Have you ever wished that you started your strength training journey earlier, maybe even in high school? The benefits of teaching girls how to lift properly at a young age go beyond the physical body and can impact their confidence, mental health, and body image.
Key TakeawaysIf You Want to Help Girls Get Stronger, You Should:
Be mindful about the language you use around body image Encourage them to be conscious consumers on social media Shift mindset away from aesthetic based exercise towards strength-based resultsThe Benefits of Strength Training With Tiffany Ragozzino
Tiffany Ragozzino took her loves of fitness and education and combined them to help young girls get stronger and love their bodies. She is currently the Physical Education and Health teacher at an all-girls middle and high school in Los Angeles. Her mission is to empower girls and women to lift a barbell, be strong, show that muscles can be feminine, challenge them to see what their body is capable of, and gain confidence in themselves.
Getting Stronger in School and Life
As adults, we are expected to know how to move properly, but we were never taught how at a foundational level. Tiffany helps girls learn how to work through the functional movement patterns so that they can enter any space and feel confident in their ability and knowledge. She has seen firsthand the empowerment that these young girls experience when they learn how to move their bodies and build strength.
Not everybody grows up being a track athlete or a soccer star. Tiffany's program offers something different that has a total body and mind impact. Her program includes mental health support, teaching girls to be critical consumers when it comes to social media, how to do deal with body image issues, and a range of other topics meant to help girls love and accept their bodies.
Making Life Better for the Next Generation
Growing up in our modern world, where social media is everywhere, isn’t easy. Today, girls need the skills that Tiffany teaches them to build strength and confidence. These skills can be taken with them throughout their whole lives and can have a positive impact on the generations to follow.
As adults, we must take a look at the language and mindset that we are projecting onto younger generations. Kids soak up everything around them, which is why it is so important to consider your language and intention around body image and fitness when it comes to any young people you influence on. Creating a healthier environment starts with us and can make a huge difference.
Do you wish you had a program like Tiffany’s when you grew up? I sure do! Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode What it is like to merge the worlds of fitness and lifting with teaching (11:47) How to transition your mindset away from aesthetics and towards what your body can do (14:08) An example of what you could expect to see as a student taking one of Tiffany’s classes (18:35) Why it is so important that we teach girls and young women to lift before they are out in the world (23:52) The responsibility of adults to help young girls get stronger, gain confidence and improve body image (31:55)Quotes
“Learning how to do Olympic lifting, strength training, pushing my body to do things I never thought it could do, it just made me think ‘how cool would this have been if I had learned this at an earlier age? Where would I have been if I learned this in high school?’.” (12:42)
“My responsibility is to teach them how to be critical consumers and to make them aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it.” (17:13)
“It is so rewarding to see a group of teen girls add a squat rep, coaching each other, giving each other cues. And I'm like ‘I wish I got to do this when I was a teenager!’.” (23:23)
“Giving students alternatives, maybe they are not the track star, maybe they are not on the soccer team, but they found something else that they can excel in, and feel good and feel confident, that's probably been my favorite piece about it.” (25:05)
“As parents, our responsibility is not only to support whatever your kid wants to do but also unpack why you are thinking otherwise.” (33:58)
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