Powerful and a little dangerous: My Journey into strength

Strength training is dangerous. For powerful women.

I want to tell you about something that has changed me more than almost anything else in the past years. It isn't a method or a program. It's lifting heavy things, again and again, with people who notice when I don't show up.

When I started strength training, I thought it would be about my body. And it is. But not in the way I expected. For me, strength training means seeing, through my own body, that I can actually grow. Not as an idea or a goal written in a notebook, but as something I feel in my hands, in my legs, in my breath when I swing a kettlebell. What felt impossible a few months ago is now part of my warm-up. No one can talk me out of that, because my body has already experienced it.

I want to be honest about what held me back, though. It wasn't the weights, and it wasn't the other people in the gym. It was showing up for myself. As a founder, a mother, a partner and a practitioner, my calendar is always full, and training was the first thing to go whenever things got busy. Somewhere deep down I believed I had to earn it. First the work, then the emails, then everyone else, and only then, if there was time left, me.

What changed everything was a simple shift: I don't have to earn going to the gym. It's not a reward for a productive day. It's a routine, like brushing my teeth. I don't negotiate with myself about brushing my teeth, and I've stopped negotiating about training. It's in my calendar, it's non-negotiable, and the rest of my day works better because of it.

People often ask me what the trick is. Do you need a hack? A perfect routine? A home gym full of equipment? Honestly, no. What you need is consistency. Showing up on the days you feel strong and, even more, on the days you don't. That consistency has become my empowerment.

Over time I've realized that three things carry me. The first is consistency. The second is a group that holds me accountable. At KRABA Kraft- und Bewegungsakademie München GmbH I don't train alone. People notice when I'm missing, and they celebrate with me when I lift something new. The third, and the hardest for me, is the courage to be strong. Stepping into my own real power has been a big deal, and I'm still learning it.

I have two people to thank for a lot of this. Christine Rammensee has shown me what consistency really looks like, and also how important recovery is when I'm in a low. Strength is not pushing through at any cost. It's knowing when to rest so you can come back.

And then there is my friend and trainer Robert Rimoczi

 , who keeps showing me what is possible through the body. He once told me, with a lot of love, that I have the body of a wildcat but move like a housecat. I laughed, and then it hit me, because he was right.

The strength was already there. I just hadn't given myself permission to use it. At his Kettlebell Camp in July this year, I let a little more of the wildcat out, and I grew once again beyond what I thought I could do. I left that weekend with a different picture of myself.

I want to say this clearly, because I wish someone had told me earlier: strength training is good for women in every phase of life. In our cycling years, it supports energy, mood and a more grounded relationship with our bodies, and we can even adapt our training to our cycle. During pregnancy and after birth, guided strength work helps the body carry, recover and rebuild. In perimenopause and menopause, it may be one of the most important things we can do: it helps protect our bones and muscle mass, supports our metabolism, our sleep and our mood, and keeps us strong and independent for the decades ahead. There is no "too young" and no "too late". Your body responds to strength at any age.

It's scary, though. It's scary as a woman to be in your power. To stop blaming anyone or anything and take control yourself. There's a part of me that would sometimes rather stay small, because small feels safe. Being the housecat is comfortable. But what I've learned is that the body learns first, and then everything else follows. The confidence, the clarity, the way I set boundaries, the way I walk into a room.

Is it a fast process? No. Is it easy? No. Is it linear? Not at all. Do you have setbacks, do you sometimes hurt yourself? Yes. Do you get back up? Absolutely.

So here is my invitation to you: be courageous. Take a small risk and try something new. It doesn't have to be strength training or kettlebells. It can be dancing, climbing, swimming, a running group, a martial art, literally anything that moves your body. Look for a place where you feel you belong, where people show up for each other, and most importantly, where you have fun. Fun is what keeps you coming back, and coming back is where the magic happens.

The only journey I can compare all of this to is my journey with Cycle Positivity. It follows the same principles: listening to your body instead of fighting it, staying consistent, having a circle around you, and finding the courage to own your power instead of apologizing for it. Strength training taught me that my body is my ally. Cycle Positivity taught me the same about my cycle.

That's why I train women to become Cycle Positivity GmbH Coaches. The next cohort starts in February 2027, and if something in this resonates with you, I'd love to hear from you.

This isn't an ad. I'm not asking you to buy anything or to pick up a kettlebell. I'm asking you to find your people. A place where you show up for yourself, where others notice when you're missing, and where you leave a little stronger than you came. It can be a gym, a dance floor, a climbing wall, a choir, a running group. What matters is that you belong there, and that it's fun.

And if your fire is also about changing how we talk about women's health at work, if you want to be one of the women who change the culture from the inside, then let's talk. I'm gathering changemakers for women's health and work culture, and our next Cycle Positivity cohort starts in February 2027. Just write me an email at alissia@cyclepositivity.com. 

Strength training is powerful. For powerful women. Maybe it's time to let your wildcat out too. 🐆