symptoms of perimenopause, during which the natural decrease in estrogen can result in a decline in bone density. Frazier said a large number of women who have signed up for the Strength Initiative fall in this age range and have shared that, if not for Frazier’s group, they “otherwise would not be strength training, which is one of our huge goals.”
Currently, the Strength Initiative is relying on financial support from individual donors and business sponsorships. Frazier is waiting to hear back on several grants she has applied for that, if approved, could allow the organization to expand into a larger facility in the future.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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