Brad Shaw
If the words “female weightlifters” still make you picture a hulking cartoon character bursting out of her T-shirt like the Hulk in lip gloss, it’s time for a software update between your ears. It’s a myth that weight training makes you bulky by default. In reality, pumping iron can supercharge fat loss, build lean, functional muscle and slash your risk of osteoporosis – not a bad return for picking heavy stuff up and putting it back down again.
The real problem? Before you ever touch a barbell, you’ve got to learn the basics. Nobody comes out of the womb nailing a perfect deadlift. And according to a recent survey by Sure Women, one in four women are intimidated on the gym floor, while half have felt negatively judged while working out. No wonder so many would-be female weightlifters retreat back to the safe space of the cross-trainer and a podcast.
With gyms closed for the foreseeable future, though, the universe has thrown you a curveball in your favour. Training at home is a golden chance to learn about weights in a judgment-free zone where the only person watching you squat is the house plant.
If you’re thinking of starting your strength journey, these three female weightlifters are the virtual coaching squad you didn’t know you needed – serving technique tips, tough love and some outrageous PB inspiration.
Why lifting won’t magically “make you bulky”
Here’s the thing most women never get told: significant muscle gain is hard work, slow going and heavily dependent on hormones, nutrition and recovery. Casual flirting with a barbell a few times a week won’t suddenly turn you into a WWE headliner.
What it will do – when you follow the lead of experienced female weightlifters – is improve posture, protect joints, increase everyday strength and make climbing stairs feel less like a near-death experience.
The women below are living proof that lifting can be about power, confidence and sanity, not punishment or shrinking your body into the smallest possible jeans size.
1. Melissa Alcantara (@fitgurlmel)
The first stop on your tour of female weightlifters is Los Angeles, home of the woman credited with getting Kim Kardashian West into fighting shape. Melissa Alcantara isn’t just a celebrity trainer; she’s a walking case study in what stubborn graft and a barbell can do for a life that’s come off the rails.
Based in LA, the Instagram influencer regularly opens up about her struggles with depression and body image issues as a young mum, and how discovering the joy of weight training helped her ditch detoxing and punishing cardio workouts, and feel happier and more confident in her own skin.
This is where Alcantara really shines for beginners: she strips away the nonsense. Forget circus tricks and flashy edits – she’s a great person to follow for simple video workouts you can actually copy in your living room, recipe inspiration that doesn’t look like rabbit food, and the kind of motivation that gets you out from under the duvet when your alarm goes off in the morning.
The female bodybuilder also has a book called Fit Gurl, which has lots of tips and advice for women who are new to the strength training game. If you’re nervous about barbells, think of Fit Gurl as that brutally honest mate who tells you to stop faffing about and pick the weight up properly.
2. Laura Hoggins (@laurabiceps)
If you’ve ever secretly wanted arms so strong you could open a jam jar purely by staring at it, meet Laura Hoggins – better known in fitness circles as ‘Biceps’. And honestly, it takes about three seconds on her feed to see why.
Known in the fitness industry as ‘Biceps’, it’s easy to see why Hoggins is an inspiration for women whose goals are strength and power, not weight loss. Her whole brand is a love letter to lifting heavy for the joy of it, rather than to earn your dinner.
Sharing technique tips and myth-busting advice on her Instagram feed, Hoggins is clearly passionate about getting more women into lifting, and she’s even written a micro-manual on the topic, called Lift Yourself: A Training Guide to Getting Fit and Feeling Strong for Life. That title alone is basically a manifesto for female weightlifters who are bored of obsessing over the scales.
Over lockdown, the trainer has been sharing her workouts in a local car park, proving that with a bit of creative thinking, you can totally recreate the gym experience. A barbell, a patch of tarmac and some inventive programming – who needs chrome and mirrors?
We recommend tapping into her brilliant podcast Biceps and Banter on your next coffee break too, which celebrates stories of physical and mental resilience. It’s like a group therapy session for people who think a 5×5 squat plan is a good time.
3. Courtney Pruce (@courtneypruce)
If your idea of “getting healthy” has always involved spreadsheet-level calorie counting and a relationship with food that could politely be described as tense, Kent-born strength trainer Courtney Pruce might just be the palate cleanser you need.
Kent-born strength trainer Pruce describes herself as a ‘passionate foodie’, and is an advocate for nourishing your body with wholesome foods, rather than counting calories or restrictive eating. For female weightlifters tired of being told to shrink, it’s refreshing to see someone preaching strength and satisfaction over deprivation.
Pruce originally trained as a professional dancer before switching to PT life, opening her own training studio and sharing her passion for lifting weights with other women. That dance background shows up in her coaching: there’s a big emphasis on form, rhythm and control, not just heaving the bar up any which way.
With 85K followers, she’s established herself as a go-to name in the fitness world, thanks to her infectious positive energy and no-nonsense advice (there’s lots of lifting, fuelling and motivation tips on her Instagram highlights). Scroll for five minutes and you’ll feel like you’ve been given a firm but friendly shove towards the squat rack.
She’s also hosting daily live Zoom classes throughout lockdown, with a ‘Barbell Lifting Club’ that takes participants through the correct technique for power cleans, squat cleans and other impressive Olympic lifts.
For nervous beginners, it’s a chance to learn the big barbell movements in real time, ask questions and make mistakes without some stranger in a stringer vest breathing down your neck.
How to start lifting like these women
You don’t need celebrity clients, a book deal or 85K followers to join the ranks of female weightlifters – just some basic kit and a willingness to learn.
- Start light, nail form. Use these women’s tutorials to master deadlifts, squats and presses before you think about heavy loads.
- Train for strength, not punishment. Follow their example and see your sessions as practice, not penance.
- Fuel properly. Take a leaf out of Pruce’s ‘passionate foodie’ approach and focus on nourishing meals over strict restriction.
- Find your community. Whether it’s a ‘Barbell Lifting Club’ on Zoom or an Instagram DM group, having others in your corner keeps you honest.
The weights room – or your makeshift home gym between the sofa and the laundry basket – doesn’t have to be an intimidating arena reserved for grunting blokes and chalk clouds.
With female weightlifters like Alcantara, Hoggins and Pruce lighting the way, it can be exactly what it was always meant to be: a space where you steadily get stronger, inside and out, one rep at a time.
