WORDS FRANCESCA SPECTER
Photograph Image Source. Illustrations Martina@kja-artists
When most people hear the phrase ‘strength training’, they think of burly, be-veined men in their 20s and 30s showing off their physique in their gym’s weights section. However, the stereotype is being challenged, as strength training – one of the top five worldwide fitness trends for 2017 says the American College of Sports Medicine – enters the mainstream. The most recent Sport England Active People survey reported that women are the fastest growing demographic in weight lifting, while a wealth of 40-plus celebrities including Cameron Diaz, Gwen Stefani and Courtney Cox famously attribute their bodies to a mixture of planks, push-ups and weights.