Strength training builds confidence!
Strength training, also known as weight training or resistance training, like most forms of exercise builds self-confidence. Before I go any further, I want to dispel a myth many women have.
MYTH: I have a successful career; therefore, I must be confident. I’m supposed to be confident. And if I’m not, there is something wrong with me.
Wrong!
There is nothing wrong with feeling like you need or want more confidence. I will bet MOST women feel this way. I’ve met, talked to and read about some of the most successful, most beautiful women in the world. These are women that you would think HAVE IT ALL. They exude confidence! How could they not be confident!
Well, they may be confident NOW (ie. they haven’t always felt confident). Or, they’ve gotten very good at hiding their insecurities.
They may be confident behind their desk at work, they may run a multi-billion dollar company and secretly spend hours trying to find something to wear that hides a body they hate.
New here? Thanks for stopping by or welcome back. After you read this blog, be sure to check out some of my other articles for women over 50 who want to lose body fat, build muscle, create phenomenal bodies they love.
If you can relate to ever feeling this way, let’s talk about how strength training builds confidence.
1. Love how you look in your clothes
How many times have you tried on multiple outfits, stood in front of the mirror and thought..
- These pants make my butt look fat or I have no butt
- This top shows my flabby arms
- This is too tight fitting, you can see my tummy roll
NOTE: I’m talking about your perception of how you look. This is often NOT how others see you. Self-confidence is about our own perception, not that of others.
And how do you feel when you finally have no choice but to get dressed and get on with your day?
I will speak for me and perhaps you’ve felt this same way at some point.
- When I feel good about how I look in an outfit, my confidence as I walk out the door is high. My energy is high. I’m far more social throughout the day (still an introvert though).
- On those days, I do not like how I look, I shrink. By that, I mean, I will spend more time behind my desk. I will avoid contact with others. Probably won’t initiate conversations with co-workers in the hall. I just want to stay out of sight, hidden.
Strength training builds muscle and burns fat. With more muscle and less fat, your clothes begin fitting differently. You’ll no longer feel the need to hide under baggy clothes or wear all black (although black is still one of my favorite colors to wear). You’ll look forward to the conference room getting warm so you can take off your blazer and let your toned arms show.
You’ll look forward to throwing on a pair of shorts with shapely thighs and a tight butt instead of dreading how hot you’re going to get with a pair of jeans on while you sit under the scorching heat to watch a baseball game.
How will your life be different when you love how you look in your clothes?
2.Achieving strength training goals builds confidence
The first step in strength training is to set a goal. I know you may be tempted to skip this step. You may think it is not that important. Except, it’s impossible to hit a goal if you never set one! Having a goal gives you something to work toward. As you track your progress toward your goal, confidence rises. You begin proving to yourself that you CAN achieve your goals. Here’s the thing…
We often start off with doubt. We’re unsure we can really achieve our goal. We don’t believe in ourselves (all part of our lack of confidence). To gain confidence, we have to prove to ourselves (no-one else) that we can make changes, we can work hard, we can stick with it and we can DO IT. And, when you realize you can do this through strength training, you can apply it to other aspects of your life.
What other goals could you accomplish that require hard work, dedication, and a belief in yourself?
3. Building muscle and losing body fat makes you healthier
Being healthier is often an “unintended” consequence of strength training. Why is that?
Because we often don’t think about our health until… we aren’t healthy.
However, if excess weight has you hating your body or you frequently judge yourself for being fat, your confidence is taking a beating. Lifting weights is one of the best ways to lose body fat and build muscle as well as improve your overall health.
Strength training also reduces your risk of major lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and osteoporosis. Who doesn’t feel more confident knowing you have a reduced risk of these diseases? Yes, there is no guarantee, but I feel better knowing I did everything within my power to stay healthy. I don’t ever want to think “if only I had taken better care of myself…”.
4. Strength training improves your mood
When you are lifting weights, your body releases endorphins which can produce feelings of euphoria. This is also true of most types of exercise. You may have heard of the “runner’s high”. It is that same kind of feeling where you get a boost of energy, you feel empowered like you can keep going forever (which of course you can’t, you will physically tire.); however, your mood can stay elevated for up to 24 hours! This can also help to relieve symptoms of depression, or feeling down after a rough day at work.
The release of endorphins can also lead to decreased feelings of pain, fewer negative effects of stress and help reduce your appetite.
5. Strength training builds confidence for your future
Not only does strength training make you stronger in the short-term, it prepares your body to remain stronger as you get older. We started losing muscle in our 30’s and that gradual muscle loss picks up speed as we get into our 50’s, 60’s and beyond.
Strength training can slow, stop and reverse this natural muscle loss. The more muscle you have as you get older, the easier life will be. Those activities you take for granted now, can get incredibly difficult if not impossible later in life IF you continue to lose muscle.
Perhaps picking up a 10-pound bag of potatoes at the grocery is not a big deal today, but what will that be like when you are 80? What about carrying the laundry basket? Bending down to tie your shoes?
Knowing that you are doing something that makes you stronger, not only today, but long into the future, can remove the stress or worry about what life will be like when you’re 80 and beyond. Will you be active, able to get in and out of the car with ease, go out to lunch with friends, do your own grocery shopping?
If you’ve experienced watching a family member struggle with health issues from obesity, heart disease or physical pain related to lack of exercise, you may have a heightened awareness of potential health issues. I know I do.
Taking care of your body now can boost your confidence just by knowing you are taking control and doing your best to stay healthy and vibrant for years to come.
Curious how you can get started with a strength training program. Check out one of these free workout plans.
Great for beginners
3 and 4-day options
Upper body only
6. Strength training + nutrition build confidence
There are numerous benefits to strength training and not all of them are visible from the outside. I will go out on a limb here and say if you are like most women, you are not going to stick with strength training, or any exercise for that matter, if you aren’t seeing physical results in the mirror.
Yes, we know we are getting healthier, but we need to see it!
So, if you’re putting forth the effort to lift weights, and you want to see the best results (which, of course, you do, right?), a healthy nutrition plan is essential. You can not undo poor nutrition in the gym. When you eat the right foods, your body has the energy to work out harder so you get leaner, and stronger with firm muscles that you can actually see (ie. not hidden below a layer of fat).
The more results you see, the more likely you are to stick with your strength training and healthy eating, which leads to even more confidence as you love how your body looks and feel a sense of pride as you prove to yourself that you can do anything you set your mind to.
7. Strong firm muscle is sexy
Feeling sexy is a state of mind. There are no expiration dates. No age restrictions. Over 50? Over 60? In your 80’s? Doesn’t matter! What does sexy look like to you? It will be different for all of us, but the one thing that will be the same…
It’s hard to feel sexy if you don’t like your body. That’s not to say you need a perfectly sculpted body. This is all about what makes YOU feel sexy.
When you feel good about how you look, you will feel more confident and sexy.
8. Get outside your comfort zone to build confidence
Who doesn’t love their comfort zone? It’s one of my favorite places to hang out. It’s comfortable, relaxing, safe and…
a place that’s sure to keep you stuck.
No growth happens in your comfort zone. To live an eventful, rewarding and sensational life, we need to try new things, and push outside our comfort zone. If you are like me, it is so easy to get stuck in a routine, doing the same “comfortable” things day in and day out.
Strength training is a great way to step outside your comfort zone. If you haven’t done much strength training in the past, it will likely feel a bit scary and uncomfortable. New exercises that you’re not sure how to do, new pieces of equipment at the gym that seem completely foreign to you, the fear of looking silly or “doing it wrong”. All of these can send us running back to the safety of our comfort zone.
However, if you can push yourself beyond your comfort zone it will become more comfortable as you get stronger, see new muscle definition, lose inches, and have more energy. In time, the satisfaction and joy that come with these amazing benefits will far outway the comfort you find in your “comfort zone” (or maybe your strength training workout will become your comfort zone!)
9. Challenges of strength training build confidence
Lifting weights can be challenging and empowering. Curl a 5-pound dumbbell for the first time and you may find it to be hard. The thought of curling a 10-pound dumbbell may even seem unlikely.
Remember, hard is good. Easy does not build confidence. Confidence comes when you face a challenge, work hard and overcome it. After a few weeks, you notice that the 5-pound dumbbell is getting easier. Time to try the 8 – pound dumbbell. A few weeks later you realize you are curling 10 and 12-pound dumbbells.
How rewarding does that sound?
Not only are you getting stronger, each time you face a challenge, your confidence increases. You realize you have the power to face any challenge or obstacle (not just with lifting weights) and succeed.
10. Strength training helps you feel better
How do you measure “feel better”? How do I even explain it? This is one of those things you must experience for yourself. How you feel today may be all you know. Until you “feel better” you may not realize that what you’re feeling today doesn’t even compare to how you could feel.
If you always feel a certain way, it becomes your norm. It’s what you expect. It feels right. For example, if you always have heartburn after you eat, at some point it is so normal that you don’t think anything of it. You may even think… “Doesn’t everyone feel this way?”
A quick story…
When I was in the 4th grade, I got glasses. I will remember this until the day I die. I just came home from the eye doctor with my first ever pair of glasses. We lived in the country on top of a hill that overlooked a wooded area. As I looked out our large picture window, I yelled to my Mom “I can see the sky between the trees.”
Up until that day, all I saw was green and brown trees all blended together as a blob. There was no sky showing between branches. That was my norm. It never occurred to me to tell my parents what I saw. I thought that what I saw was the same thing everyone else was seeing. I had no idea what I was missing until I put on those glasses. From that day forward, I would never be happy only seeing the blob of trees!
Once you know how good you will feel when you are lifting weights and eating nutritious foods, you’ll never want to go back to feeling any other way.