Eps. 27 | Girl, Pick Up the Weights: The Truth About Women & Strength Training

Think lifting weights will make you bulky? It’s time to break that myth. 

In this episode of the EmpowerND Podcast, we’re joined by Heather Dressler from BodyLift Fitness to talk about women, strength training, and why building muscle is one of the best things you can do for your health.
Heather shares the truth about lifting, the benefits of strength training, and why women should feel empowered to pick up the weights, build strength, and take up space in the gym.

BodyLift Fitness
605-484-4696
bodyliftfitness.com

Learn more about Women Empowering Women at wewnetwork.org

The EmpowerND Podcast is hosted by Women Empowering Women, a membership based non-profit organization dedicated to connecting, supporting, and educating women. Through community, events, and resources, Women Empowering Women helps women grow, build confidence, and explore their potential, supporting them every step of the way as they become the best version of themselves. To learn more about Women Empowering Women’s projects or how to become a member, visit wewnetwork.org.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to Empower Indie Podcast. This podcast creates space for honest conversations about health, well-being, and community resources to help people in southwestern North Dakota live healthy, full lives. The Empower Indie Podcast is produced by Women Empowering Women, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting, supporting, and educating women to help them become the best versions of themselves. To become a member or learn more, visit wewnetwork.org. For years, women have been told that exercise is all about getting smaller, burning calories, or chasing a number on the scale. But what if fitness wasn't about taking up less space? What if it was about becoming stronger, more capable, and more confident in your own body? Today we're talking about why strength training matters for women at every stage of life, breaking down common myths and sharing practical ways to get started. Joining us is Heather from BodyLi Fitness. So let's get started. Okay, so could you start by introducing yourself and sharing your role with BodyLi Fitness?

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Sure. So my name is Heather Dressler, and I am the owner of Body Lift Fitness. It's a fitness studio in Dickinson, North Dakota. And um, we have been around for about 11 years now already. So awesome. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

So what do you think most women misunderstand about strength training?

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Um, they're scared to pick up heavy weights. Definitely. That's the number one thing I see. They'll pick up five pounds and then I have to look at them and tell them to pick up something heavier. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

For a long time, women's fitness has focused heavily on being smaller, losing weight, or burning calories. How has that shaped the way women view exercise today?

SPEAKER_01 1:46

Um they I think we're getting better, actually. We're kind of on this turn, but um skinnier was always better. And that was just especially growing up when I was the 80s and 90s, it was really like 90s. But um, so skinnier was always better, and it's other I was chasing a number on a scale, which the number on the scale really doesn't tell you anything except how much you weigh. Yeah, which doesn't tell you what your body fat is, it doesn't tell you what your muscular system is doing, it doesn't tell you anything. So body composition is much more important.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

So there's a long-standing belief that women will become bulky if they lift weights. Where did that idea come from? What do you want women to understand about how strength training actually changes the body?

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Well, first of all, your body composition isn't gonna change just from that. First of all, it's your um everybody has a different shape, style of body. So for those people that are really, really muscular as women, most likely they're already gonna tend to be that way. Right. So on top of that, you would have to eat a perfect meal and be training in a perfect, perfect sequence for you to be getting that bulk. It's made for a reason. Like it they train that way. So it's not gonna happen to you overnight and it's not gonna happen from picking up heavy weights. No, and there's tons of people that try to do it and can't do it because 100%. It's so hard. Yeah, yes. I mean, it is your mind, body, you have to be into it, like dedicated 100%. And that's not how most people want to live their lives, as in just trying to train to live to feel better.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

Yeah, yep. So there's actually a genetic test that I do. It's called the three by four genetics test. Have you heard of it? So it tells you what your genetics are most likely to thrive doing. Okay. So for exercise, for diet, for um for like fat composition, all of that. It tells you what your genetics will thrive at. Oh, interesting. So it'll tell you um, like if your body is meant to be an endurance athlete, then it tells you what you need to do to be able to actually grow muscle because you're working against what your genetics are built to do.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Oh, wow. I've never heard of this.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

And so it like gives you all of these details and clues on how to like adjust if you're going for a goal that's not what your genetics are meant to do.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Sure. And what your what your training should look like and what your meals should look like.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Yeah. And what kind of foods your body should avoid because it because it causes inflammation. Interesting. And what it causes for like what you're prone to for chronic illness too. Okay. I'm gonna do that test. I don't, it's really cool. I'm kind of a nerd about it because I feel like every athlete should do it too. Yeah, it'd be really interesting. Yeah, super cool information. I feel like it would help a lot of people to like meet their goals faster. Sure. Yeah. Not wondering what to do as much. Or if they're going for a goal that like their genetics is just not meant to do. Yeah. Okay, so what is happening inside the body when a woman begins mil building muscle beyond the physical changes that that we can see?

SPEAKER_01 4:47

So I think that what I hear the most from women who have started working out in strength training is they feel so much better in general. And um mental health improves so much. Depression, it li working out lifting is probably the least prescribed antidote. I mean, that that's what we should prescription we should be getting for everything. We should do it, be doing it for mental health and we should do be doing it for physical. And that can change so much when um just showing up every day for yourself is one thing, but then you're also getting more physically fit. So yeah. I think that you can you have a little bit more to pour from your cup to be able to help your family and and everything too when you when you fill it that yes, for women having that hour to themselves when they're not doing something for somebody else at all moments of their life. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

And I think that's for everyone, really, honestly. Like even you know, men too. Like it it really works for everyone.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

I think that everybody should be able to leave for an hour and go get a workout in. Yeah, and you should take turns if you can't do it together. If you're married and you need to go, let them go. Right. Be the provider and the helper for that hour and then swap if you have to.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Right. Yep. What role does muscle play in things like metabolism, bone health, injury prevention, aging, and overall quality of life?

SPEAKER_01 6:10

So if we're building muscle now, we're gonna be stronger all of our lives. We're not gonna be in a wheelchair, we're gonna have better bone density, we're not gonna break that hip when we're 75, 80, 85. Um, you're gonna be able to get yourself up off the floor. So all that matters when you need to start now, because especially women after the age of 30-ish, we already start to lose bone density and muscle mass. I mean, we only get 30 years and then we go downhill, I guess. But no. So, but you can stop that from happening just by lifting heavy weights. That's all you have to do. And that's such a simple thing.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Yeah, and I think it also there's actually proven studies that show that it decreases the amount of falls in elderly people too, because their stability of their joints is better and their balance is better too. Because the muscle helps them.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

There is research that says that if you fall and break a hip, you are likely to die within two and a half years.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

I mean, it significantly changes your mobility. Yeah. So okay, for someone who has spent years doing cardio but hasn't strength trained, what changes might they notice when they begin lifting?

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Um, I think that, well, first of all, they might feel like I feel like a lot of cardio people, they like it for the distraction and the they're just go, go, go, go, go. So it's a little bit of a slowdown, a little bit of a breath. But other than that, I really do think it's this, you can get your body to feel the same, or I'm sorry, your mind to feel the same about it. Um, it's time for yourself. And you'll notice yourself getting stronger, your posture gets better. Um people tend to fall into those cardio slumps, like they get into those slumped positions, runners. Um, we just have all of this built-up energy in us. And if you could just utilize it in a new way by lifting, you'll just feel yourself feeling stronger and stronger.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Yeah. So, what are some signs that a woman is becoming stronger that have nothing to do with the number on the scale? Um, mental health.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Yes. I think that's number one mental health. Um, when a client comes into me and says, I can't believe I didn't do this before because I feel so much better every day. Right. And I always also tell clients that kind of like if they fall off, I'm like, How are you feeling mentally? Do you know you need that for yourself? I really do believe it's the number one thing. Yeah. More than the physical appearance.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Definitely. Anytime I'm feeling disheveled or um unfocused or or struggling through mentally, if I start a routine, then everything becomes a lot more clear and the heavy things that I'm going through don't seem as heavy. Yeah. Your day just gets better. Yeah. Yep. Definitely. So if there was someone that um is, you know, the people that are like, I waited too long, the people that are avoiding it right now, what would be, what would be something that you would tell them to try and get them in there?

SPEAKER_01 9:06

I would say you're never waited too long. Like you can come now. Now is the day, really. Yeah. Even if you didn't do it before. I have every age. I have, um, right now, I am actually my mother, father-in-law, and great aunt are coming in for sessions every week just to like get them moving. Um, I have young people come obviously for clients for group membership, and I have the middle two right now going through everything with me, perimenopause and everything too. So every age should be there. Yeah, I think.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

And never be scared, right? What does an effective strength training program include? And what are the pieces that matter most?

SPEAKER_01 9:45

So, what I train right, really what I train is picking up the weights, very important, twice a week. Um, heart health, which does not mean you need to go run an hour on cardio in that middle mid-zone of your heart. Um, a big push for 30 seconds and let it come back down the heart rate for 30 seconds, a big push for 30 seconds and let it come back down for 30 seconds. That heart rate interval training is really what's going to strengthen your heart cardiovascularly. Um, and then mobility, just movement.

unknown 10:15

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Really important. We have yoga classes, but umce again, as you're getting older, the more you move, the better you feel. I like to tell people for our fascia in our in our body, it's like an orange peel. So if you have an orange and um you don't soften it up before you peel it, it's hard and it's but if we move our bodies, we will feel like our bodies um, I guess they feel better, the movement's better, it's smoother. We're kind of finding a we're lubricating our joints and our body.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

So a lot less risk for injury. Yep. Yep. So how does someone know they're challenging themselves enough to actually build strength?

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Um, well, you should be able to lift something heavier. That's easiest. Uh, are you being able, are you able to pick up a heavier weight than you were three months ago? And you probably are able to, are you challenging yourself? Right. Yep. Um, you can go to rep max and all that, but if I don't, that's a different type of training too. So just continually pushing yourself to just maybe pick up the heavier set the next time, even if it's only for three reps, you put them back down, you go back to where you were. Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

Yep. And just doing a little bit more each time. Yep, a little bit more. So one of the biggest struggles women face is finding time. If someone had only 30 minutes of a few times a week, how could they make that time count?

SPEAKER_01 11:33

30 minutes is great a few times a week. Um start with a little mobility. You could do a five to 10 minute warm-up, 20 minutes of lifting, and then if you can get if you have time and the um equipment to do that quick heart rate. And I guess you don't even need equipment. You could do jump squats, you could do, you know, run in place and then quit and run in place. But just getting that heart rate variability in there, those are the three things like in a workout, I would 100% recommend. And you can do that in 30 minutes if you had to.

unknown 12:02

Right.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

So, how does strength training change throughout a woman's life and why does it become especially important during perimenopause and menopause?

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Like we have said about um bone density and hormone fluctuation also, but keeping our muscles strong, we want to support our skeletal system, we want to support our brain health. Um, it shows that strength training and working out actually is helping with dementia. This is gonna happen on later in life, and that's really important, I think. Right. So those are the things.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

For women who are postpartum or returning to exercise after having children, what should they consider before jumping back in?

SPEAKER_01 12:41

First of all, listen to your body. Are you feeling okay? Are you feeling ready? Don't push yourself ahead of it. You can always find small movements, mobility first, and then I always like to tell postpartum, um, we're gonna work on core, but not we're not doing sit-ups. Right. We're doing stability style core. So that's really important to make you feel better.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

And then start lifting the weights when you're ready. So, how do you help women shift from exercising as punishment or something they have to do into something empowering?

SPEAKER_01 13:10

I think once again, the mental health aspect, once you feel the difference in your body, it's hard to say no to it again. And if you fall off, and you can just ask yourself, where do I want to be in 20 years? So, do I want to be in a wheelchair or do I want to be with my grandchildren or traveling the world still and utilizing my free time?

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Yeah. Even in healthcare, I always ask my patients, what's your healthcare why? Like, what is your why? What's the reason that you're doing this? And it doesn't have to be like, you know, because I want to sit and fit into a certain size pants or whatever it is. It it just needs to be something that's meaningful because it will drive you. So knowing, like, is it because you want to have the mobility to get on the floor and pick up your grandkids or be able to go to the park with them and play? You know, what's the why? With healthcare and fitness, I think figuring out what their why is of like what's the future in the 20 years that you want to do, or what's the thing right now that you can't do that you want to do? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

Because most and most people, especially women, will come in and I want to say, I want to lose 10 pounds. Right. I'm like, why do you want to lose 10 pounds? There's got to be a reasoning behind it to shift that mindset. And that 10 pounds really might not even be what you need. Right. That's not what it is. Like your clothes will start to fit different, yes, but just because you're thin doesn't mean you feel better. Right. And that's another reason for that body composition scale to know that. For the mental aspect of it, as you're working out and you fall off the wagon, you'll notice how that regresses again in the mental health. And if you can see that and realize, oh, this is why I need to stay consistent, right? It makes a big difference. This is my biggest reason for working out is my mental health and where I want to be in 20 years. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

And I think a lot of um times women think that it needs to be like they're doing something like outrageous, like running a marathon, you know, doing something really drastic to be making a difference. And that's something I've struggled with myself. Like I've I've ran half marathons, I've had huge big goals fitness-wise. But then as soon as they're done, I completely fall off because I'm like, what, what now? Right. You know, instead of just wanting to exercise and have a normal routine and have something that's able to be balanced. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 15:34

And it's great to have those, but then at some point you can't train like that forever. Right. So it's okay to train in a way that just keeps you healthy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

And I think having women understand that that it's okay to not be like the most extreme athlete and still work out every day. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 15:53

Yes. And the overtraining can happen too for those people. And that is a whole different ballgame to tackle. But when they fall off, then they feel like they failed. Right. So then the whole point of the reason they did it isn't really helping their mental health. Exactly. If consistency, right really it's key. Yeah. And sticking to just doing it for health. Yep. And then that physical will happen because you are working out.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

Yep. Because you're taking care of yourself.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Yep. Yep.

unknown 16:22

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:23

So thank you for joining us for this conversation and for sharing such valuable insight into the power of strength training. We hope today's episode encourages you to see movement as something that builds confidence, supports your health, and helps you feel strong in your own body. Until next time, stay informed, stay empowered, and we'll see you on the next Empower Podcast.