A History of Women’s Strength Training

March is recognized as International Women’s History Month, and there isn’t a better time to hop in our time machine and look at the history of strength training for women.

Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find a medical professional who doesn’t advocate for the health benefits of resistance training for women. Strong muscles and bones reduce our risk of chronic disease, improve metabolic health, support joint integrity, and are one of the most powerful tools we have to prevent osteoporosis (a condition that disproportionately affects women). 

But it wasn’t always this way.

There was a time when lifting weights was considered dangerous, unfeminine, and even harmful to a woman’s health. As recently as the 1950s, women were outright banned in some facilities from lifting weights. Cardio was acceptable; strength was not - sorry ladies, the “Vibro-Slim” is over there.

Let’s look at the progress made over the past 100 years: 

Early 1900s: Strongwomen shocked audiences with feats of strength, but were literally a circus act - not an example of women’s health. 

Mid-1900s: Women were discouraged or banned from lifting weights. Heavy training was labeled unsafe or unfeminine. Instead, women would use machines like the “Vibro-Slim” to hypothetically, rub away fat. 

1970s: Cultural shifts and legislation expanded athletic opportunities for women and began challenging old narratives. 

2000: Women’s weightlifting debuted at the Olympic Games - a reminder that equal opportunity in strength sports is very recent.

Today: Research is finally beginning to close the gap in female-specific exercise science, and women are claiming space in the weight room.

The Research Gap (Still)

Here’s the part we can’t ignore: the research gap between men and women still exists.

For decades, exercise science was conducted primarily on young men and then generalized to women. We now know that female physiology (hormones, recovery timelines, bone density changes, and muscle protein synthesis) need its own lens.

The good news? The gap is shrinking - unlike our muscles! 

More research is being conducted for women on women of all ages. 

Even our protocol at Evolved was originally part of research done on women with osteoporosis, proving that heavy weights and slow movement is an excellent way to build strength while reducing risk. 

So, here’s to strong women: may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.