Weightlifting is a feminist issue – and it changed my life

Do you feel excluded from the male-dominated ‘testosterzone’ when you visit the gym? Amelia Loulli explains why lifting weights isn’t just for the boys – and why it can be important for women’s health, too

The first time I picked up a barbell, something shifted in my brain (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

I’ve always known that women are strong. Women I know and love have coped with wars; with abusive relationships; they’ve endured episiotomies and labours that stretch into several days to give birth to babies weighing as much as medium-sized bowling balls; they work full-time jobs while raising young children and running a household alone; live with disabilities, mental health breakdowns, cancer, the death of loved ones – basically all the things that require a human being to be strong.

But to me, there has always been one kind of strength that’s been reserved for men – physical strength. Or, more specifically, the kind of physical strength that involves striding into a gym, loading a barbell and picking it up.

If you’ve ever been to a gym and witnessed the “testosterzone” then you might share this belief. This area is generally full of burly men with biceps the size of my head who select the heaviest dumbbells and fling them around making them appear weightless. There’s an energy field around this section that can alienate anyone who didn’t exit the womb and immediately begin pumping iron. Although I only stepped foot inside a gym for the first time earlier this year, I somehow always knew this part existed and that it wasn’t for me. I grew up absorbing the message that, perhaps with the exception of professional athletes, this kind of strength was not for women.