From social feed to fitness center, online sharing of workouts drives women’s interest in strength training

Oct. 8, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness.

Turns out, all that scrolling online actually can make you more active — at least for a growing number of women inspired by social media to take up strength training.

“It’s way more popular,” said Madison Gross, a fitness trainer at GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness. “You see it on Instagram and TikTok, which is great because they post workouts and then people actually are coming into the gym wanting to do them. It’s increased a lot lately with females coming in interested in weight training.”

Claire VanOverschelde, who just marked three years as a GreatLIFE trainer, has seen the increase too.

“Most of my clients are females, and I think social media is a lot of what gets them to come in at first,” she said.

“But there’s so much information out there that it’s hard to sort out what you should and shouldn’t be doing. That’s where it’s helpful to come in for a group class or work with a personal trainer. We can sit down and talk through all the things you’ve seen and then what we recommend.”

VanOverschelde primarily trains at Performance Center; Gross is usually at Woodlake Athletic Club. Other GreatLIFE facilities such as 39th Street and Phillips Avenue and the newly expanded Harrisburg location also offer plenty of options for strength training.

“Women really start to see a difference in how they feel after lifting weights, throughout the day and throughout the week,” Gross said. “Maybe you’re postpartum or have a demanding full-time job or you’re in school, you’re going to see your energy increase.”

When it comes to weight training, there are some misconceptions, though.

Many people mistakenly believe the only path to weight loss is a lot of cardio workouts, VanOverschelde said.

“And that is good, but with strength training in combination with cardio, you really can see a difference,” she said. “We want to focus on things like how your clothes are fitting, which is really where you’ll begin to see a difference.”

Another big stereotype: Weightlifting leaves women looks “too bulky.”

“That’s the biggest one,” VanOverschelde said. “I just reassure people you’re not going to. We’re going to lose weight, and you’re going to increase muscle mass, but you’re not going to look bulky.”

Actually, the first thing you’ll notice likely will be a boost in energy, Gross said.

“You’ll notice that fast,” she said. “And then a lot of people notice a difference in how their clothes fit fairly quickly.”

But give it three to six months to really start to see changes, they agreed.

“That’s how long it can take for significant results,” VanOverschelde said. “I have clients fairly early on who say they don’t need naps during the day any longer or they don’t feel fatigued during a round of golf, but longer is better to really start to see bigger changes.”

And don’t forget about layering in a focus on nutrition, they said.

“If weight loss is the main goal, weight training will help, but the difference really is in nutrition decisions,” VanOverschelde said. “Starting with strength training is awesome, but we want to add in nutrition because that’s an important part of the journey.”

They work with people from their teens up through their 80s and will begin by showing how strength training equipment works and making sure you have enough mobility and flexibility to do lifts.

“Some of the videos you see online you might not be able to do right away,” VanOverschelde added. “It takes time to advance, but we can work up to it, and as you get more comfortable, we can increase the complexity of moves you’re doing. They see the cool moves on social media, but you need a knowledge base first to try those more complicated things.”

GreatLIFE’s GreatSTART free initial assessment is an ideal way to start, Gross said.

“It’s a great way to have an initial conversation, talk about what you’d like to get into, and we can show you the machines and how the equipment works,” she said. “We can even use that time to do a free workout, so you get a sense of what it’s like to work with a trainer. And then from there, there’s always progression, and we can set goals to shoot for.”

To get started with strength training at GreatLIFE, stop in any location, or click here to schedule a GreatSTART session.