Strength training is one of the main activities perimenopausal women are encouraged to take up - but the gym isn't for everyone. Luckily, other types of strength training are available too. Here, writer Jen Barton reveals how she learnt to love lifting again by throwing out the rulebook.
A specific image comes to mind when I think of strength training. I’m in my early 20 in a gym in my hometown of Manhattan. I'm surrounded by equipment I have no idea how to use. A super-muscly man is barking orders at me. “Don’t stop! Keep lifting!” I want to run away, cry, disappear. My arms are killing me. The weights are too heavy. I would rather be anywhere else. This isn’t a recurring nightmare though - it’s a memory. A core memory I’m pretty sure my brain filed under the heading: “This is why we never lift weights.”
