International Women’s Day is celebrated globally every year on March 8. It’s a day not only to celebrate women, but also to raise awareness of key issues and a call to take action. Freeletics always takes part.
This year, the international theme is “Break The Bias”, and we think it’s quite fitting.
We know just how much bias, confusion, and unfair pressures there are in the fitness industry for women. Not only do we see these conversations happening across media, but we also hear you when you write to our Customer Engagement team searching for clarity and guidance.
We know that it takes more than just one day and a hashtag to properly bring more equality and empowerment to women.
This year’s theme inspired us to dedicate an entire month to the questions, challenges, myths, and stereotypes women face. Together, we’ll help Free Athletes all around the world find the answers to the questions that can often hold them back and the power to define their workouts on their own terms.
International Women’s Day Becomes Freeletics Women’s Health Month
This month, we transform the verb “EMPOWER” to #ME_PWR as a symbol for finding your own empowerment. We’ll connect our Free Athlete community with experts to clear up the confusion and help you define your workout by your rules for your own goals. In other words, for yourself instead of for society’s pressures or outdated ideas of femininity.
Forget the days of training to look a certain way. Let’s train to feel a certain way: to feel powerful, stronger, holistically healthy, and ready to face whatever comes up in our day-to-day lives.
Women’s Health Month Topics
Each week, we’ll tackle a key topic. Make sure to pay attention to your email inboxes and the blog for in-depth content. Plus, follow us at @Freeletics on Instagram to join the conversation and engage with our expert partners in live Q&As.
What kind of topics will we tackle together?
- Hormones, Menstruation & Training - What really affects how you show up on the mat? How can you listen to your body and honor what it needs in order to keep a consistent and sustainable relationship with fitness? Dr. Sayyada (@doctorsayyada), a medical doctor from the UK, helps us unravel this under-addressed topic.
- Health & Weight - We know weight is a big topic when it comes to fitness. Of course weight can have an impact on your health, but Dr. Sayyada helps us understand the role weight plays. Spoiler alert: It’s merely one stat in a long list of things that determines our health. How can we shift away from focusing only on weight and how our bodies look and instead focus on all of the other things that help make and keep us healthy?
- Training & Mental Health - Training to feel a certain way and to have a clear mind, more mental resilience, better sleep, and more focus throughout the day is just the beginning. Positive Psychology Coach, Dal Banwait, (@TheHappiologist) walks us through the mental health benefits of fitness, and how that shift in focus helps set us up for healthier relationships with fitness and our bodies.
- Weight Training & Women - How many times have you heard that weight training might make you “bulky”? What a problematic idea! On the one hand, women can and should feel free to look muscular. On the other hand, developing big muscles accidentally from weights is a myth. With our own expert Freeletics Coaches, we’ll explore how weights are key to achieving any fitness goal you might be striving for.
Women’s Health Month Community Activities
Challenges:
We won’t just talk the talk. As Free Athletes, you know we walk (or run or even burpee) the walk!
On March 20, we’ll kick off 3 challenges. Each a powerful, inspiring Goddess, choose the one that speaks to you. Once the challenge kicks off, complete one workout to show yourself and the Free Athlete community that you’re taking action.
Why God workouts? They’re the epitome of training for anything except for how you look. Gods serve as a benchmark for your progress. Every time you take on a God and get a new PB (personal best), you see how much stronger you’re becoming without looking at the scale, measuring your muscles, or comparing yourself to others. Every Burpee, Squat, and Situp becomes a symbol of your progress towards your unique goal. It’s you against the God, and you against yourself.
THE WORKOUT | CHOOSE THIS CHALLENGE TO… | ||
Option 1 |
intermediate | Female warriors that matched men in their strength & agility | Symbolize your fierce strength & pay homage to equality |
Option 2 |
beginner | Mother of Zeus, she showed great courage in saving him from his murderous father | Symbolize your dedication & remind yourself of your courage |
Option 3 |
beginner to intermediate | Goddess of the moon & even the moon personified | Symbolize your phases of growth & remind yourself to shine even during dark times |
Live Trainings with Freeletics Ambassadors
Join some of our Female Ambassadors in live trainings all month long. They’ll walk you through an empowering workout from Dynamic Warmup to Active Cooldown and help you to feel a part of our Community. Check out all of the times and dates at this handy calendar.
Join the Conversation on Social
Follow along on Instagram to interact with our expert partners. Plus, you can use the hashtag #ME_PWR and tag @Freeletics to show us how you’re working out, crushing the challenges, and anything else you’d like to share.
See you on the mat.
