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Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote in his book Total Recall: “Strength training is the best way to work on better self-confidence. In no other sport do you see progress every training session like you do when training with weights.”
Arnold is (of course) right. In a sport like soccer, not every kick of the ball results in a better pass than the last time. If you play volleyball, you don’t score more points every game, and as a gymnast, you’re not guaranteed to perform better in every training session. How different it is with strength training. When you train with a good fitness program and work with
progressive overload, you get stronger every workout. You know that when you walk into the gym, you can do more than you did last time. You either do more repetitions with the same weight, or you can use a heavier weight. How well does that work on your self-confidence, knowing that you’re achieving such success several times a week!
Self-Confidence Through Strength Training
Of course, there are more reasons why strength training is the perfect way to work on your self-confidence. I’ll share them with you in this article ‘The 7 reasons why women gain more self-confidence from strength training’.
- You become stronger. Naturally, as described above, you become stronger in the gym with every training session, but how cool is it when you’re also a stronger woman outside of it? I often hear from female clients that they love being able to carry heavy things with their partners during moves or simply being able to lift the groceries out of the car.
- You become happier. Strength training stimulates the production of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, the hormones that make you feel good. When you train consistently, you also reduce the risk of developing depression. Strength training is even almost as effective against depression as medication or cognitive behavioral therapy [1].
- You get a better body. Strong, round glutes exude strength, and with slightly more muscular shoulders, clothes fit better. Moreover, you’ll burn fat faster, resulting in a flatter stomach. Say goodbye to insecurity on the beach or moments of frustration in the dressing room of your favorite clothing store!
- You build ironclad discipline. It’s not always easy to go to the gym. You’re tired, it’s raining, it’s late, you’re sore, or your workout buddy bails, and yet you still go. It may take some effort sometimes, but it also yields tremendous results. This discipline will also translate into other areas of your life, bringing you more success in your work, relationships, and personal development.
- Your posture improves. Good posture not only exudes more self-confidence but research has proven that you actually think better of yourself [2].
- You become more assertive. In the gym, you’ll often have to say what you want. The squat rack is occupied and someone’s using the 14 kg dumbbells… If you don’t speak up, it might take a while before you can use them. Often, it’s (muscular) men around you. If you dare to speak to them in the gym, it also works positively for your assertiveness outside.
- You receive compliments. Everyone likes to hear occasionally that they’re doing well. If you train with weights, for example, you’ll regularly hear that people admire you for standing among those men and doing what yields results. Sometimes it’s hard to see your own successes, so it’s very nice to get feedback from others.
My Personal Experience
One of the most beautiful moments recently showing how someone can grow in self-confidence immensely was when I was on vacation for a week. I did train myself that week and thus encountered a client at the gym. Even though she had only just started training ‘under my guidance,’ we agreed that she would try to do her workouts herself that week. From the corner of my eye, I saw her entering the gym and after her warm-up, heading straight to the squat rack to do good mornings. Although someone (‘big, strong man’) was already using it, she managed to tell him that she would like to use it after him. After a few warm-up sets, I saw her using more weight than in the previous training session we had done together. Despite her earlier apprehension about being among all those men with her 110 kg and inexperience, she was still able to do what she had in mind. It’s amazing to see how someone can grow from feeling shy and out of place to being an assertive woman who goes straight for her goal in just a few weeks!
Do you have any additions to this article? Perhaps a way in which strength training has helped you gain more self-confidence? Share it in the comments!
References
[1] Working off depression. Harvard Mental Health Letter. December 2005.
[2] Pablo Briñol, Richard E. Petty, Benjamin Wagner. Body posture effects on self-evaluation: A self-validation approach European Journal of Social Psychology. Volume 39, Issue 6, pages 1053–1064, October 2009
