How strong can you get? What are your absolute upper limits of strength?

Honestly, I don’t think enough women, regardless of their age, ask themself that question enough and they miss out on the type of motivation that provides.

Alyssa did ask that… She wanted to know how physically strong she could possibly become. And she got strong, really strong. And then she wrote a book about it.

Alyssa Ages is a Strongman Competitor, lifting and pushing and pulling really heavy things. In fact, just after turning 40 she pulled a truck. Not a little pickup truck, but a semi truck. And in her book Secrets of Giants, she set out to uncover the true meaning of strength.

In this interview, we talk about body image, “getting bulky”, muscle and bone health with aging, and the confidence that comes with being someone that’s really, really strong.

Questions from this interview…

I’m excited about this conversation because you might be the physically strongest woman I know.

1. So let’s begin. Why? Of all the things you could do with your life, why become a Strongman competitor? (What are Atlas Stones?)
2. In your book, you interviewed and spent time with so many other athletes and women in the sport. And there was one encounter in your chapter about Taking Up Space that leaped off the page to me, with Jessica Fithen. Jessica was named the Strongest Woman in the World in 2019 and you asked her, “Many of us no longer need to be strongm enough to carry boulders and build shelters and throw an animal over our shoulder and walk home with it. Why do you think that we continue to push the limits of physical strength?” And her answer was so profound.
3. “I think a lot of women are told that we don’t need to be strong. I think a lot of women are told they’re supposed to be small and fragile, that being a cheerleader is pretty much all you’re able to do. Empowerment is a word that’s used a lot, but for me it absolutely was empowering to find out I could stop trying to be tragically small. You are really strong, and you don’t actually know what you’re capable of until you try.”
4. How did her answer impact you?
5. It seems like our personal experience in our bodies is always this tug-of-war between being physically fit and how we look - our body image. You’ve spent a lot of time wrestling with this, your own body image. Let’s go deeper on this - How has this played out for you?
6. You told me before that you used to be on a soapbox about “the fear of bulking”, but now you’ve stepped over onto a different soapbox (about aging and how strength is simply non-negotiable). Tell me more!
7. You have two daughters, girls that are growing up and will mature into women, and I know you workout with them around. What impact are you hoping this has on them?
8. As we wrap up, there are many women listening that are in their 40s, 50s and 60s that are just getting started, they’re embarking on strength training and probably feel like they have a long way to go before they’re really confident with it. They might not have dreams of ever being the Strongest Woman in the World, and that’s ok. But how would you encourage her?

I hope every woman goes and grabs your book, Secrets of Giants.

More Resources & Links

Grab Alyssa’s book Secrets of Giants: A Journey to Uncover the True Meaning of Strength

To buy Secrets of Giants: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/707130/secrets-of-giants-by-alyssa-ages/

Alyssa’s website: alyssaages.com

Follow her on social: @alyssaages (on all platforms)

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