Women and Weights Week One

Fearless: A Six-Week Exploration of the Women and Weights Program
Published March 2021 by Beacon Health & Fitness

Tucked behind the rows of cardio equipment and strength machines, there’s a field of green, bristly turf in Beacon Health & Fitness’s Granger location. What happens here? The answer is written on the walls: We make stronger athletes. We make faster athletes. We make smarter athletes. We make better athletes.

The area can be intimidating, especially for those who wouldn’t consider themselves athletes. Beyond the turf lies equipment in wait – tried-and-true dumbbells, sure, but also multiple squat racks, barbells, and weight plates. You might be able to talk a runner like me into a chest press or a weighted squat, but it would be rarer to find me with a medicine ball in hand, or a sand bag slung across my shoulder, or a sled positioned before me, poised and waiting.

And who am I to do these things anyway? I’m an office gal. You’ll find me behind the desk in Granger’s membership office five days a week. And I’m a writer – also a desk job. Sure, I do get out from behind the desk and run. I have a couple of marathons under my belt, and I plan on running my first ultramarathon – a 50k – this October (covid-permitting, of course). But I promise I’m no superhuman. I still dislike change.

So moving from the track and the treadmill to the turf – to Granger’s Sports Performance Zone – isn’t necessarily a comfortable move for me. And nor was it a comfortable move for Kris Ohlson, one of Beacon Health & Fitness’s wellness coaches and new participant in Women and Weights, a six-week specialized training program. The program is designed to improve overall fitness and strength, as well as provide education regarding weight training.

Kris first learned about the benefits of Women and Weights – including the knowledge acquired and the camaraderie of the participants – from one of the members of her January Jumpstart group. It’s a good reminder of the advantages we gain from listening to one another, a testament that we are better together.

And so, every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 to 11 a.m., Kris finds herself stepping into the Sports Performance Zone and leaving her fears on the edge of that green turf. And now, I do too, as I join her on a journey to not only experience physical improvements, but to shake the limitations we impose on ourselves.

Stronger. Faster. Smarter. Better.

Athletes.

Kris and I, along with the other women in our 10 a.m. class, are athletes every time we step on that turf. And, together, we add one more quality to the traits that adorn the walls:

Fearless.