Strong. Capable. Confident. Why Women’s Lift Club Is About More Than the Weight

Women’s Lift Club:

It’s Not About the Weight

By Dr. Brittany Herrick, Ed.D., CMPC®
Mental Performance Coach, Founder of Herrick Performance Consulting & AMRAP Coach

I spend a lot of time talking about confidence.

As a mental performance coach, I work with athletes, coaches, teams, organizations, and individuals on the mental skills and mindset that help them navigate challenges, build confidence, and perform better in sport, work, and life.

I also happen to coach at AMRAP.

Women’s Lift Club is one of those places where those two worlds come together.

Yes, we lift weights. We teach technique. We want women to get stronger.

But what interests me just as much is what can happen around the weight: choosing to try something unfamiliar, learning a new skill, experiencing progress, being supported by the people around you, and walking away with a little more evidence of what you’re capable of.

That’s what Strong. Capable. Confident. is really about.

Strong Is More Than Physical

There are plenty of reasons for women to strength train, and the physical benefits matter. Research consistently shows that resistance training can improve muscular strength in women across adulthood.

But I don’t think the number on the bar tells the whole story.

Strength can also look like trying something you aren’t sure you can do.

It can be asking a question when you don’t know what you’re doing.

It can be putting five more pounds on the bar.

It can also be taking weight off the bar because you’re learning to prioritize good movement over proving something.

The goal isn’t to be the strongest woman in the room.

The goal is to have opportunities to challenge yourself and discover what you’re capable of.

Capable Comes From Evidence

You try something.

You learn.

You struggle a little.

You get feedback.

You adjust.

You try again.

Eventually, something you weren’t sure you could do becomes something you know you can do.

Maybe it’s your first deadlift. Maybe it’s adding five pounds to the bar. Maybe it’s learning a movement you’ve avoided because you weren’t sure where to start.

Sometimes, it’s simply walking into the gym and trying.

Whatever it is, now you have evidence:

I’ve done something like this before. Maybe I can do this too.

The number isn’t really the point.

Realizing you’re capable is.

Confidence Has Something to Build On

This is where my mental performance brain really kicks in.

We often think confidence needs to come first:

Once I feel confident, I’ll try it.

But confidence can also develop in the other direction.

In psychology, this connects with self-efficacy—our belief in our ability to successfully perform a particular behavior or task. Successful experiences, often called mastery experiences, can be an important source of that belief.

You do something. Your brain gets new information.

Oh. I can do this.

That doesn’t mean deadlifting a heavier bar automatically makes you more confident at work, in relationships, or in every other part of your life.

Human behavior isn’t that simple.

But the gym can give us a place to practice doing hard things.

Instead of only telling yourself:

I can do hard things.

Every once in a while, you get to say:

I did a hard thing.

And that’s different.

The Environment Matters Too

Of course, these experiences don’t happen in a vacuum.

There’s something valuable about creating a space where women can simultaneously experience community, growth, and the opportunity to test their limits without feeling judged for doing it.

And there’s research behind why creating that kind of environment matters.

Research examining women’s participation in strength training has identified barriers including gender-based stigma, discouragement, negative comments, lack of knowledge, accessibility, and lack of supervision or routine. Social support, encouragement, knowledge, and having someone alongside them have also been identified as factors that can help women participate and stay engaged.

That’s a big part of why Women’s Lift Club exists.

Not because women aren’t capable of training alongside men.

They absolutely are.

It’s about intentionally creating a space where women can learn, ask questions, try things, challenge themselves, encourage one another, and maybe surprise themselves along the way.

Maybe the Most Important Word Is “Club”

There’s something powerful about looking around a room and seeing women with different bodies, backgrounds, ages, abilities, and experience levels all working on getting stronger.

Someone may be touching a barbell for the first time while the person next to her has been lifting for years.

Both belong.

Women’s Lift Club gives us a chance to ask questions, share tips, laugh, work hard, cheer each other on, and learn together.

Research on women’s experiences with strength training repeatedly points to the importance of social support and positive environments in helping women participate.

So maybe the most important word in Women’s Lift Club isn’t lift.

Maybe it’s club.

Strong. Capable. Confident.

That brings us back to those three words.

Strong — Physical strength matters, and we can train it.

Capable — Doing things gives us opportunities to discover what we can actually do.

Confident — Those experiences give us something real to build confidence from.

And then we repeat.

That’s why, from my perspective as a mental performance coach, Women’s Lift Club was never really just about lifting weights.

The weight gives us something tangible to work against.

The challenge gives us something to learn from.

And the community gives us people to do it alongside.

Strong. Capable. Confident.

Not because of the number on the bar.

Because of what you learn about yourself while lifting it.

A Thank You

Women’s Lift Club also wouldn’t be what it is without the influence and support of Jen Widerstrom and Arnold’s Pump Club.

Having the opportunity to help coach a women’s lifting clinic alongside Jen reinforced just how valuable it can be when women have a space to learn, challenge themselves, support one another, and get stronger together.

That experience helped influence what I wanted Women’s Lift Club to become, and I’m incredibly grateful to Jen and the Pump Club community for their support in helping make it happen.

Join Us

Women’s Lift Club meets the second Saturday of every month, with sessions hosted at our local partner gyms.

Whether you’ve been lifting for years, haven’t touched a barbell in a long time, or have absolutely no idea where to start, you’re welcome.

Come learn. Come challenge yourself. Come be part of the community.

Strong. Capable. Confident.

About the Author

Dr. Brittany Herrick, Ed.D., CMPC® is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant® and founder of Herrick Performance Consulting. Her work focuses on helping individuals and groups build mental skills, improve mindset, and perform better in sport, work, and life. She works with athletes, coaches, teams, organizations, and individuals and is also a coach at AMRAP Method.

Women’s Lift Club is one opportunity to bring the physical and mental sides of performance together—using challenge, learning, feedback, and community in a real-world setting.

Interested in mental performance coaching? Learn more about Brittany’s work at Herrick Performance Consulting.

References

Hagstrom, A. D., Marshall, P. W., Halaki, M., & Hackett, D. A. (2020). The effect of resistance training in women on dynamic strength and muscular hypertrophy: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 50(6), 1075–1093.

Vasudevan, A., & Ford, E. (2022). Motivational factors and barriers towards initiating and maintaining strength training in women: A systematic review and meta-synthesis. Prevention Science, 23, 674–695.

Currier, B. S., McLeod, J. C., Banfield, L., et al. (2023). Resistance training prescription for muscle strength and hypertrophy in healthy adults: A systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(18), 1211–1220.

Isenmann, E., Geisler, S., Havers, T., Siegert, F., Hemke, F., & Held, S. (2026). It’s never too late: The impact of resistance training on strength and body composition in females across the lifespan — A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.