IWD Celebration Workouts & Panel
As a woman-owned business with a team of strong women running the show, International Women’s Day (IWD) is always a great day to celebrate our fight for equality and invite others to join us.
This year, we chose to use the opportunity to bring more people into our circle so they can move, connect and explore with us.
To do this we hosted an evening of workouts and a panel talk at Gymbox Farringdon, and we asked Jo Robinson to join us and review the event. Read on for her take on the IWD celebrations.
Pre-Event Prep
Thankfully the only prep I needed for this event was to choose which workout to sign up for. Option one was a barbell technique workshop with Team GB Weightlifter & Weightlifting Coach Noorin Gulam. Option two was a functional fitness workout with Flo Wong, a CrossFit semifinalist & coach, and Tyla Sullivan, a South Africa Weightlifter & Weightlifting coach.
Because my barbell training doesn’t typically extend beyond a squat, deadlift or bench press, I opted to sign up for the barbell technique workshop for something a little different.
How It Started
Firstly, Gymbox Farringdon might be one of the biggest gyms I’ve ever set foot in. Before arriving, I couldn’t imagine how a gym was able to give up a large amount of space for an external event during a prime post-work evening slot. But with the floor space at Gymbox Farringdon being seemingly never-ending, MLA were able to have a section of the open plan functional fitness area, as well as the weightlifting studio.
On arrival it was, quite simply, buzzing. Gymbox seamlessly contributed to the vibe with their in-house DJ, and a huge group of women were getting to know each other before the workouts kicked off.
Once we were given our goodie bags (an event essential!) and introduced to the MLA team and workout hosts, we were split into two groups depending on what we’d signed up for.
Despite knowing absolutely no one in the group, everyone was so friendly. Most, if not all of those in the weightlifting workshop, had followed both MLA and Noorin for some time, and had travelled from all over to take part. Being a Thursday evening I was expecting to meet solely London-based people, but I teamed up with two ladies who had travelled from the south coast to join in the event.
The Workshop Itself
As a Personal Trainer, I know the importance of a proper warm-up, yet I can be guilty of not spending enough time on this. The session started with an in-depth warm-up and an explanation of the why behind Noorin’s key warm-up movements. Also, fun fact: did you know that the snatch movement is the fastest move in the Olympics? Meaning it calls for type 2 ‘fast-twitch’ muscle fibres, so a thorough and dynamic warm-up is KEY before getting into it.
We worked on opening up the hips, shoulder and thoracic spine through a range of dynamic stretches, then got into some plyometric work to build the power that is needed in the snatch. One of Noorin’s essential warm up moves is drop jumps, where you stand on a block or step and step off with one foot, exploding off the ground into a high jump the second your feet touch the ground. This is one of those moves I’ve seen many people do in the gym, and Noorin explained it’s a key move to help with the midpoint of the snatch. And the hot tip to get the best out of them and build the most power? Don’t think about the jump down, just think about jumping up as soon as your feet hit the ground.
Technique Building
Post warm-up, the remainder of the workshop was gradually building up to a snatch. Technique drills formed the bulk of the session, ensuring we had mastered the correct positioning and timing of when to take the bar overhead. Having not stepped into a CrossFit box for many years, it was definitely somewhat humbling to revisit the snatch movement, but the muscle memory that your body has is incredible, not to mention being teamed up with two very lovely and very supportive individuals.
The atmosphere throughout this particular part of the evening I think was my favourite part. We ultimately worked through the drills to then work on the full snatch, building the weight up over a number of sets. The whole room was so encouraging of each other, with cheers and high fives all round. It was such a great team spirit for something that is an individual sport.
Noorin: Tiny But Mighty
What I find fascinating about Noorin is that she started weightlifting in her General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) Physical Education (PE) lessons. I only found my love for fitness and weights after I’d left school, around the age of 19, and absolutely hated PE at school because the stereotypical activities and sports on offer didn’t suit me. So it was amazing to hear that weightlifting is something that’s been introduced in schools. As it was only when I stepped into a gym when I was 19 that I found some confidence in a fitness environment.
Noorin discussed this throughout the evening, how weightlifting gives people a new-found confidence that isn’t materialistic or based on someone else’s perception. It’s about your achievements on your own journey. And that ‘it’s so beautiful to be able to do something tomorrow that you can’t do today.’
Her energy throughout the workshop, and also in the panel talk, was incredibly inspiring. She’s so knowledgeable about her sport, and I can totally see why there was a room packed full of women wanting to be coached by her and waiting to grab a selfie with her afterwards.
Panel Talk - Barriers For Women In Strength Training
The evening finished with a panel talk, because is there anything more powerful than when a group of women get together and talk? Particularly when they’re discussing the highs, lows and challenges of their strength journeys.
The panel was led by MLA Founder Stella Kamba, and she was joined by Noorin, Tess Glynne-Jones, Lucy Joslin and Samantha Williams.
They each shared their own personal stories and journeys in the strength training realm, and whilst there were many golden moments that resonated with the audience, the ones below really stood out to me.
Noorin: ‘The lack of self-belief is one of the biggest barriers I see. A lot of women don’t think they are strong, so they don’t think they can take up any weight or strength-based sports. But getting stronger is actually the easiest part. If you’re not already super muscly with big biceps, then learning the technique and how to get strong is going to be easy for you.
Tess: ‘There’s a narrative on social media which tells us what beauty is and what we should be like. For a lot of women, the main barrier is unfortunately what they see on social media. There’s still the message that using barbells makes you bulky. This is slowly changing but amongst my clients and the women I work with, it’s a narrative that’s still there.’
Samantha: ‘Don’t underestimate the power of family influence. The way my mum views strength sports versus how my niece now views strength, is completely different. It’s really cool to see a younger generation growing up wanting to be fit and strong.’
Lucy: ‘Throughout women’s lives we have constant challenges that can be barriers to fitness. Childcare is a major one; there’s no creche at a gym so if you’re a parent you have to rely on your partner or a family member for you to have your gym time. And then there’s the menopause. For women there are challenges at each stage that you have to overcome.’
Lucy’s really stood out to me as I don’t think I’d ever quite factored in how many life events and changes a woman has to adapt for compared to men. Even if we think about a woman’s monthly cycle compared to a man’s (hint: they don’t have one, they have a 24 hour hormone cycle compared to a woman’s ~28 day cycle), a woman has a lot more hurdles to overcome each month which can act as barriers to her training.
To Sum Up
What an evening it was, filled with knowledge, fitness and wonderful people. What makes an event really special is when it’s full of like-minded people, and you couldn’t have got more like-minded women in one room together if you’d tried. The combination of speakers on the panel was just right, as they all had different journeys and stories to share, with the audience being able to relate to at least one. Plus - it’s always a good event if you leave with some cans of Lucky Saint and PhD Nutrition bars in your goodie bag. Can highly recommend the vegan vanilla fudge flavour!