The Power of Strength Training

The Power of Strength Trainig

As we get ready to open our new women-only training gym in Elmhurst, IL, we want to share some thoughts on the power of strength training for women!

Do you know what’s awesome? How often I have heard this phrase from women lately: “I just want to get stronger.”

I have worked in women’s fitness for 15+ years, and talking about getting stronger was never the priority for women. It was all about cardio. “I want to do cardio to lose weight,” or “I want to tone.” Where I understand the sentiment behind “toning,” which is essentially the physical appearance of getting stronger, the words behind it had a different meaning. 

Now I hear “I want to get stronger” because we are realizing the power that strength training has and the positive effects that it has on our lives. YES it helps with fat loss and helps with toning. We want to be lean and healthy, no doubt. It also helps with bone density, which is important as we age. But what about all of the other benefits that no one really talks about? Such as…

  • Moving through everyday life without pain
  • Being able to play with our kids and grandkids with ease
  • Giving us an outlet for anxiety and stress
  • Providing mental toughness to push through uncomfortable moments and exercising that part of the brain
  • Giving us other types of goals to strive for outside of the typical physique-type of goals
  • Giving us independence to do the things we want because we are STRONG women
  • Not allowing a lack of strength to hold us back in anything! 
  • Insert your own personal reason here… The point is this: strength training gives us (as women) power because being strong far outweighs being weak, and that strength transfers over to other parts of our lives. How we do one thing is how we do everything, and working hard to get and stay strong will have a long-lasting impact on us and those around us! 
 

Strong is Beautiful!!

We can’t wait to open our new women-only training gym in Elmhurst in October & help you feel that way!

Click to watch a fun video highlighting some of our programs.

Just an fyi ladies- our tier 1 promotions are almost over… which means prices will increase this week. If you’ve already taken advantage- AWESOME & thank you!! You can refer friends to receive an extra week free + some pretty cool W3 swag! 

If you haven’t taken advantage yet… there is still time, but I would jump on it asap! If you can’t make it out to meet us to sign up in person- no worries! We can send you a link to do it online. 

Reach us via: call/text 630-698-4492 or email us at elmhurst@w3body.com

I would love to help see if W3Body, a Women’s Training Gym is the right fit for you!! 

 

-Jamie

W3Body, A Women’s Training Gym

1042 S York St

Elmhurst, IL 60126

Business Excellence Award – City of Berwyn

George W. Ashby Award for Business Excellence

Thank you to the City of Berwyn and the Berwyn Development Corporation for recognizing W3Body, A Women’s Gym as the 2022 recipient of the George W. Ashby award for business excellence.

We were honored to receive this award that is given to one Berwyn-based business per year that presents a professional and favorable image to Berwyn, provides quality goods or services, maintains a visually appealing space and practices high-quality customer service to its patrons.

Earning this award has truly been a team effort, and we are so fortunate to have the amazing trainers, instructors, staff and members as part of our community at W3Body! 

W3Body App Launches January 2017!

It is finally here!

The W3Body APP for members. 

We are so excited to bring this mobile/tech feature to our members to help them stay engaged and ultimately, achieve the results they are looking for.

We strongly feel at W3 that this new app will help our members by keeping them engaged with the W3 community, keeping them up to date about what is going on at the club, offering challenges and other activities to keep them motivated, and incentivizing them through our NEW rewards program.

The W3 rewards program is a very exciting new feature for us at Women’s Workout & Wellness. Members who have the app will be able to earn points through various activities: coming to the gym for a workout, sponsoring a friend, taking a challenge, setting a goal, achieving that goal, enrolling in training, and more! They can redeem their accrued points at any time for various prizes, such as membership months free, a W3 t-shirt, team functional training, small group personal training, one on one personal training and lots more! It is all tracked on the app, and guess what? The app AND rewards program are FREE for our members!

Check group fitness class schedules, scan into the gym, join challenges, post to social media, receive daily deals, club updates, push notifications, rewards, prizes, record your workouts, refer friends, sync your nutrition log, connect your FitBit or other fitness device, chat with other members, set goals and MORE… All on the NEW W3Body APP!

-coming January 2017-

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Did we mention the app is FREE and only accessible to MEMBERS?

Can you tell we are a bit excited 🙂 Spread the word and get ready to set new fitness goals and ACHIEVE them in 2017!!! See you at W3~

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Sneak Peak of the new W3Body App:

More than Just a Gym: My Summer at W3Body

I had always thought of myself as athletic–not particularly fit, active, or passionate about exercise. This led me to believe that regular exercise wasn’t meant for me–that I’d throw around a basketball or a tennis racket when I felt like it. I would run on the treadmill for 20 minutes once or twice a week, but that was the extent of it. But then I applied for an intern position at W3Body, and everything changed.

I’ve never had a gym membership, so the second I walked in for the interview and felt the energy radiating from roaring machines, clashing weights, blasting music, the intense cardio class on the floor, and functional training stations, I knew something good was going to happen.

Each time I went in to take a class or get some pictures was different. Each trainer had her ownEdenPic style and personalized relationships with members, but in the end everyone was still radiating that W3Body spirit. This wasn’t the place to come and go, but to be greeted by the manager, waved at by familiar members, and discuss that last class in the locker room. From the staff taking the energy to correct my positions during aerobic classes, to members smiling at each other during 5-second water breaks, I knew I was part of a community like none other.

3 months later, I can say that I’ve learned so much about what it means to be a healthy woman. I’ve learned how unbelievable it feels to be strong, to gain muscle, to watch yourself improve as a result of hard work. I’ve witnessed the importance of mentality, of believing in yourself and raising that weight by 2 pounds, and the powerful influence of a trainer who bleeds the desire for women to put their all into every move for 45 minutes.

Coming from someone who used to joke about going on runs, I’ve exercised almost everyday this summer for the genuine reason that I can’t go more than a couple of days without sweating and feeling physically empowered. Although I was often the weird girl in the gym corner snapping pictures with my giant Nikon, it was worth it.

So, thank you to W3Body for teaching me more about fitness than any magazine could, and pushing the walls of my comfort zone. It has permanently and positively changed my mindset, and I know it can do the same to anyone who walks through those doors 🙂

~Eden S.

W3 Social Media Marketing Intern

Women’s Workout Chicago to Introduce Small Group Personal Training

The Women’s Workout & Wellness on Lawrence Ave in Chicago and the W3 on the south side, 51st and Kedzie, in Chicago now offer small group personal training! All W3 locations have always offered one on one personal training services and large group training (aka TEAM functional training), but these 2 locations now offer something more unique. We have taken the concept of one on one personal training and infused the group dynamic. Women are social creatures! We love working out in groups, but some of us prefer more special attention. Some of us need more special attention due to a medical issue, injury, etc. Or some of us just need that extra push. Yes, we could receive these services in one-on-one personal training, but #1 it’s a little more costly and #2 we miss the social dynamic of exercise and working out. So, small group personal training is the perfect option. We hope to bring it to all of the Women’s Workout & Wellness locations soon. For now, check it out at the W3 on Lawrence and the W3 on 51st and Kedzie. Included in these 55-minute sessions of small group personal training is our TEAM training on some of the other days. Different options available- please see the staff and PT manager at the club for more information! You receive 5x the amount of training of 1x1s all for a lower price!!! Check it out.

W3’s training philosophy is centered around functional training: everyone should train functionally. Therefore, no matter if it’s small group personal training, one on one personal training or large group TEAM training, you will be training your body functionally and LOVING the benefits! Check out some of the pictures below of our 51st and Kedzie location and some of the W3 training TEAM! Come be a part of this amazing atmosphere! Members and guests always welcome~

 

W3 Hosts WERQ fitness group exercise dance certification!

What is WERQ? WERQ is a fitness dance class. All of the music in this class is current top 40 pop, hip hop and rock. Unlike other hip hop fitness formats, WERQ ensures that anyone who is teaching this format is a fitness professional- in other words, holds a nationally recognized group fitness certification, such as ACE or AFAA. WERQ was founded in Chicago. Women’s Workout & Wellness recently hosted a WERQ certification for our instructors to become certified in this format. We are always looking to improve our group exercise schedules! And one of the ways we look to improve our group fitness classes is by adding new formats to keep our members excited. We also change our signature formats (we recently changed our HardBody group X class format) to ensure our members get a great yet different experience each time. If you’re looking for group exercise classes in Chicagoland, check out our vast group exercise schedules. You will no doubt find something you like from Latin dance- Zumba- to weight lifting- HardBody and Body Fit- to interval classes, like cardioflex, and then to cardio kickboxing, like Turbokick! We also offer mind/body classes, like Yoga or PiYo. Now, with our recent WERQ certification, we have yet another fun, calorie-burning format to add to our group exercise schedules throughout our Chicagoland gyms! Stay tuned for when this class will be added to the group exercise schedule at the W3 nearest you! In the meantime, check out this picture of our awesome W3 instructor TEAM before the WERQ cert!

W3 Chicago Spotlight: Group Exercise Instructor of the Month July

Introducing W3’s Instructor of the Month! Who’s in the spotlight? She was a member for 6 years and then turned into a group exercise instructor. While a member, she lost 131 pounds! And has obtained her Turbokick certification and also HardBody certification through Women’s Workout & Wellness since her weight loss.

She continues to inspire all W3 members and staff as she teaches at least 6 group exercise classes per week. She mainly teaches at the 51st and Kedzie location (Chicago) but also at the Monroe St. location in the Loop as well as subs and guest instructs at the other W3 clubs. Her name is Danitra, and her classes are phenomenal: full of energy, motivation and inspiration!

Check out the following video of her story and clips of her classes as well as a clip of a member who loves her Turbokick class! Share the link and her weight loss story with others to inspire them as well!

Shape Magazine’s Chicagoland Diva Dash and W3

Shape Magazine is once again hosting the Diva Dash for Chicagoland in August, and W3 will be there to kick off each heat with everyone!

Training opens at Women’s Workout this summer for this all-women’s obstacle course, but in the meantime, you need to register! Check out the picture below to get $10 off registration with W3’s promo code: AXW3!

Check out our functional training classes to get your body Diva-ready this year. Run, jump, climb, crawl and DASH your way through this fun obstacle course!

Weight Lifting is for…. Girls!

Woah …  This news is really HEAVY! – as in weights, get it?

I confess! For years I was that girl who would grab the 2.5 lb weights to work my biceps and shoulders and maybe the (whoa) 5 lb big boys to work glutes and thighs. Oh, I was certain that my way was the best way. After all, I didn’t want to bulk up (gross) or start lookin’ all manly (eeww)  I mean, everyone knows that lifting big heavy weights leads to a massive, Schwartzenager-esque physique, right? And c’mon, I personally wear lipstick, brow pencil AND fragrance to the gym so the last thing I wanted was to become less than feminine. Toning and shaping were what I was after, not mass, muscle and heaven forbid, strength, oh no.

Since then, I have become much more enamored of the heavier-the-better method when it comes to weight lifting. Why? Well, because first off, it makes me more powerful and gives me an edge so I can push myself in ways that I could not before. I can now jump, run, plank and TurboKick with the greatest of ease where in the past I would lack the stamina and wimp out more quickly.

I am also now a fitness instructor/trainer who sees the gorgeous results in the bodies of my class participants. Let me tell you, the girls who lift heavy are the ones who actually achieve that lean and sculpted look. And as for myself, well back in the days of the itty-bitty weights, I was kinda fit looking, but had no real muscle definition (AKA: Tone). Lifting weights that actually challenge me helped me to carve out firmer arms, legs, shoulders and tush.

Not convinced that you want to increase your pump — or even get your pump on at all? Here are some superfun fact about weight lifting:

1) Muscle tissue burns calories even after your workout is done. Wait, did you hear me? Because I just said “Muscle tissue burns calories even after your workout is done!” Unlike steady-state cardio conditioning, where the burn ends when you jump off the treadmill, the results of your strength training endure. The expected rate of additional caloric burn can be significant. It is believed that 20 pounds of muscle burns 100 calories in a day – even while just sitting around watching “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” While 20 pounds of fat would burn only a measly 40 calories.

2) Osteoporosis, yo! We girls have a greater tendency to succumb to this medical problem which can lead to brittle bones. One way to fight that is by developing stronger bones. How? You already know …  lifting heavy weights. In fact, studies show that strength training can not only help to prevent bone loss but can even help to build new bone.

3) How about enhancing that feminine physique!? When you start to build muscle, you can get an even more girlish figure. Working your abdominal muscles helps to slim and taper the waist and strengthening butts and thighs helps that backside become firm and lifted. And by the way, how much testosterone are you packin, sister? I’ll give you the easy answer: NOT ENOUGH TO BULK UP. Your body’s own natural hormone balance (tipped away from the testosterone) will prevent mass. Only men have the amounts of T that will allow for building big muscles.  Ready to drop those 2.5 weights and hop on the heavy lifting band wagon? I’ll save you a spot (and a set of 7.5 – 10 lb dumbbells) in Hardbody class!

~Susan Magilton, W3 Group Exercise Instructor & Personal Trainer

Tinley Park Functional Training Video!

Check out Rhea, one of W3’s Functional Training Coaches, in her interview about why she loves functional Training and being a part of the Women’s Workout Team! She teaches at the W3 in Tinley Park Functional Training classes. These include small group training and one on ones. She also teaches group exercise at Tinley Park.

If you’re looking for Tinley Park Functional Training classes, look no further than W3! You will get this great coach as your guide and her amazing workouts. Tinley Park functional training at Women’s Workout also offers you camaraderie with other women in the small group, accountability from your trainer, and weight loss and toning workouts that you’ll love! Check out why Rhea loves coaching functional training at the W3 in Tinley Park on 16015 S Harlem Ave 60477!!

Click here for a short video clip of Rhea doing TRX curtsey lunges, Tire Flips and Kettlebell Swings