Strong. Capable. Confident. Why Women’s Lift Club Is About More Than the Weight

Women’s Lift Club isn’t really about the weight.

Sure, we lift. We learn new movements, work on technique, challenge ourselves and, hopefully, get a little stronger along the way.

But the weight is only part of it.

I’ve found it surprisingly rare to be in spaces for women that bring together community, learning, and the opportunity to really challenge yourself.

A place where you can ask questions without feeling like you should already know the answer.

Where you can try something new without feeling like you have to prove yourself.

Where you can push yourself — and have the women around you genuinely excited to see you succeed.

That’s what we’re trying to create with Women’s Lift Club at AMRAP.

Not because women aren’t capable of training alongside men. We are.

There’s just something pretty cool about intentionally creating a space where women can learn together, challenge themselves, support each other and find out what they’re capable of.

And yes, there’s actually some science behind why I think that matters.

Why Is a Mental Performance Consultant Talking About Lifting?

Because mental performance doesn’t just happen in your head.

A lot of my work involves helping people build skills, approach challenges differently, and develop confidence based on something more than just telling themselves to “be confident.”

The gym is a pretty great place to practice that.

Something is hard.

You try it.

You learn.

You get feedback.

You make an adjustment.

You try again.

And eventually, something that used to feel really difficult starts to feel a little more manageable.

That process probably sounds familiar whether we’re talking about a barbell, a sport, a career, or just life.

It’s also why I’ve never been particularly interested in completely separating the mental from the physical. What we experience can shape what we believe about ourselves.

That doesn’t mean lifting weights magically makes you more confident in every area of your life.

It does mean the gym can give us a place to practice doing hard things.

And that’s a big part of Strong. Capable. Confident.

Strong.

This one is pretty straightforward.

Strength training makes us stronger.

There’s plenty of research behind that, including research specifically looking at women across different stages of life.

But you probably don’t need me to cite a research paper to understand the feeling of picking something up that used to feel really heavy and realizing:

Huh. That wasn’t so bad.

That matters.

Your body adapted.

You learned.

You got stronger.

And now you have proof that something you couldn’t do before is something you can do now.

Sometimes that starts with something as simple as picking up a heavier dumbbell.

Capable.

This might be my favorite part.

We talk a lot about confidence. We want to feel confident before we do something.

But sometimes confidence comes later.

Sometimes you have to do the thing first.

You learn.

You practice.

You struggle with it a little.

Someone helps you figure it out.

You try again.

And eventually:

Oh. I can do this.

That can look completely different from one person to the next.

Maybe it’s learning to deadlift.

Maybe it’s finally feeling comfortable with a barbell.

Maybe it’s adding five pounds.

Maybe it’s walking into a gym when that alone feels intimidating.

The number isn’t really the point.

Realizing you’re capable is.

Confident.

This is where those experiences start to add up.

Research looking at women’s experiences with strength training has included women describing feelings of confidence and empowerment. It has also shown how things like knowledge, support and positive experiences can influence participation.

I think that distinction is important.

I’m not going to tell you that adding ten pounds to your deadlift automatically makes you more confident at work, in relationships, as a parent or everywhere else in your life.

That would be a pretty big leap.

But doing something you weren’t sure you could do gives you an experience to draw from.

Instead of just telling yourself:

I can do hard things.

Every once in a while, you get to say:

I did a hard thing.

And that’s different.

Maybe the Most Important Part: Community.

Maybe the most important word in Women’s Lift Club isn’t lift.

Maybe it’s club.

Research looking specifically at women and strength training has identified things like lack of knowledge, intimidation, negative comments and lack of support as barriers. Support and encouragement can help.

That probably isn’t shocking.

It also makes a lot of sense when you watch women train together.

Someone asks a question and another person says, “I was wondering that too.”

Someone tries something new and the room gets excited for her.

People share tips. They encourage each other. They laugh. They work hard.

And they keep showing up.

I’ve been fortunate to experience this through Jen Widerstrom and Arnold Pump Club, too.

Being part of that community — and getting the opportunity to help coach a women’s clinic alongside Jen — reinforced how valuable it can be to create spaces where women get to learn, challenge themselves, get stronger and do it together.

That experience has absolutely influenced what I hope we continue building through Women’s Lift Club at AMRAP.

You don’t need to be the strongest person in the room.

You don’t even need to consider yourself “a lifter.”

You just need to be willing to show up and see what you can do.

Strong. Capable. Confident.

That’s really the whole idea.

Strong — because being physically strong matters.

Capable — because doing things gives us a chance to discover what we can actually do.

Confident — because those experiences give us something real to build confidence from.

The weights just happen to give us something really tangible to practice with.

And the community gives us people to do it alongside.

Women’s Lift Club at AMRAP is one place we get to put all of that into practice.

I’m incredibly grateful to @jenwiderstrom and @arnoldspumpclub for their support in helping make Women’s Lift Club happen. Getting to experience Pump Club community, learning from Jen and having their support as we build this has meant a lot.

And now we get to keep building.

Women’s Lift Club meets the second Saturday of every month at AMRAP.

Come learn. Come lift. Come challenge yourself.

Register for Women’s Lift Club:https://www.amrapmethod.com/womens-lift-club

Strong. Capable. Confident.

Not because of the number on the bar.

Because of what you learn about yourself while lifting it.

Research & References

Hagstrom, A. D., Marshall, P. W., Halaki, M., & Hackett, D. A. (2020). The effect of resistance training in women on dynamic strength and muscular hypertrophy: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 50(6), 1075–1093. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01247-x

Vasudevan, A., & Ford, E. (2022). Motivational factors and barriers towards initiating and maintaining strength training in women: A systematic review and meta-synthesis. Prevention Science, 23, 674–695. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-021-01328-2

Currier, B. S., McLeod, J. C., Banfield, L., et al. (2023). Resistance training prescription for muscle strength and hypertrophy in healthy adults: A systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(18), 1211–1220. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-106807

Isenmann, E., Geisler, S., Havers, T., Siegert, F., Hemke, F., & Held, S. (2026). It’s never too late: The impact of resistance training on strength and body composition in females across the lifespan — A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2026.03.002

Photo credit: @micahmartin