It hasn’t changed my life on paper, but it completely changed how I feel in my body and about my body. After spending my 20s and most of my 30s really only caring about the scale number (which I regret to admit would make or break my day), now I only care about the number I can deadlift and squat and shoulder press, and I’m THRILLED when those numbers go up. 

Every week I look forward to finding out if I can move more weight, get more reps, feel stronger. And I think that gets to the heart of it for me — I used to see exercise as a means of burning calories, in pursuit of being leaner, smaller, but weight training is about how much more I can do, not how much less I can be, and that shift in mindset has been liberating.

Plus, every time I pick up a barbell, it feels like a small act of rebellion — against all the messages I received growing up about how women should look and what they should do and where they belong — and I love that feeling.

Clearly I’m biased, but I personally think it’s awesome you’re thinking of trying it, and I think you should go for it :)