Empowering women to be stronger and fitter at any age – even at 83!

Sponsored

Walk into Empower Fitness Harrogate and you’ll quickly realise that there is no such thing as a typical member.

It’s a women’s gym, but more importantly, it’s a community of women with completely different goals, abilities, backgrounds and reasons for being there. Some want to get stronger. Some want to improve their fitness. Some want to support another sport. Some simply want to feel better in themselves.

And that’s exactly how it should be.

Meet three of the women who embody what Energised. Encouraged. Empowered. means at Empower Fitness.

Jo: Building strength for the future

For Jo, strength training isn’t just about lifting heavier weights. It’s about investing in her long-term health.

Alongside improvements in her general fitness, one of the most significant changes Jo has seen has been in her bone density, measured through her DEXA scans, which haven’t just stayed consistent, her bone density has actually increased.

Strength training can be particularly important for women as they age, helping to provide the mechanical stimulus that supports bone health. For Jo, seeing measurable improvements has been a fantastic reminder that what happens in the gym can have a meaningful impact well beyond the gym.

Her story is a great example of why Empower Fitness encourage women to look beyond the number on the scales. Progress can be stronger bones, better fitness, increased confidence and feeling capable in everyday life.

Kate: 83 and just getting started

At 83 years old, Kate had never trained in a gym before joining Empower.

She already had a good cardiovascular base from regular walking, but she wanted to add something different: strength.

Five months later, the results have been remarkable.

Kate has doubled the weight she is able to lift and, having started with the foundations of strength training, she’s now progressed to weightlifting classes.

But perhaps the most inspiring part of Kate’s story isn’t the numbers. It’s the fact that she was willing to try something completely new.

There can be a perception that strength training is only for younger women or experienced gym-goers. Kate proves otherwise.

It’s never too late to start building strength.

Sarah: stronger for running - and happier for it

Sarah is a keen runner, she completed the London Marathon in April as part of a four-legged team! Sarah’s reason for strength training is slightly different.

She uses the gym to support her running, developing strength alongside her cardiovascular training. But ask Sarah what she gets from Empower and she’ll tell you something that goes beyond the physical benefits.

She calls it her "happy place".

The training matters, but so does the community.

The encouragement, the conversations, the laughter and the feeling of being part of something all play a huge role in why she keeps coming back.

And that’s something the team at Empower hear time and time again. Exercise isn’t simply about what happens to your body. It’s about how you feel when you're doing it.

There is no one-size-fits-all at Empower

Jo, Kate and Sarah have completely different goals, different starting points and different reasons for training.

Yet they all demonstrate the same thing: there is no single definition of fitness.

At Empower Fitness Harrogate, the coach-led group exercise and weightlifting classes are designed to be scalable, so women can work at the level that’s right for them. Whether you’re 83 and lifting weights for the first time, an experienced runner looking to complement your training, or simply looking for a way to improve your strength and health, there’s a place for you.

The interest is not in who can lift the heaviest weight or finish the fastest. It’s in helping women become stronger, fitter, more confident and more capable – inside and outside the gym.

Because your goal might be stronger bones.

It might be doubling the weight you can lift.

It might be running further.

Or it might simply be finding your happy place.

Whatever your reason, Empower Fitness will meet you where you are.

Unit B1b, Crimple Court, Hornbeam Square North, Harrogate, HG2 8PB, 07961 086281, hello@empowerfitnessharrogate.co.uk, visit the website.