Sunny San Diego was the backdrop for the first Women’s Strength Nation LIVE event April 10 – 12, 2024 and Diets In Review was there every step of the way. The kickoff was part of the launch of Westin Hotel and Resort’s new Westin Wellness Escapes, a series of weekend-long events devoted to helping you live your best life, even on vacation.
Hosted by celebrity personal trainer and fitness expert Holly Perkins, CSCS, the weekend was full of enlightening information to equip women with everything we need to walk into the weight room, confident and ready to work.
The mission of Women’s Strength Nation is to improve the ratio of women to men in the weight room. In order to do that, WSN provides you will all the tools you need to confidently walk into the gym and crush it every single time. Using strength training as a metaphor for building strength inside and out, we learned that in order to illicit change, you must have adversity. Like your muscles, you must be torn down before you can be built back up. When met with resistance and adversity, either in terms of weight vs. your muscles, or life vs. you, in the words of Holly Perkins herself “how you show up for this is how you show up for everything.”
Through individual and group exercises, group workouts, workshops and lectures, we learned the indisputable science that supports strength training’s affects not only on the body, but also the mind. We learned how a woman should train differently than a man, despite the fact that all the information out there is written for a man and a man’s body.
With so many takeaways from the weekend, it’s hard to choose which to highlight. Here are just a few nuggets of wisdom:
EMBRACE CHANGE
Change, positive or negative, is the biggest stressor: marriage is stressful the same way divorce is and a promotion is as stressful as a job loss. Our bodies crave homeostasis, to keep the status quo. Everything in our beings wants us to stay the same. The purpose of fear is to maintain that homeostasis. Whether in the gym or in your life, your body will naturally resist. To overcome, just breathe, acknowledge this, and do it anyway.
WOMEN CAN BULK
The women can’t bulk myth was busted. Rejoin, easy gainers! Women can bulk (if they want!) — it just takes a very specific physiology and/or a specific type of training. It has to do with testosterone and yes, some women have more than others which gives them a propensity to bulk, so no, you aren’t crazy if you fit the bill.
STRENGTH DOESN’T HAVE TO BULK
That being said, you can get stronger without getting bigger (they are not synonymous) you just need proper programming. To find the best program for your body type, pick up a copy of Holly’s new book Lift to Get Lean. It’s a female-focused strength training bible, and in it Holly shares four unique programs for each body type and goal type so you can bulk (or not!) how you want.
PULL vs. PUSH
Pulling mechanics are very important for a woman’s body, which is why you need to do three times as many pulling exercises as pushing ones. It has to do with our evolution from the days when we walked on all fours, and the muscles it takes to keep us standing upright.
FORGET THE EXCUSES
In the end, we learned to let go of the excuses that have been holding us back for so long and why it’s vital, as women, not to dim our lights to make others feel comfortable, but rather it’s our responsibility to let our lights shine to motivate and inspire other women to do the same. Together, thirty perfect strangers laughed, cried, shared, and bonded — and will forever be connected. We are strong. And so are you.
Here are three things we learned from Women’s Strength Nation LIVE! that you can work into your next workout:
The 3 rules of strength training
1. Technique trumps everything
2. Manipulate your speed of movement
3. The last 2 reps should threaten #1.
The 5 form cues to make every exercise a full body exercise
1. Pull up your arches
2. Push out your knees
3. Tuck your butt
4. Brace your core
5. Anchor your shoulders
5 essential exercises for every woman
1. Leg press
2. Deadlift
3. Reverse grip pulldown
4. Chest press
5. Overhead press
Also Read:
How to Strength Train Without Weights
4 Effective Ways to Make Body Weight Exercises Harder
5 Strength Training Exercises for Runners
images by Lauren Milner Photography courtesy of Westin
