International Women's Day 2023

Happy International Women’s Day!

IWD is celebrated every year on the 8th March to allow us to take a moment and appreciate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements women make in society. The theme for this year is ‘Embrace Equity’, which aims to raise awareness and support for equitable action. This means more than promoting equal opportunities, but also supporting equal outcomes for all members of society.

We caught up with some of our female members and colleagues to get an understanding of their goals and find out what IWD means to them.

Simone Round, Assistant Manager & Personal Trainer at LSF Brierley Hill:

“To be a woman involved in fitness for me means to challenge the 'normal' of what fitness looks like. Fitness to me means to be strong enough for daily activities, challenges & goals. Fitness means the ability to lift your little ones, to be strong enough to push yourself, to lift and carry my own shopping bags & to be strong enough to encourage and support other amazing women on their journey of self-love. International Women’s Day is so important, especially being a woman in fitness, as my goal is to help women love moving their body how they want to, without any added societal pressures of what a woman should be. Us ladies should help to encourage each other. I learn lessons daily from the amazing, strong women around me!”

For Izzy and Paige, who are both Personal Trainers at our V1BE site in Ancoats, their reasoning was similar. Paige stated that her main reason for becoming a PT was to help other women make small changes and advise how even a small amount of guidance can help someone make huge changes. Izzy’s main inspiration for fitness and becoming a Trainer was to help empower other women. “I do this to help other women gain strength and confidence, both in the gym and in their life!”, stated Izzy. 

Many of our other PTs were also inspired to start their gym journey to become their best self. Stacie Jones (pictured), Personal Trainer at LSF Middlesbrough (as well All Englands Champion in Powerlifting!), became inspired to start her journey in the gym to become strong and “lift weights that she could once only dream of lifting”! Stacie has been with Lifestyle Fitness for almost 7 years now, and is constantly striving to become the best version of herself both in and out of the gym.

Empowering other women to be their best self and gain confidence both in and out of the gym is something we strive for. For Lisa, a member at LSF Stourport, striving for better physical health meant improved mental health, which has helped improve her confidence and overall quality of life. When we caught up, Lisa had this to say:

 “Since I started training at Lifestyle, almost 2 years ago, I have started to see some real changes to my strength and fitness, and my mental health has definitely improved thanks to this. Approaching 50 and hitting perimenopause meant that I needed to get my fitness up and make sure that I stay as strong and healthy as I can for as long as I can. Training has improved my mental, as well as my physical, health by giving me back the confidence that menopause was starting to chip away at. Lifestyle is such a friendly place to train which really helped me to alleviate the initial anxiety I had about going to a gym. I have a plan to keep moving forward now and well into my future!”

Empowering our female members and staff is incredibly important to us, and as we celebrate raising awareness on gender equity this International Women’s Day, we are happy to hear such great feedback from the women who work and train with us. To quote Jasmine, a Personal Trainer at LSF Canterbury, “I train to empower myself and the women around me. Empower yourself and other women through your own mental strength within!”

Whatever your goals are, remember that you are equally important and worthy. Here's to all the amazing women in the world. Thank you for your continued support. Your strength and determination is inspiring every day of the year!

To see more of what our amazing female staff, members and trainers are up to this International Women’s Day, be sure to follow your local club pages on Instagram.