Girls Who Lift >>>

During the pandemic, I became very fit. 

I had been on my fitness journey for several years up until that point, but the months when I was stuck at home were when I really began to take my activity levels seriously. 

In retrospect, too seriously. 

On most days, I would work out for nearly two hours, absolutely obliterating my cardio via endless burpees and jump squats in the process. And on the rare days that I would opt for a lower impact workout, I would often pair it with a run so that it would feel like ‘enough.’

My exhaustive workout schedule combined with the lower frequency of eating out and drinking alcohol had me feeling great about my body for the first time in years.

But here’s the catch: if I missed even a single day of intense workouts or ate a burger instead of a salad, the result would be a full-on body-hating meltdown. 

Essentially, I was tiptoeing around my disordered eating, trying—successfully, for some time—not to disturb it. 

After one too many meltdowns, I realized that my current master plan was, obviously, not an ideal or sustainable solution. 

Switching to a focus on strength workouts wasn’t something I did deliberately to address my unhealthy relationship with working out—but it has, over the last few years, accomplished just that. 

When I was in university, I used to hate lifting heavy. I never felt like it was a good enough workout (after all, if I wasn’t gasping for breath I wouldn't have burnt enough calories, right?) and I had an irrational fear of getting ‘big.’ 

The only times you’d find me in the squat rack section were when my best friend and workout buddy had begged enough times that I finally, begrudgingly, gave in. So, when we went to live in different cities after school, I took a long hiatus from heavy lifting.

It wasn’t until I joined a new gym a couple years ago that I, slowly, fell in love with strength workouts. 

Through classes specifically designed to build muscle, I found a happy place where I wasn’t intimidated by a bunch of gym bros and yet could work on my strength. I also started to genuinely enjoy the ability to get a good workout without feeling on the brink of an asthma attack. 

I fell in love with the thrill of lifting heavier weights and watching my body become more toned. And, to my surprise, I not only looked better but felt better too—an unexpected win-win.

And once I realized that, I was hooked. 

That’s how switching to strength inadvertently helped heal my relationship both to my body and to working out. That change shifted my focus from an unhealthy obsession with burning calories to feeling strong, powerful, and energetic. 

Don’t get my wrong—I still love to mix in running, high-intensity workouts, and the occasional spin class. But my exercise base is strength.

I’ve come to realize that it’s the healthiest option for me.