After 13 years in business, Swing Out Sisters Personal Training is now operating from my new home gym in Bromley. If I said I was excited, that would be a ginormous understatement. Opening this studio really is a dream come true.
Since I started my business, I’ve taught in gyms, private studios, and colleges. For the past 10 years, I’ve been exclusively mobile, but I’ve had ambitions to teach in my own facility for a long time. Over the years, I’ve become increasingly aware of the growing demand for women’s strength training. Promotion in the media has meant women have quickly cottoned on to the huge mental and physical benefits. The interest is there, but many women still don’t feel confident stepping into the weights room.
Now, I’m not going to get on my soapbox about gyms. They offer a choice of equipment and classes on a budget and, for many, they work just fine. That said, some women find it hard to feel at ease in a traditionally male-dominated space. Self-consciousness, an unspoken hierarchy of members, and the behaviour of a small minority can make the weights room feel like a no-go area.
As a former British powerlifting champion and Commonwealth Games medallist, I’ve wanted to share the full scope of my expertise with clients for some time. There’s nothing wrong with mobile training but, as someone who spends half her life with her palms curved around a barbell, I’ve been eager to teach in a space where I can fully share my passion for lifting and make use of a wider range of equipment. Now I’ve got the opportunity to do just that.
For me, weightlifting has been transformative. Once upon a time, I obsessively tracked calories and spent hours on the cross trainer, eyes glued to the ‘calories burned’ display. My efforts saw little reward. Yes, I was slim, but my body composition remained stubbornly unchanged and, mentally, I was in a kind of prison. Now, thanks to my three weekly weights sessions, that mental load has lifted. Food noise and guilt are a thing of the past. I eat to nourish and build my physique, not to shrink it. When I’m stressed, a gym session depletes that anxiety and helps me think logically. Lifting makes me feel powerful, inside and out.
Lifting weights is on a lot of women’s radar. They know the benefits, but they’ve either felt too nervous or uncertain to take that first step. Starting at my home gym is a low-pressure way to explore strength training, and a real opportunity to make a meaningful change in how you feel, both physically and mentally.
Do it today.
